2021 Virtual Iowa Specialty Producers Conference

The Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association together with Vegetable Growers Association organize the second Iowa Specialty Producers Conference, which is scheduled for January 19-20, 2021, and will take place virtually.

Breakout sessions will focus on five main topics: fruits, vegetables, viticulture (wine-grape growing), enology (winemaking) and other special crops. Event’s keynote speaker will be Hugh McPherson, who advises a network of 80 agritourism farms in the US, Canada and the UK. He will share best practices in implementing “agri-tainment” into a farming operation. Speakers also will include producers, specialists and industry experts from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Kendra Meyer, an education extension specialist with Farm, Food and Enterprise Development in ISU Extension and Outreach, shared that they are excited to be able to offer this year's conference virtually to their members and specialty producers in Iowa State and beyond. "We have a great lineup of speakers giving talks on a wide variety of specialty crop management, marketing and business," she added.

In addition, this online gathering will feature virtual exhibitors, which offering products and services of interest to Iowa's specialty producers.

Click here to register at the conference.

The Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association is a corporation that in 1984 merged from two existing grower associations: the Iowa Fruit Growers Association and the Iowa Vegetable Growers Association. The Association aims to promote the interests of the state's fruit and vegetable growers through meetings, research, access to information, networking and mentoring opportunities.

Visit the Association's website for more information.