The Journal spoke to four of the organising committee members at the Kent-based show who revealed that the conference would be held February 2-6, 2005 in Tiel, the Netherlands. Current chairman Jim Pearce, a grower from Millets Fruit, said: "Next year's conference will be grower-orientated because our goal is to re-focus the biennial events back to the original association's goals. The trip to the Netherlands will concentrate on visiting local growers and learning about current trends in unconventional indoor fruit production," he said. "There will be visits to fruit producers growing cherries under glass and indoor blackberry production. The focus will be to learn about novel unexploited markets and unusual technical methods."
Keynote speakers from the UK will also be presenting at the conference with topics such as benchmarking plant material will be discussed. The 2005 conference can accommodate up to 100 delegates, and the organised social events will provide an opportunity for young fruit growers to build relationships within the industry. The five-day conference has received the financial support form several fresh produce organisations and is open to all growers in the industry The cost for the five days is £195, which includes transportation, accommodation, seminars and meals.
For further information, contact Claire Seymour on 01580 712200 or Jim Pearce 0796752190.
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