New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference comes back strong

MANCHESTER, NH – In mid-December, thousands of growers from across New England came together in downtown Manchester to learn and discuss what’s new in the fruit and vegetable industry.

Many of the educational sessions were filled to the brim with standing room only.

The three-day event, running Dec. 13 – 15, offered a trade show, educational sessions and industry awards. After hosting a virtual conference in 2021, the turnout for 2022 was spectacular, with many sessions having standing room only.

Reps from Shelf Stable were available to discuss canning of private label non-alcoholic cider.

The conference boasted an impressive 57 speakers on everything from cut flowers and cucurbits to irrigation and pesticide use. The educational sessions also offered Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) credits as well as Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credits for those that attended.

Wendy Shaver and her helper Bella displayed some of the many products available from Shawnee Canning Company.

In between learning sessions, attendees could visit the trade show where there were over 120 vendors in the Expo Center. The conference also included Farmer-to-Farmer sessions where growers from all backgrounds could discuss their personal findings and stories of what they’ve found works best and why.

Kate and Russell French exhibited orchard equipment and supplies available from OESCO. Ben Clark (right) of Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield, MA, has been an OESCO customer for many years.

The New England Vegetable and Fruit conference began in 1979, occurring every odd year to not interfere with the New England Greenhouse Growers Conference, which occurs every other year on even years. Visit NewEnglandVFC.org for information on the next conference.

John Shenk (right) of Hillside Cultivator Co. shows the Hillside Cultivator to Christian Kirch (left) of Kult Kress LLC and Tony (middle) Koseka of Vision Robotics.