The UK’s first-ever conference for the vining pea industry will take place on 11 November this year, with talks from industry speakers and updates on marketing campaigns.
Brian Young, of the British Frozen Food Federation, has been named as the first of several keynote speakers, while delegates will also hear updates from the team behind the ‘Yes Peas!’ campaign.
It will be held at the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO)’s base at Thornhaugh, Peterborough, and hosted by PGRO, the HDC and the British Growers Association (BGA).
During the day speakers will cover topics ranging from promotion, marketing, research and development and future opportunties for growth.
PGRO chief executive, Roger Vickers, said: “It is recognised by everyone that a single well-focused day would enable us to deliver high quality information to our sector in the most time efficient fashion.”
The programme will start late morning with lunch provided, and in the afternoon a number of sessions will cover trends in Europe as well as the UK 2015 season.
Dawn Teverson, legume knowledge transfer manager at HDC, said: “It’s exciting to collaborate with PGRO and British Growers for this event dedicated to the pea industry and we look forward to expanding the event in future years to deliver more for growers.”
The BGA’s Tim Mudge added: “The better informed the sector is, the stronger it will become. Many other sectors of horticulture have specific days aimed at them and they have proved to be very popular. We hope that this annual event will go from strength to strength.”
The news comes following updates that pea seed drilling is well underway for the 2015 crop, with some areas over 40 per cent through their programme. The crop is harvested from June to August and stretches from Suffolk up to north of Dundee.
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