Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Lexington Jan. 5 and 6, 2012

The 2012 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference and Trade Show will have something for everyone interested in fruit and vegetable production. This year’s event convenes January 5, 2012 at Lexington’s Embassy Suites Hotel, and concludes around 3 p.m. January 6. Pre-conference sessions will be offered in the afternoon and evening on Wednesday, January 4. The conference is jointly sponsored by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, Kentucky State University and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

Highlights

• Pre-conference Winemaking Techniques Workshop

• Pre-conference Fruit Round Table Discussion

• Sessions on Farmers' Markets, Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Production, Hydroponic Tomato Production, Small Fruit Production, Organic Farming and Gardening, the Grape and Wine Short Course, Winemaking, Agritourism and Social Media, Marketing, Wholesale Marketing, and Blueberry Production.

• Many excellent out-of-state speakers including Dr. Mike Ellis, Extension Plant Pathologist; Dr. Diane Miller, Associate Professor, and Kyle Daniel, Ph.D. student from Ohio State University; Jeff Kindhart, Senior Research Specialist, Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, Simpson, IL; Dr. Rick Snyder, Extension Specialist for Greenhouse and Field Vegetable Crops, Mississippi State University, Crystal Springs, MS; Richard Barnes, Trellis Growing Systems, Fort Wayne, IN, and Dr. David Lockwood, and Dr. Annette Wszelaki, Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialists respectively, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

• The KVS will have an optional Celebration of Kentucky Wines featuring Kentucky wines.

• This year we have decided not to have a banquet and will have a Grower Awards Luncheon instead on January 6th.

• We will have a Trading Post bulletin board to sell used equipment. If you are looking for equipment buyers, bring along a description containing your name, phone number and the equipment price.

Preview the 2012 conference program online.

Registration

WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO PRE-REGISTER. Luncheon tickets may not be available at the registration desk. Name badges will be required to enter meeting rooms. Pre-registration forms need to be in our hands by TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2011. Phone registrations will not be accepted.

Conference registration is $30 and includes a one-year membership in the Kentucky Vegetable Growers Association, Kentucky State Horticulture Society or Organic Association of Kentucky and entry into the Grape and Wine Short Course. Luncheon tickets are only available with advanced registration by Dec. 20.

Participants that do not pre-register may register at the door. If you would like to serve on the KVGA or KSHS boards of directors or would like to nominate another member, please designate this on your registration sheet.

The conference program and registration sheet are available online.

Lodging

The 2012 Kentucky Fruit & Vegetable Conference & Trade Show will be held January 5-6, 2012 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Lexington, KY.

Hotel reservations: PLEASE make your room reservations directly with the hotel. Our block of rooms will be held until Jan. 2, 2012. After this, room prices will be higher. Be sure to let the hotel know that you will be staying for the Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference to obtain our special suite room rate (they are all suites) of $115.00. If you are told that the block of rooms at our conference rate is full on or before Jan 2, please call Amy Stamper at Embassy Suites (859-455- 5109) to increase the number of rooms that we have blocked. The room cost includes an evening managers’ reception with drinks and a full cooked-to-order breakfast daily. We encourage growers to stay at Embassy Suites Hotel to help cover meeting overhead expenses.

If You Cannot Attend the Meeting...

If circumstances are such that you cannot attend the meeting and would like to remain a member of the KVGA, KSHS, KVS, or OAK, please complete and return the form to Ms. Mary Ann Kelley, Research & Education Center, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, KY 42445 to continue your association membership.

Contacts

Contact John Strang (phone: 859-257-5685 email:jstrang@uky.edu) or Tim Coolong (phone: 859-257-3374 office; or 859-421-5973 mobile; email: tcool2@uky.edu) if you have questions.