New Farmer Session at the 2020 Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention

Are you new to farming? This year the 2020 Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention (OFVC) will feature a full day session designed specifically for the new farmers interested in fruit or vegetable production. The session, which is titled ‘Farming Basics for New Fruit and Vegetable Growers’, will give an overview of all aspects of farming horticultural crops from purchasing a farm through selling and marketing.

The OFVC takes place on Feb 19-20 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre, 6815 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The Farming Basics session will take place on Feb 19.  Here is the agenda for the session:

• 9:30 Introduction to Farming and Finding Markets
       Dr. Sean Westerveld, OMAFRA
       Robb Wagner, OMAFRA
• 10:00 The Business of Farming: Setting Up
       Robb Wagner, Erich Weber, John Molenhuis, Mark Ferguson, OMAFRA
• 10:30 The Business of Farming: Day to Day
       Robb Wagner, Erich Weber, John Molenhuis and Mark Ferguson, OMAFRA
• 11:00 It All Begins with Your Soil
       Anne Verhallen, OMAFRA
• 11:30 Waterlogged or Dry as a Bone? Manage Water Before You Plant
       Rebecca Shortt, OMAFRA

• 2:00 Pest Management and Weed Control 101
       Dr. Melanie Filotas and Kristen Obeid, OMAFRA
• 2:30 Cropping Systems Introduction: Fruit Production
       Kathryn Carter, OMAFRA
• 2:50 Cropping Systems Introduction: Vegetable Production
       Dennis Van Dyk, OMAFRA
• 3:10 Cropping Systems Introduction: Specialty Crop Production
       Evan Elford, OMAFRA
• 3:30 Grower Experience: Starting a Farm in Ontario
       Hayden Dooney, Norfolk Fruit Grower’s Assoc.
• 4:00 Q & A Session

The conference also has other learning opportunities for new growers such as an Intro to Organic Production session on the morning of Feb 20 and sessions on a range of fruit, vegetable and specialty crops. There is also a large trade show that includes financial institutions, equipment dealers, suppliers and much more that can assist a new farmer. For the full agenda, more information about the convention, and to register please visit the OFVC website at www.ofvc.ca.

Post re-blogged from the ONspecialtycrops blog.