Great Plains Growers Conference 2012

Plan to attend the Great Plains Growers Conference, January 5-7, 2012 in St. Joseph, MO.  The conference will be held at the Fulkerson Conference Center, Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO. 

 Check out the program for new all-day workshops presented by wonderful speakers throughout the conference!  Again for 2012, we are combining two great conferences – the Great Plains Vegetable and Mid-America Fruit Conferences.  We’ve added a room for an additional new workshop and track to accommodate the increasing attendance.  On Friday, topics of interest will be small fruit, tree fruit, beginner organic growing, conventional vegetable pest management, marketing and agritourism.  Successful growers, Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm, Saratoga Springs, New York, will be our keynote presenters on Friday morning. On Saturday specifically we are featuring an all day cut flower workshop, conventional vegetable and advance organic growing tracks, urban horticulture and community gardening, and a farmers’ market track. 

 There will be a meeting for the Kansas City Growers Association and Missouri Horticultural Society on Thursday along with Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska Vegetable Growers Associations held on Friday.

 We will have educational information from all 5 states - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota, along with vegetable specialists and growers from those states.  There are 50+ exhibitors in a trade show with the latest seeds, supplies, equipment, and grower information.  There will be ample opportunities to visit with other growers, exhibitors and speakers.  Registration fees are posted on the final page of the program….please remember morning and afternoon snacks, including the Wine & Snack Reception, and the lunch buffet with endless options, is included in the fee.  We hope to see you in January!  It will be an excellent educational opportunity!

                                   
Thursday's All-Day Workshops - January 5, 2012

High Tunnels - Essential Tools for the Market Farmer
Speakers: Paul & Sandy Arnold, Mike Bollinger, Matthew Kleinhenz, Paul Duffner, Bill Warner, & Dan Kuebler

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Minischool
Speakers: Chris McGuire, Liz Graznak, Rebecca Graff, and Tom Ruggierri

GAP/ Food Safety
Speakers: Chris Blanchard and David Markwardt

Fruit Growers Tree Fruit Workshop I
Speakers: Wayne Mitchem, Wanda Gale, Keith Yoder

New this year - The Basics of Beekeeping in the Midwest
Speakers: Jim & Valerie Duever

Friday and Saturday Track Sessions & All Day Workshops - January 6-7, 2012

Friday Schedule
Includes Small Fruit, Beginner Organic, Conventional Vegetable IPM, Marketing & Agritourism, Tree Fruit Workshop
(The Tree Fruit Workshop is still under development.)

Saturday Schedule
Includes Conventional Vegetable Growing, Advanced Organic, Cut Flower Workshop, Farmers' Market, and Urban Horticulture & Community Gardens

Also on Saturday is a Fruit Growers tour of Schweizer Orchards.
10:00 am – 12:00 pm (Weather permitting – look for flyers at the conference)

Meet at the Farm at 10 am:
7419 County Rd 432
Savannah, MO 64485

This Orchard and Vineyard tour will be located at Schweizer Orchards, just outside of St. Joseph and approximately 25 minutes from the conference location.  We will plan to meet at the farm and you will be able to see traditional as well as high density apple orchard systems.  Cory Schweizer will lead the tour and provide us with considerations for growing tree fruit in Missouri in addition to the ins and outs of growing Apples with high density systems.  In addition to Apples, Cory will provide us with a tour of their grape vineyard and Marlin Bates (MU Extension) will provide a demonstration of grape pruning methods on several different pruning systems.  He will also talk about some of the challenges of growing grapes in the Great Plains and ways to manage this crop successfully.

On-Line Registration is Closed.  You may walk-in and register at the door.

Other Information

Map to conference location & area Hotel Information.

Residents of South Dakota only: There is a special transportation option set-up by your state to aid residents in attending the conference.  See a copy of the flyer.  Contact Chris Zdorovtsov at christina.zdorovtsov@sdstate.edu or 605-782-3294.