By Clint Thompson
Citrus and specialty crop producers should mark their calendars for the upcoming Florida Citrus Show, scheduled for Wednesday, April 3 in Fort Pierce, Florida.
This will mark the second year that AgNet Media will host the event, which will once again feature a tailgating theme with vendors in attendance, along with general and educational breakout sessions featuring experts in the citrus and specialty crop industries.
Josh McGill, show director, talked about this year’s event.
“We’re super excited about the 2024 event. In 2023, it was the first year that AgNet Media took over the Florida Citrus Show and kind of gave it a new spin, a new outlook. We started a tailgate style format, where exhibitors got a chance to pull their trucks up and cook out with the growers. It definitely made for a more fun environment,” McGill said. “The growers were a little more relaxed and able to just network and communicate with the vendors on top of just bringing together a great seminar program.
“A lot was added to the show last year. I think it was a great success, and we’re looking forward to bringing that back this year and making it even better.”
Show Specifics
The show will be hosted at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida. Breakfast will be served at 8 a.m. before the first general session at 9 a.m. The tailgate party will commence at 11:10 a.m.
“We really weren’t sure what to expect with the tailgate format (last year); we had high hopes for it, but it really was a shot in the dark,” McGill said. “We just saw that show had been declining in the past, and we needed to find a way to breathe some new life, so we took the gamble on it, and we couldn’t have received more positive feedback from both the growers and the vendors. Everyone really enjoyed the new tailgate format and made for a much more fun event.”
Concurrent citrus and vegetable sessions will start after the tailgate party at 2 p.m. Educational sessions will feature experts from the UF/IFAS and USDA.
Growers, professional crop advisers, association representatives, board members and the research community receive free attendance and complimentary breakfast and lunch at Florida Citrus Show.
Click here to register.