New Fruit Growers Conference Oct 17-18

Registration is now open at http://tx.ag/TxFruitGrowers for the Texas New Fruit Growers Conference, to be held October 17-18th, 2024, at the Gillespie County Extension Center in Fredericksburg.

This one and one-half day program is designed to expose new and prospective growers to the basics of starting and managing a perennial fruit production business. A registration fee of $160/person ($150 if registering before September 1), provides participants with the following conference events:

Getting Started Class—8am to 12 pm: A half-day classroom session that sets essential foundations for a successful beginning. Presentations: Site and resource evaluation for new fruit orchards-Jim Kamas; Fruit orchard establishment-Larry Stein; Budgeting time resources- what it takes to start and manage an orchard-Jacy Lewis; Disease & insect threats to successful fruit production—Monte Nesbitt; IPM fundamentals for new fruit growers—Kyle Slusher; Deciding what to grow: major production & marketing considerations—Tim Hartmann
Tree-to-Plate Networking Lunch: 12-2:30 pm: Enjoy an array of fresh fruit and fruit-centric culinary products, while exchanging fruit growing & marketing ideas with other new and experienced fruit growers from around the state.
Live-Action Lab: 3-6:00 pm: Our team has tremendous experience with fruit and vineyard orchard management that is best demonstrated live. This “college laboratory” session will get you up close and personal with How-to demonstrations on: A) Tree/vine planting, B) Training & pruning practices, C) Irrigation for orchard establishment, D) Fertilizer application, E) Sprayer operation and F) Weed control. This 3pm to 6pm session will be held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Viticulture and Fruit Lab, Fredericksburg.
Fast-Forward Fruit Orchard Tour: Experience the future possibilities of being a commercial fruit grower by seeing and hearing what others have done to establish and grow a fruit-centric business in the Texas Hill Country. Our Friday morning conference tour is planned to visit Harvest Hill Farm Market, Fredericksburg, Texas. Friday, October 18th, 8:30 am to Noon.

FAQ’s:

How do I register? Register online at the following link Texas New Fruit Grower’s Conference – New Registration (tamu.edu)
You may also register by phone: (979) 803-1372
Is this event being offered online/remotely? No, the Texas New Fruit Grower’s Conference is in-person only. We will offer an advanced grower training, December 5th as an online workshop.
Where will the event be held? Gillespie County Extension Center, 38 Business Ct., Fredericksburg, Texas.
Who is this conference intended for? Anyone with general interest in growing fruit—peaches, pears, blackberries, figs, etc. recreationally or for commercial purposes.
Who are the instructors? All instructors are program specialists, program managers, or Extension specialists with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, departments of Horticultural Sciences and Entomology.
I’ve attended this event before. How will it be different this year? Our Getting Started Class will be similar to last year, although two speakers and their presentations will be different. Everything else about this year’s event is different. The laboratory section is new. We’re making our reception more available by having it at lunch and using it for a catalyst for attendees to get to know each other better and share ideas. The tour location this year is new for this event.
Are there discounts for families or spouses? We do not offer multiple-registration discounts. All registrations before September 1st save $10/per person.