Record Attendance at Duarte Nursery’s Friends Day
May 9, 2012 
Friends Day hosted a record crowd of 2,000 attendees last Friday at Duarte Nursery’s annual open house in Hughson, CA.
Growers learned about Duarte’s clonal rootstock propagation program at Dry Creek Laboratory, toured the new 4-acre greenhouse that holds more than 1.6 million grapevines, got to personally meet the Duarte Nursery field representatives, and had the opportunity to meet with ag manufacturer reps at the industry tradeshow that had more than 80 companies exhibiting.
“It’s important for farmers to get together, to network and talk about the things that really impact agriculture,” said Jim Duarte, COB, Duarte Nursery, Inc.
A family owned and operated nursery, Duarte Nursery is the largest permanent crops nursery in the U.S., with a history of aggressively marketing innovative products. Their full list of products include grapevines, almond trees, walnut rootstock, pistachio rootstock, stone fruit trees, citrus trees, cherry trees, pomegranate trees, blueberries, blackberries, and olive trees.
Friends Day has grown year after year with a record 2,000 attendees last Friday. Holding true to the theme from last year’s event, “Clean Plants for your Future,” Duarte Nursery provided a first-hand look into their facility and showcased their latest technology to create the cleanest plants on the market.
Friends Day attendees were invited to participate in tours of either grapevine or tree production. The grapevine tour exhibited the evolution of a vine from grafting to a ready-to-plant vine. The tree tour went through Duarte Nursery’s state of the art Dry Creek Laboratory, and showcased propagation of the clonal tree rootstocks from shoot tip cultures.
“Friends Day gave us the opportunity to display our technology and facilities but also showcase our motivated team members that are creating the best products in the industry,” said John Duarte, president.
Along with nursery tours, Friends Day hosted an industry trade show of over 80 companies. Agricultural firms from throughout the state came to display their products, tailored specifically to tree and vine farmers. While exploring the trade show, visitors also met and conversed with Duarte Nursery field representatives and enjoyed a glass of wine at the tasting area.
Guest speakers Elizabeth Emken, Kim Vann, Bill Berryhill and Ricky Gill addressed attendees during lunch after an invocation from Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson. All of the speakers commented on the strength of California agriculture and the importance of electing officials that will support and defend the California agriculture industry.
Next year’s Friends Day is scheduled for Friday May 3, 2013.
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