Meeting to be
Held on March 21
By Jim Nugent
Michigan State University Extension
George Bird, Michigan State University (MSU) professor, will begin the program by giving a short historical perspective on organic production. The morning program will include a panel of Michigan fruit processors currently marketing organic lines of fruit. Panelists include Brian Hackert of Mason County Fruit, Todd DeKryger of Gerber, Steve Nugent of Graceland Fruit, and Tim Young of Food for Thought. They will discuss the perceived market potential for volume, price and other pertinent issues.
Dennis Mackey, a long-time organic apple producer and marketer from Germantown, Wis. will share his experiences growing and marketing organic apples. Mackey currently manages two organic orchards, Germantown Orchards and Rim's Edge Orchards, as well as managing Appleworks, an organic marketing firm.
Joe Scrimger, consultant with Bio-Systems in Marlette, Mich., will focus on soil management in organic farming systems. Consultant Doug Murray of Paw Paw, Mich. will speak on managing organic fruit production systems. Jim Moses, local organic grower and member of Organic Growers of Michigan will discuss organic certification.
The afternoon program will consist of three panel discussions on organic production of apples, cherries and wine grapes. Panelists will discuss what is currently being done to manage the major insect and disease pests affecting the crops, as well as other issues of concern, from apple thinning to weed management. Each panel is designed to foster open discussion between panelists and the audience. Joining several of the morning speakers on these panels will be growers John Brabenec, Larry Mawby and Jim Thompson; consultants Jim Laubach and Alan Middleton; and MSU faculty and field staff Mark Whalon, Larry Gut, Charlie Edson, Duke Elsner and Jim Nugent.
This conference is sponsored by the Northwest Michigan Integrated Fruit Systems Think Tank and MSU Extension. For more information contact Jim Nugent at (888) 749-3019 or Duke Elsner at (231) 922-4620.
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