Trip Notes from the 2016 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference

Bonita Nicolas, Johnny's Selected Seeds Quality Assurance Manager, shares her trip notes from the 2016 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference that she attended with Southeast Territory Sales Rep, Rod Heyerdahl.

Johnny’s booth was in a great high traffic area, and we had a constant stream of visitors.  Friday was the day several young farmer groups, Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the like, attended the show.  

Entering the drawing for a $100 gift certificate

.

They all signed up for the drawing for the $100 gift certificate and were happy to have the free shipping coupon available. Many of the young growers are following in their parents' footsteps for farming as a lifestyle. They are incredibly aware of variety names and know what they can sell to the fresh market farm stands, as well as restaurants.

This young grower was very proud of his Great White tomato crop, which he sold to a local chef who made absolutely beautiful stuffed tomatoes.

Rod greeted all visitors by their first name and with a handshake. Each greeting was genuine and I could tell that the growers really value Rod’s knowledge and customer service level.

This was clearly the best dressed person at the show. A good friend of Rod’s and a good grower, he went over several pages of the catalog in detail with Rod.

Rod’s wife Linda in the background, but believe me she is an integral part of the booth! She is a great supporter of Rod, and Johnny’s.

Join Us at a Conference or Tradeshow Near You

We'll be continuing to update our 2015 Tradeshows and Conferences schedule at Johnnyseeds.com — check back at your convenience.

Event	Location	Dates
Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, & Organic Conference (ISCAOC)	Springfield, IL	January 7–9
Great Plains Growers Conference	St Joseph, MO	January 08–10
Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference	Savannah, GA	January 08–11
Minnesota Organic Conference	St Cloud, MN	January 9–10
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts (NOFA–MA) Winter Conference	Worcester, MA	January 10
State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show	Augusta, ME	January 13–15
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) Conference	Mobile, AL	January 14–17
Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association (OPGMA) Congress	Sandusky, OH	January 19–21
NYSVGA Empire State Producers Expo (New York State Vegetable Growers Association)	Syracuse, NY	January 20–22
Indiana Horticultural Congress	Indianapolis, IN	January 20–22
Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers Association (VVBGA)	Fairlee, VT	January 21
Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) Conference	Pacific Grove, CA	January 21–24
Practical Farmers of Iowa	Ames, IA	January 23–24
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA–NY) Winter Conference	Saratoga Springs, NY	January 23–25
American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference	Tampa, FL	January 24–27
Scotia Horticultural Conference	Greenwich, NS, Canada	January 26–27
Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention	Hershey, PA	January 27–29
Pacific Agriculture Show	Abbotsford, BC, Canada	January 29–31
Guelph Organic Conference	Guelph, ON, Canada	January 29 – February 1
Texas Organic Farmers & Growers Association (TOFGA) Conference	San Antonio, TX	January 29 – February 1
Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF) Conference	Richmond, VA	January 30–31
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA–NH)	Concord, NH	January 31
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference	State College, PA	February 4–7
Missouri Organic Association (MOA) Conference	Springfield, MO	February 5–7
Organicology	Portland, OR	February 5–7
Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference	Granville, OH	February 13–15
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA–VT)	Burlington, VT	February 14–15
Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention (OFVC)	Niagara Falls, ON, Canada	February 18–19
Farm to Table New Mexico Organic Farming Conference	Albuquerque, NM	February 20–21
Georgia Organics Conference	Athens, GA	February 20–21
Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference & Trade Show	Sturbridge, MA	February 25-26
Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Conference	Lacrosse, WI	February 26–28
Oregon Small Farms Conference	Corvallis, OR	February 28
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (NOFA–CT) Winter Conference	Danbury, CT	March 7
Mother Earth News Fair • Asheville	Asheville, NC	April 11–12
Nevada Indoor Agricultural Conference (AG • NV)	Las Vegas, NV	March 31 – April 1
International Seed Federation (ISF) World Seed Congress	Kraków, Poland	May 1–31
PNW Mother Earth News Fair (formerly in Puyallup, WA)	Albany, OR	June 6–7

Events, Conferences, & Tradeshows We're Attending

2014–2015 Schedule

We'll be continuing to update our 2014–2015 schedule at Johnnyseeds.com — check back at your convenience.

Event Location Dates Hoes Down Harvest Festival Guinda, CA October 4–5, 2014 European Seed Association (ESA) Annual Meeting Lisbon, Portugal October 12–14, 2014 Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Moultrie, GA October 14–16, 2014 Mother Earth News Fair • Topeka Topeka, KS October 25–26, 2014 North Country (NH) Fruit & Vegetable Seminar Whitefield, NH October 29, 2014 Farmer to Farmer (Maine Organic Farmers  & Gardeners) Northport, ME November 1, 2014 Growing Power Urban & Small Farms Conference Milwaukee, WI November 7–9, 2014 Tilth Producers of Washington Annual Conference Vancouver, WA November 7–9, 2014 Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Sustainable  Agriculture Conference Greenville, NC November 10–12, 2014 Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA) Asian  Seed Congress Macau, China November 10–14, 2014 Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association (PNVA)  Conference & Trade Show Kennewick, WA November 12–13, 2014 Mississippi Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Conference Jackson, MS TBD Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional  Network (ACORN) Halifax, NS, Canada November 12–14, 2014 National Young Farmers Conference at Stone Barns Pocantico Hills, NY December 03–05, 2014 Great Lakes Expo (GLEXPO) Grand Rapids, MI December 9–11, 2014 New England Vegetable & Berry Growers  Association (NEV&BGA) Manchester, NH TBD State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show Augusta, ME January 13–15, 2015 Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, &  Organic Conference (ISCAOC) Springfield, IL January 07–9, 2015 Great Plains Growers Conference St Joseph, MO January 08–10, 2015 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference Savannah, GA January 08–11, 2015 Minnesota Organic Conference St Cloud, MN January 9–10, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Massachusetts (NOFA–MA) Winter Conference Worcester, MA January 10, 2015 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group  (SSAWG) Conference Little Rock, AR January 14–17, 2015 Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association  (OPGMA) Congress Sandusky, OH January 19–21, 2015 NYSVGA Empire State Producers Expo (New York  State Vegetable Growers Association) Syracuse, NY January 20–22, 2015 Indiana Horticultural Congress Indianapolis, IN January 20–22, 2015 Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers  Association (VVBGA) Fairlee, VT January 21, 2015 Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) Conference Pacific Grove, CA January 21–24, 2015 Practical Farmers of Iowa Ames, IA January 23–24, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  New York (NOFA–NY) Winter Conference Saratoga Springs, NY January 23–25, 2015 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Vegetable  & Flower Seed Conference Tampa, FL January 24–27, 2014 Scotia Horticultural Conference Greenwich, NS, Canada January 26–27, 2015 Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention Hershey, PA January 27–29, 2015 Pacific Agriculture Show Abbotsford, BC, Canada January 29–31, 2015 Guelph Organic Conference Guelph, ON, Canada January 29 – February 1, 2015 Texas Organic Farmers & Growers Association  (TOFGA) Conference San Antonio, TX January 29 – February 01, 2015 Virginia Association for Biological Farming  (VABF) Conference Richmond, VA January 30–31, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  New Hampshire (NOFA–NH) Concord, NH January 31, 2015 Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture  (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference State College, PA February 04–07, 2015 Missouri Organic Association (MOA) Conference Springfield, MO February 05–07, 2015 Organicology Portland, OR February 05–07, 2015 Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association  (OEFFA) Conference Granville, OH February 13–15, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Vermont (NOFA–VT) Burlington, VT February 14–15, 2015 Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention (OFVC) Niagara Falls, ON, Canada February 18–19, 2015 Farm to Table New Mexico Organic Farming  Conference Albuquerque, NM February 20–21, 2015 Georgia Organics Conference Athens, GA February 20–21, 2015 Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education  Service (MOSES) Conference Lacrosse, WI February 26–28, 2015 Oregon Small Farms Conference Corvallis, OR February 28, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Connecticut (NOFA–CT) Winter Conference Danbury, CT March 7, 2015 Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing  Conference & Trade Show Sturbridge, MA TBD Mother Earth News Fair • Asheville Asheville, NC TBD Nevada Indoor Agricultural Conference (AG • NV) Las Vegas, NV TBD International Seed Federation (ISF) World  Seed Congress Kraków, Poland May 1–31, 2015 PNW Mother Earth News Fair (formerly in  Puyallup, WA) Albany, OR TBD