With the conference only a few weeks away, it is very exciting to see the variety of people, companies, and institutions participating. We know that bringing all these folks together is part of what makes a conference like this special.
Bernadine Strik, Oregon State University
We’ve got a great lineup of presenters for the conference. Here are just a few of them:
- Bernadine Strik, Oregon State University,highly respected across the nation for her expertise nutritional management of blackberries and raspberries
- Berry breeder Courtney Weber, Cornell University, who will update us on varieties and tackle the topic of raspberry flavor.
- Sonny Ramaswami, Director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, who will talk about drones and other exciting new high tech developments for “smart farming”
- Entomologists Hannah Burrack from NCSU, Tracey Leskey from USDA, and Doug Pfeiffer from VA Tech talking about SWD
- Long-time grower and extension specialist Charlie O’Dell, now retired, reflecting on “A Lifetime in Berries”
- From Michigan, Eric Hanson talking about greenhouse production and Katherine Lindell talking about controlling bird damage.
Here’s our current list of exhibitors. Many of these are also conference sponsors.
- AgBioChem – pest & disease controls
- AgriStarts – berry plants
- Berry Hill Irrigation – drip irrigation
- Giumarra – berry marketing
- Magnolia Gardens Nursery – berry plants
- Multisorb Tachnologies – packaging techology
- North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association
- Naturipe Farms – berry marketing
- North Bay– berry marketing
- Nourse Farms – berry plants
- Priva North America – irrigation management
- Rimol Greenhouse Systems
- Rockford Package Supply — packaging
- Southern SARE – sustainable agriculture research & education
- Sun Belle Inc. – berry marketing
- Trellis Growing Systems – modular trellising
- USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service
- Virginia Berry Growers Association
- Virginia Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer services
- Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
- Virginia State University
- VirtualOne – traceability/labor management software
And attendees are coming from near and far. From Mexico and Canada. From California, Oregon, North Dakota, Texas. From Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas. From the Carolinas, Georgia, and Maryland. And, of course, from Virginia! Farthest away would be a researcher from China who is trying to work out his visa so he can come. Some are long-time growers and members of NARBA, some are first-time growers looking to learn the basics and meet suppliers. Some aren’t growers at all, but play other roles in the caneberry world. Welcome all!
Visiting over breakfast at the 2015 NARBA Conference in Arkansas
