The snow’s flying and temperatures are plummeting, but northern growers will gear up for summer at the January 25, 2021 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference.

Normally held over a three-day period and attended by over 700 producers and marketers, researchers from across the Upper Midwest, the 2021 conference will be held in-person and, for the first time, virtually due to COVID 19.

COVID presented numbers of challenges during the 2020 growing season. Interestingly, in many instances, these yielded increased sales and tourism visits. How to sustain the trend? Other conference topics will include pest control, marketing, and technical issues, said Anna Maenner, a leader in the Wisconsin fresh fruit and vegetable sector and organizer of this year’s one-day event. She stresses that this event can be very valuable for growers exploring commercial scale or agricultural tourism activities at their farms, vineyards, or orchards.

I hope you enjoy this interview and will join me at the conference. I’m scheduled to make a one-hour presentation on regional agricultural tourism efforts.. For more information and to register go to www.freshfruitvegetable.org  

Sylvia Burgos Toftness