By Clint Thompson
Florida blueberry growers can mark their calendars for this summer’s grower meetings, set for three dates and locations in July.
This summer’s meetings will be held on Tuesday, July 8, at the Polk County Extension Office in Bartow, Florida; Thursday, July 10, at the Hardee County Extension Office in Wauchula, Florida; and Thursday, July 17, at the Alachua County Extension Office in Newberry, Florida.
Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Blueberry Extension Coordinator, highlighted the grower meetings and what attendees can expect.
“This will be the third year we’ve done these summer grower meetings. This year we’re doing three instead of four, so we consolidated Lake County and Polk County into one, and it’ll be in Polk County. The Lake County one has been lightly attended, and they’re close enough to each other that I think we’ll get good coverage,” Phillips said.
“We’ve got some good speakers lined up. We will also do the grower roundtable during and after lunch so folks will be able to see what their peers are experiencing and bounce off some ideas with different issues and stuff. I think it’s been well received, and I think we’ll have good turnout again this year.”
Along with grower discussions, there will be research and industry updates with scientists from the UF/IFAS.
The meetings are free for members of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association and $20 for non-members. Click here to register.