grower strawberry - Henderson County Extension - NC State University

The

StraWberry

north carolina strawberry association

october 2010. vol. 16, NO. 9

2010 Expo Sponsors

NCSA Receives Grant for Marketing & Promotion

The NC Strawberry Association has just recently been informed that we have received funding for our proposal “Building the Market for N.C. Strawberries” from the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, administered by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The funding of $40,250, about twice what the Association received last year through this grant program, will allow us to expand the promotional campaign initiated last year. The project will include: • Direct promotions through the media across the state (such as radio and TV ads). • Consumer focus groups and surveys to gather consumer ideas and reactions to proposed promo materials. • More signage for strawberry farms and farm stands and point-of-purchase signs and information for supermarkets, restaurants, and schools that use local berries. (Signs that will work for nonNC members will be printed too.) • Increased media outreach across the state to encourage news and feature stories about strawberries. • Further development of our social networking promotions (Facebook, etc.) and website. • Exploring markets to wineries, processors, restaurants, and institutional and wholesale buyers. • Creating new tools for farmers such as group sales order forms, templates for flyers and coupons, and strawberry health benefits and recipe handouts. We’ll be able to contract some outside expertise to help us with design, video, media outreach, and focus groups, and will be looking for a media-savvy intern early next year. Be sure to attend the discussion about this at the Expo during the “Tools for Promotion” session on November 10 if you have some ideas and suggestions. There will also be many other opportunities for input. Members who might

Grower

V�r��i� Bea�� Register Now! To save printing and postage costs, most members were NOT mailed a separate conference brochure. Conference information and a registration form are in this newsletter. You may also find them at www.ncstrawberry.com (or in September’s newsletter). Be sure to register by Nov. 1 to avoid late fees. Remember that workshops may fill up early. Also, make your Expo hotel reservations at 800-365-3032 right away. Special conference rates at the Wyndham in Virginia Beach are guaranteed through October 7. While there is a good chance they will be extended, best not to count on it, especially as the Expo gets close. Contact the NCSA office if you experience any reservations issues. Spread the word: If you know a grower or supplier who might not know about the Expo, tell them! Contact the NCSA office to have an Expo brochure mailed or emailed to that person. See you at the beach... like to be on the advisory committee for the project should contact the NCSA office.v

These Sponsors have confirmed as of September 27, 2010. We thank them all very much for their support. Host Sponsor Military Aviation Museum Platinum Sponsors Virginia Farm Bureau North Carolina Farm Bureau Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Lassen Canyon Nursery Gold Sponsors Virginia Beach Farm Bureau Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau Virginia State University Colonial Farm Credit & AgCarolina Farm Credit Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Reddick Fumigants Country Folks Grower Silver Sponsors Nourse Farms Lewis Nursery and Farms Arysta Lifescience Cottle Strawberry Nursery Bronze Sponsor Cullipher Farms, Inc. Southern Container Corp of Wilson Mid-Carolina Packaging Natural Industries Hendrix & Dail Exhibitors There’s not enough room to list all exhibitors all here – more than 30 companies have now signed on to exhibit, and others are expected. We are pleased to have most of our “regular exhibitors” returning this year and to welcome several new exhibitors to the Strawberry Expo. To see the most current list of exhibitors, visit www.ncstrawberry.com/ docs/2010ExpoSponsorsExhibitors.htm.

Got Extra Plants? or Short a Few Rows? NCSA’s online Plant Sales Bulletin Board may help you buy or sell those plants. Check it out at www.ncstrawberry.com/B_S-plants.cfm. Contact the NCSA office if you need help posting or changing a listing.

Scientists and Chefs: A New Strawberry Partnership N.C. State University agricultural researchers and Johnson & Wales University culinary professionals and students are working together in a year-long “N.C. Strawberry Project.” The goal is to glean important information from the culinary industry, produce buyers, and consumers that the NCSU strawberry breeding program can use to breed a better NC strawberry. The project, supported by a $200,000 Golden LEAF Foundation grant, is the first to connect the culinary world with plant breeders, researchers and producers in this manner. Under the leadership of Johnson & Wales’s Chef Mark Allison, culinary experts and students will help identify the characteristics that culinary professionals and high-end restaurants are looking for in strawberries, such as flavor, color, texture and size. Chefs commonly serve as intermediaries between growers and consumers, which gives chefs a unique insider’s perspective of the fresh produce market demands of both parties.

Strawberry breeder and researcher Dr. Jeremy Pattison will incorporate the culinary feedback into his efforts to breed a better NC strawberry. The goal, says Pattison, is to develop superior strawberry varieties that will taste better and contain qualities that NC consumers, chefs and producers indicate are important. “Ultimately, we want to increase the economic value and impact of NC strawberries while enhancing the eating experience,” says Pattison. “The culinary industry looks for superior flavor and quality,” says Allison. “We’re teaching our students to seek out the best quality products. By working with NCState we connect our students with both researchers and farmers across the state.” Jeremy Pattison and Chef Allison will share details about the N.C. Strawberry Project during the “Cultivar Development Forum” at the SE Strawberry Expo on Tuesday. On Wed., Nov. 10, Chef Allison will speak in the general session and take part in the panel discussion on “Working with Chefs.” The N.C. Strawberry Project is a partnership of NCState University at the NC Research Campus (including the Plants for Human Health Institute and N.C. MarketReady) and Johnson &

“NC Agritourism Farm” Road Signs The NCDA&CS Agritourism Office has a new program offering “NC Agritourism Farm” road signs program for agritourism farms and vineyards. The program is designed to promote North Carolina’s agricultural economy by helping agritourism businesses. Participating farms must meet standards of good agritourism practices. Applicants first fill out a “Goodness Grows in NC” application and then have an onfarm interview. The metal signs are available to successful applicants for $20. For more information, visit www.ncagr.gov/markets/ agritourism/ or call Martha Glass at 919-707-3120.

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The Strawberry Grower, October 2010

Wales University in Charlotte. This project received support from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Visit www.ncmarketready.org for more information.

Get Listed North Carolina growers: take a moment to make sure that you are listed in the NC Department of Agriculture’s “General Store” – www.visitncfarms.com – which promotes NC products. This is a free service. Categories include Produce (one subdivision is Fruits/berries), Agritourism, Bake shops, Gift Baskets, Restaurants, and many more. You fill out an online application, and select your own user id and password so that you can edit your page whenever you want to or need to. If you have a webpage, you can link it to your General Store page. While you are at it, make sure you sign up at www.ncfarmfresh.com/. The process is similar. Does your farm have a CSA? Contact [email protected] to be added to a list of CSA farms across the state. www. ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/csafarms.html. Growers in other states will find that most states have similar programs for the state’s farm products.

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My Impending Retirement By Barclay Poling, Professor & Extension Specialist, NCSU It has been a real privilege for me to serve such an exciting strawberry industry here in North Carolina and around the Southeast over these last 31 years! As word of my planned retirement (at the end of December) gets out, I have had calls from growers as far away as Maine saying they would miss my advisories and my occasional talks at winter meetings in the Northeast. One grower left the following message on my phone the other day: “Yup, I read that you are officially retiring at the end of the year, but I don’t think you’re finished with strawberries!” He’s basically right! I am planning to stay quite active in strawberry research, and I am really looking forward to doing some travel to strawberry growing areas in other parts of the world over the next few years. In discussing my impending retirement with some growers the other week, I did let it slip out that with a little more quiet time now I just might take a stab at writing a book on strawberry plasticulture. You just can’t imagine all the different strawberry experiences I have had over three decades, and I believe the time has come to get this information organized and written up! I would begin with a little history, and I will recount our industry’s transition from matted row culture and varieties in the early 1980s to the much more technologically advanced strawberry plasticulture system that is now the standard growing system in North Carolina and across so many areas of U.S. and even Canada! Plasticulture has been such a boon for both on-farm and off-farm sales of locally grown strawberries. And, it is terrific to see so much more funding and excellent work going into the marketing of local strawberries here in North Carolina and other states as well. I have been eligible for full retirement since January of this year, and some of my close colleagues in extension from North Carolina and other states have asked me why I haven’t pursued it until now. Each time I would tell them that this would be a terrible time to retire with so many exciting opportunities that are now occurring in local food production and marketing. Small and medium size farmers as well as urban commercial producers, need top

Dr. Poling examining strawberry plants in one of the high tunnels at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, NC. Photo by Debby Wechsler. flight extension agents to help them grow their local food economies. However, public extension programs, including my own, have been having problems with funding in recent years, and I really don’t know what the answer is going to be for us to keep quality extension education running in the future. But I think it is critical for us to keep trying to find ways to support extension. We’re not trying to sell anything. Our job is to provide you with the most accurate information we can, but that takes money, too! Just the several weather service subscriptions I have for berry mg advisories cost over $1,500/year, and then there is the need to travel! Without travel budgets, visits from extension workers to the front-line become less and less frequent. Over time you lose program relevancy if you are not making grower site visits. As I told a number of close friends in extension the other day, I am not disappearing after January 1, and I am actually looking forward to discussions with my department, the university and the regional strawberry plasticulture industry on a plan that could potentially lead to NC State refilling my position in the future. My wife and I have nearly 65 years of public service between us, and we are both retiring at about the same time – Lindy has been teaching for 34 years! Neither of us have any immediate work plans for the

future, but I can assure you that we will be taking some type of vacation in the early New Year. Of course, that vacation will have to be scheduled around two winter meetings in January (the SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Meeting in Savannah on January 8, and the 2011 Congress of the Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association on January 17). By the time of the Strawberry Expo in Virginia Beach I should have my new Professor Emeritus business card printed up so that we can stay in touch!v What can we say? What a change this will be! The NC Strawberry Association will work very hard to try to see that NCSU fills the hole that Dr. Poling will leave and that North Carolina will continue to have a strong program of strawberry extension. You can catch Barclay’s expertise at the Strawberry Expo: He’lll be leading the workshop on Strawberry Plasticulture for Northern and Higher Elevation Growers, presenting in the breakout sessions on Using Weather Information, Row Cover Managment, and Day Neutrals, and of course always available for questions.

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New Processing Plant for Strawberries A new food processing facility in Halifax, NC, will process strawberries and other fruits and vegetables. The company, Empire Foods, has licensed technology licensed from NC State University. Products retain up to 98 percent of their antioxidants and nutrients, and are shelf-stable for up to a year without refrigeration. There are no added sugars, preservatives, or artificial flavorings. At its February 2010 meeting, the Board of Directors of the NC Strawberry Association had the opportunity to sample strawberries that had been processed through this technology, which was explained as quick, high-intensity microwaves that sterilize the fruit without fully cooking it. The pureed fruit was packaged in a Mylar bag (kind of like aseptic juice bags for kids). Board members agreed that the pureed strawberries tasted very much like freshly thawed, unsweetened strawberries and were great on ice cream. The company will initially focus on selling large packages to hotels, restaurants, schools, the military, and other institutions. It is easy to imagine how nice it would be for the military to be able to serve nutritious and tasty fruit in a frontline situation without having to use refrigeration! In its trial phases, Empire Foods has been using Chandler and Camarosa strawberries, but plans to work with NCSU strawberry breeder Jeremy Pattison to determine if other existing or newly developed varieties are more suited to this processing industry. Growers for whom processing is a major market may also end up following somewhat different production and harvest practices than for fresh market. According to Michael Drozd, president of Empire Foods, the plant is expected to open sometime in June, 2011—likely too late for the anything but the tail end of the NC strawberry harvest. Empire Foods expects to start discussing its strawberry production needs with growers in early summer 2011. According to the company’s website, it is committed to buying locally and supporting local farmers. Stay tuned for more information about how strawberry growers can work with this new enterprise.v Visit www.empfoods.com to learn more.

October– November Growers Checklist q Later than normal planting by one week is okay; two weeks will decrease yields. q Overhead irrigation is nice for plug establishment, but not essential if irrigation resources are limited – you can establish plugs with drip irrigation. Be sure to hook up the system before planting. q Irrigate fresh dug plants from 9 am to 5 pm for 7-12 days. If you have enough water, irrigate plugs 5 hours the first day, 3 hours the second and 2 hours the third day. (More may be needed if it is hot and sunny.) Don’t start irrigation in the morning until you see fresh dugs beginning to wilt down slightly. q Check for dead plants and reset ASAP. Send suspicious-looking plants to the Disease & Insect Clinic for positive ID. q Watch plants for pest problems, includ-

Seeking Nominations The NC Strawberry Association seeks two kinds of nominations from its members this year:

Board of Directors Three seats will be open. Please nominate someone you think would be good – also feel free to nominate yourself if you are interested in serving. Being a board member is an excellent way to learn about the strawberry industry, to give back to the Association, and to have influence on the Association’s activities. The Board is responsible for managing the directions of NCSA, deciding research grants, and setting the budget. It usually meets twice a year, (in December and February), and board members are compensated for travel to these meetings. Members also serve on committees (e.g., Research, Expo, Marketing) and are asked to give input throughout the year via email or phone. Board members serve three-year terms and may serve two terms in succession (all of this year’s expiring board members are eligible for re-nomination). Any member may serve on the board: not just those from NC and not just growers (though the bylaws specify that only grow-

ing deer. Cutworms may be a problem in fresh dug plantings and in plug trays. q Hand weed emerging winter weeds established in the row near the strawberry plants. q Examine plants monthly for crown development. There should be 1 crown in Oct, 2 in November and 2-3 by December, in a normal year. q Place order for row covers NOW; these will help to greatly conserve irrigation water for frost protection next spring. q Consider removing dead leaves from plants in Nov–Dec to minimize grey mold. Don’t hand prune if anthracnose is know to be present. q Plan to attend the SE Strawberry Expo.

ers can become officers). As members’ leaders and representatives, board members, play an important role. Elections for board members will take place at the NCSA Annual Meeting at the Southeast Strawberry Expo. To make a nomination: The board members whose terms are expiring this year are Doug Patterson, Jim Warenda, and Tom Baker. They also serve as the nominating committee; contact the NC office or any of them with your nominations. (Addresses and phone numbers are on the back page.)

Grower of the Year Each year, the Strawberry Association gives out a “Grower of the Year” award. The Board of Directors requests your nominations of an outstandng grower for this award. The previous winners, since we instated this as an annual process in 1999, are an illustrious group: Ira Cline, D. L. Tuttle, Ervin Lineberger, Keith Hill, Bill Lewis, John Vollmer, Karma Lee, Tommy Shingleton, Mitchell Wrenn, James Cooley, and Joan and Kenneth Rudd. To make a nomination: Contact the NCSA office or any member of the board with your suggestion. v


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A Few Points from the Summer Pre-plant Meetings By Barclay Poling, NCSU Extension Specialist (Small Fruits) We had some wonderful pre-plant meetings this past summer in all regions of North Carolina as well as an excellent meeting in South Carolina (Lexington) organized by Dr. Powell Smith, Clemson University. I was also able to participate in a summer pre-plant meeting in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The meetings were very relevant to the needs of local growers, and I sincerely appreciate the great leadership of our extension agents in organizing these programs, as well as the financial support provided by industry suppliers for the meals. In general, the spring 2010 strawberry season earned good marks from customers for wonderful flavor and berry size, but it was a crop that most growers will remember for its generally unimpressive yields. It was an especially short season for Camarosa. Ironically, Camarosa is a variety that has the potential in some years to pick for up to 7-8 weeks, but for most farmers the Camarosa season only lasted about 3-plus weeks in 2010. Camarosa is definitely a more fickle variety to grow than Chandler, and I made a special point at all the pre-plant meetings this summer to stress that in colder regions like the piedmont of NC, growers need to be very careful about planting too much of this variety. Almost without exception, Chandler turned in the best yield performance in 2010. It came as real shock to many growers that we achieved some of our highest Chandler yields in the state of North Carolina last season in the Upper Mountains. In our 2009-2010 row cover trial in Laurel Springs we produced about 28,000 lbs/acre of marketable Chandler berries with mid-September transplanting (as opposed to the first or third week of September), and with the use of row covers that were applied in either mid-November or Mid-December, and then left in place until early March. Row covers applied in midJanuary had significantly lower yields. In the piedmont of North Carolina we had less consistent results with winter row covers, but we did experience a very significant planting date effect at the Piedmont Research Station, in Salisbury, NC. One thing that we did not ‘control for’ in

the Camarosa row cover study here was the heat wave that occurred in the first week of April 2010 (reported in an earlier newsletter). I have a nagging suspicion that with a more aggressive evaporative cooling program we might have seen more effect on yield from row covers. But, as the data stands, neither row cover timing (mid-Nov, mid-Dec, mid-Jan or none), or weight (1.0, 1.5 oz) had any effect on yield. When in doubt, repeat the whole study! That is exactly what we are doing right now. On 9/23/10 we made our first planting of Camarosa plugs, and we will make additional plantings on 9/30 and 10/6 to see what kind of planting date effect on yield we might see in 2011. We have also repeated all of our row cover treatments. Next year, I assure you, we will be taking the appropriate control measures – evaporative cooling for warm/hot conditions and row covers plus irrigation for extreme cold weather. Retired or not, I am determined to get this winter row cover program for the piedmont figured out one of these years!

Row Covers at the Expo In the Strawberry Expo session on row covers in Virginia Beach, we will be discussing these questions: Can fall-applied row covers offset later planting dates? How do different varieties and plant types interact with row covers? Is it possible to use 0.6 oz row covers in the early fall to enhance the development of cut-off plants? How do row covers influence plant hardening in the late fall/early winter? Should row covers be removed during a January thaw? When should irrigation be initiated on top of a row cover in late winter? How well do row covers advance the crop in a colder winter like last year vs. a milder winter season? How much frost protection do different weight row covers really provide? Please plan on joining us for this session; I look forward to hearing about your experiences with row covers this past year.v

Grant Programs for Farmers, Researchers, and Extension

on small fruit crops in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Maximum funding level is $5,000. The deadline for receiving proposals is October 29, 2010, For more information, email tom_monaco@ncsu. edu.  The California Strawberry Commission invites qualified researchers from public and private research organizations to request funding for projects that will directly benefit the California strawberry industry [and hopefully the Southeastern industry as well!]. Deadline for submitting proposals is October 27, 2010. For the full RFP, contact Dan Legard at dlegard@ calstrawberry.org or 831-724-1301.

If you send in a strawberry-related proposal, contact the NC Strawberry Association if you would like a letter of support.  The Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFIUSA) is offering cost-share grants of up to $10,000 for individual farmers and up to $30,000 for farmer groups. Deadline for applicants in is November 19, 2010 in the Central and West regions, later in the Coastal and Western Piedmont. “How to Apply” workshops are being scheduled across the state. For information and application materials please visit: www. ncfarmgrants.org or call Julius Tillery, at 919-259-4101.  Southern SARE Producer Grant Program. These are sustainable agriculture grants to farmers. Deadline is November 15, 2010. For details, visit www. southernsare.uga.edu/callpage.htm  Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC) requests proposals for calendar year 2011 to support pertinent applied research and outreach activities


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Study on Organic Strawberry Farms From ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2010) — Side-by-side comparisons of organic and conventional strawberry farms and their fruit found the organic farms produced more flavorful and nutritious berries while leaving the soil healthier and more genetically diverse. The study analyzed 31 chemical and biological soil properties, soil DNA, and the taste, nutrition and quality of three strawberry varieties on more than two dozen commercial fields – 13 conventional and 13 organic.All the farms in the study were in California. Among their findings: • The organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds. • The organic strawberries had longer shelf life. • The organic strawberries had more dry matter, or, “more strawberry in the strawberry.”v See www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010 /09/100901171553.htm. The full study is at www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi% 2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012346.

Calendar  Indicates events sponsored by the NC Strawberry Association. Please send in info about upcoming events We will also post them on our website. November 4-6 – Second National Berry Congress, Zamora, Mexico. Strawberries, caneberries, blueberries; sessions in both English and Spanish. Visit www.congresodeberries.com.mx for more information. November 8-10 – Southeast Strawberry Expo, Virginia Beach, VA. Make reservations at the Wyndham at 800-3653032 by October 7 or as soon thereafter as possible. Be sure to mention “Strawberry Expo.” And register now! Nov. 30-Dec. 1 – Southeast Vegetable and Fruit Expo, Kingston Plantation Embassy Suites Hotel, Myrtle Beach, SC. For more info visit www.ncvga.com/. January 6-9, 2011– North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference and Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, Savannah, GA. For more info visit www.raspberryblackberry.com or www.gfvga.org.

February 8-11, 2011 – NASGA Annual Conference and North American Strawberry Symposium, in Tampa, FL. For more information, email North American Strawberry Growers Association at info@ nasga.org or visit www.nasga.org. February 17-18 – Agritourism Networking Association Conference, Little River Golf & Resort, Pinehurst, NC. For information, contact Martha Glass at 919-7337887 x 276 or [email protected]. June 27-29, 2011 – Berry Health Benefits Symposium, Westlake Village, CA. The symposium is sponsored by every major berry organization in the U.S., who join together in an effort to make the message of berries and health available to media, industry, academia and the public. The symposium is presented by the National Berry Crops Initiative, a nationwide organization whose mission is to develop a strategic plan for the continued growth and sustainability of berry crop production in the U.S. (NC Strawberry Association is a member). For more information, visit www.berryhealth.org.

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Site of the Expo Farm Tour Dinner!

The 2010 Southeast Strawberry Expo

Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel November 8-10, 2010

V�r��i� Bea�� Intensive Workshops

All workshops take place on Monday, Nov. 8, 9:00 am-12:00 noon. Attendance for all workshops is limited and preregistration is required. Note that workshops are concurrent, and each person can attend only one. ► Strawberry Plasticulture for the southeast. For new g rowers, potential growers, and those in their first few years of production. Led by growers Mitchell Wrenn (Zebulon, NC) and Kenneth Rudd (Greensboro, NC), and NC Regional Agronomist David Dycus. They all offer many years of experience. Expect lots of practical information in a casual session that encourages questions and discussion. Fee includes the Strawberry Plasticulture Notebook and a CD of resources. ► Strawberry Plasticulture for Northern and HIGHER ELEVATION growers. This very special workshop focuses on the unique needs and issues of colder climate growers. It is being offered by Dr. Barclay Poling (NC State University), Kathy Demchak (Penn State), and Bob Rouse (U of MD, retired). Topics include production overview, plant choices, management for various weather conditions, and more. Fee includes a resource notebook and CD. ► Organizing your farm business. What is the best legal structure for your farm? How can your choices help you minimize taxes and health and liability insurance costs, provide insurance and other benefits to family and staff, protect family and farm assets, pass on the farm to your children, and reduce risks? Learn from the experts! Led by Ted Feitshans, NCSU Dept. of Agriculture & Resource Economics, and Alex White, instructor in Management and Finance at Virginia Tech. A portion of all workshop fees will go to the NC Agriculture Foundation for support of the salary of Dr. Poling’s assistant, Rocco Schiavone.

Strawberries at the Beach ...

For the first time ever, the Southeast Strawberry Expo leaves North Carolina and heads north to Virginia Beach. Bring your family and make the Expo a vacation – the Virginia Beach area offers many attractions, from beach strolls to deep sea fishing, to a visit to the Virginia Aquarium or to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, or Yorktown (all about an hour away). First Landing State Park, with 20 miles of trails on 2,888 acres, is only a few blocks from our hotel. For more information, contact the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.VBFun.com or 800-822-3224.

EXPO Farm Tour

The farm tour, on Monday afternoon, Nov. 8, visits three farms in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach: Brookdale Farm (Tom & Anne Baker), Cullipher Farm Market (the Cullipher family), and the Henley Farm & Market (G.W. Henley & family), seeing both production fields and farm market facilities. All three farms market direct to the public and have varied marketing programs and multiple crops. The tour concludes at a very special site, the Military Aviation Museum (www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/). Participants will tour the museum, eat dinner together, and enjoy an entertaining speaker, John Parker, Executive Director of the Virginia Pork Industry Board. The tour will maximize “seeing” and minimize “riding” as all stops and dinner are within four miles of each other. Charter buses leave the Wyndham Hotel at 12:30. While you may drive on your own (maps available), we encourage you to ride the bus for relaxation, conversation, safety, and gas savings. You may order box lunches to eat on the way.

A Brief Schedule of Sessions

A list of presenters is posted at www.ncstrawberry.com. Pesticide Recertification Credits will be available for some sessions. Breakout sessions are concurrent – attend the sessions of your choice. For more information contact the NCSA office. Schedule subject to change.

Sunday, November 7 8:00 pm –

Hospitality Room at the Wyndham for early arrivals

8:00-9:00 9:00 am -12:00 noon

Workshop Registration Workshops: Strawberry Plasticulture for Northern Growers Strawberry Plasticulture for the Southeast Structuring Your Farm Business Registration for Tour 12:30 Buses for tour depart. Farm Tour: Three farms in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach Farm Tour Dinner at the Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach. Dinner speaker: John Parker, Virginia Pork Industry Board Hospitality Room at Wyndham Hotel Exhibitor setup

Monday, November 8

Accommodations The Wyndham Virginia Beach OceanFront is our host hotel. The special conference rate is only $70 per night. You can receive the same rate if you choose to extend your stay before or after the Expo. Phone 800-3653032 to make r eservations. Be sure to mention “Strawberry Expo.” This rate is guaranteed until October 7. Make your reservations soon, especially if you plan to stay Nov. 5 or 6. If you delay, rates may go up or rooms may be sold out. The Wyndham is a full-service hotel with an in-house restaurant, free parking, free wireless throughout the hotel, full room amenities, and an indoor/outdoor heated pool. The hotel offers a free local shuttle. See www.wyndham.com/ hotels/ORFVB.

Travel The hotel is located on the oceanfront on Atlantic Avenue at 57th Street, north of the Virginia Beach boardwalk district. Take Interstate 264 into Virginia Beach, exit onto Hwy 58 East (Laskin Road), then turn left on Hwy. 60 (Pacific Avenue, which will eventually become Atlantic Avenue). You can also take Interstate 264 all the way to Hwy 60. The Wyndham’s address is 5700 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. The closest airport is the Norfolk International Airport (ORF) 20 miles away. Rental cars and airport shuttle service (www.one-transportationsolution.com/norfolk.html) are available.

Meals Continental Breakfast in the trade show each morning and Lunch on Tuesday, Nov. 9 are included in all registrations. Dinner on Tuesday is on your own. Virginia Beach has many restaurants nearby. Hospitality Rooms are open each evening for informal discussion and socializing. Monday’s hospitality room is by the indoor pool... bring your suit or dabble your toes!

Special FEATURES Q & A Breakfast: On Wednesday morning, for both novice and not-so-new growers. A

11:00-12:15 12:30-5:30 6:30 8:30 pm – 8:30-10:00

Tuesday, November 9

6:30-7:30 am Exhibitor setup 7:30-9:00 Registration. Trade show open all day. Continental Breakfast in Exhibit Area. 9:00-10:30 GENERAL SESSION Grower Spotlight: Lisa & David Schacht, Canal Winchester, Ohio. Welcome and talk by Matt Lohr, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and direct market farmer 10:30-11:00 Break in Exhibit Area. 11:00-12:00 Using Weather Strawberry Insect Working with the Media Breakouts Information Management 12:00-1:30 LUNCH & NCSA Annual Meeting with Board Elections, NCSA activity/research reports, and Awards presentations. 1:30-2:40 Weed Control for New Recommendations Social Media for Your Breakouts Strawberries for Disease Control Farm 2:45 -3:50 Understand Your Plants Fumigation Update: Big Farming on the Urban Breakouts & Your Plant Supply Changes, New Info Fringe 3:50-4:20 Break in Exhibit Area. 4:20-5:30 Cultivar Development Non-fumigation and Being Prepared for the Breakouts Forum Non-chemical controls Unexpected 5:30 Dinner on Your Own 8:-00 – Hospitality by the Pool at the Wyndham Hotel

Wednesday, November 10

7:30-8:30 am Registration. Continental Breakfast in Exhibit Area. Trade Show open until noon. 7:30-8:30 Q & A Breakfast for New and Not-so-new Growers 8:30-9:30 GENERAL SESSION: Grower Spotlight: Shawn & Tracey Harding, Southside Farm, Chocowinity, NC 9:30-10:40 Working with the New Row Cover Working with Chefs Fumigation Regulations Management 10:40-11:10 Break in Exhibit Area 11:10-12:20 Fumigation Regulations Summer & Fall Tools for promotionBreakouts cont’d. Strawberries: Day Roundtable discussion Neutrals 12:30 Conference closes.

chance to ask questions – dumb or otherwise – that came to your mind during the previous days of the Expo. Respirator Fit Testing and Medical Clearance – In 2011, new EPA regulations for most fumigants will require respirator safety training, fit testing, medical clearance, and full-face respirators for two people at any fumigation. You’ll have the opportunity to get these at a savings of at least $90/person for NC growers (lesser discounts for non-NC, as this is through an NC

grant). Indicate in the registration form’s “Follow Up Questions” that you are interested in this. We will let you know how to sign up for the individually scheduled sessions.

REGISTRATION fees Operator/first registrant fees include a year’s membership in the NC Strawberry Association, all sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, lunch on Tuesday, and the Expo Proceedings. Out-of-state growers who currently pay the NC Strawberry Assessment may register at in-state

rates. The membership fee, if paid separately, would be $50 for NC and $65 for non-NC. The membership portion of each registration includes $5 for the NC Strawberry Association Scholarship Fund. Members receive The Strawberry Grower newsletter (10x/year), discounts on publications and signs, and other benefits. Additional persons are spouse, family members, employees, etc. These receive lunch and admission to all Tuesday/Wednesday sessions but not a separate membership or Proceedings. Student/Extension fees include Tues/Wed. sessions, lunch, Proceedings, and a year’s news-

letter subscription, but not membership. A special Extension membership rate is offered below. Children are welcome at the Expo. Children under 6 are free. Children 6-14 pay reduced registration fees. You may discount each child’s tour/ dinner/bus registration by $15. Welcome Grower discount is for any grower attending the Expo for the first time. Late Registrations: There is a $10 late fee for registrations received after November 1 or at the door. Late registrations may be called in or faxed to 866-511-6660 and paid via credit card or at the door.

Registration Form

Register by November 1 to avoid a late fee! All contact information you provide will also be printed in the NCSA 2011 membership directory unless you indicate otherwise. If your spouse or farm partner is not attending, but should be listed in this directory, please provide name.

WORKSHOPS

Refunds/Cancellations: A full refund minus a $15 processing fee is available for cancellations requested by November 1. After November 1, partial refunds may be requested.

Trade show Visit www.ncstrawberry.com for an up-to-date list of vendors as they register. If you are interested in being an exhibitor or sponsor of the Expo, please call Debby Wechsler at 919-542-4037.

QUESTIONS? E-mail [email protected] or call 919-542-4037. During the Expo, call cell phone 919-545-6746.

A portion of fees from these workshops will go to the NC Agricultural Foundation to support strawberry research.

# of persons

Additional persons attending __________________________________

Strawberry Plasticulture for Northern Areas $75 Additional family/farm members $45 Strawberry Plasticulture for the Southeast $75 Additional family/farm members $45 Organizing Your Farm Business $75 Additional family/farm members $45

_______________________________________________________

FARM TOUR

Cost

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________

County (if NC) ____________________________________________

Bus, Tour, & Dinner $40 ____ Tour & Dinner only (driving on own) $25 ____ Optional Box Lunch $9 ____ q Please send me a map so I can drive the tour on my own.

If strawberry grower, acreage in strawberries for 2011 harvest: ___________

MAIN EXPO REGISTRATION

Name ___________________________________________________ Farm/business name ________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________ City ______________________________State_______ Zip _________

Home phone ______________________________________________ Farm/work phone ___________________________________________ Cell phone _________________________________________________ Fax ______________________________________________________ E-mail _________________________________________________ Website: ___________________________________________________ Please send my newsletter via: q U.S. mail (paper) q E-mail (pdf file)

follow-up questions q I am interested in riding a bus/van from NC to the Expo. Please contact me. q I am interested in respirator fit & fitness testing. Let me know how to sign up. q I have special dietary or accessiblity requirements: ____________________ _______________________________________________________________

Can’t come to the Expo?

To join the NC Strawberry Association or renew your membership, and/or request Proceedings, check appropriate items below, fill in name and address section above and payment section to right, and send to NCSA. q New membership q Renewal membership q NC resident ($50) q Out-of-state ($65) q Extension/research/NCDA/student ($15) q Please send 2010 Proceedings ($10)

TOTAL _______________

All First Registrant fees include a year’s membership in the NC Strawberry Association and Proceedings of the Expo (See “Registration Fees”. Different NC and non-NC fees simply reflect NC Strawberry Association membership fees.) NC residents Non-NC # of persons Cost First Registrant Tues & Wed $110 $125 ____ _________ Wed only $75 $95 ____ _________ Additional Persons Tues & Wed $45 $45 ____ _________ Wed only $20 $20 ____ _________ Student/Extension Tue & Wed $45 $50 ____ _________ Student/Extension membership $15 $15 ____ _________ Child (6–14) $25 $25 ____ __________

Welcome Grower discount (see info above) Late registration charge $10

_________

(If received later than November 1 or at the door)

TOTAL DUE Payment by: q Check

– $25

$________________

q Visa q MasterCard

q Discover

Card # _________________________________________Exp..________ Name on card_______________________________________________ Please make checks payable to NC Strawberry Association or NCSA.

MAIL FORMS TO: NC Strawberry Association 1138 Rock Rest Rd., Pittsboro, NC 27312 FAX TO: 866-511-6660 (toll-free) Questions, call 919-542-4037 Wyndham Hotel REservations: 800-365-3032

2010 NCSA Board of Directors Doug Patterson (President) 3060 Millbridge Rd. China Grove, NC 28023 704-857-5242 Michael Beal (Vice President) 936 Kildee Church Rd. Ramseur, NC 27316 919-795-1181 Jim Warenda (Treasurer) 7802 Sadie Rd. Kenly, NC 27542 252-237-1260 Tom Baker 2060 Vaughan Rd. Virginia Beach, VA 23457 757-721-0558 Eddie Denny 6633 Old Roxboro Rd. Oxford, NC 27565 919-693-4131 David Dycus 250 Dycus Rd. Sanford, NC 27330 919-776-9338 Bernie Kenan 6126 Jonquil Drive Greensboro, NC 27407 336-852-1594 Karma Lee 2700 Holland Rd. Apex, NC 27502 919-303-0339

Sue Leggett 3593 W. Old Spring Hope Rd. Nashville, NC 27856 252-459-4961 Advisors Jim Ballington NCSU, Box 7609 Raleigh, NC 27695 919-515-1214 Gina Fernandez (on sabbatical) Kevin Hardison NCDA Marketing Division 1020 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699 919-733-7136 Zvezdana Pesic vanEsbroeck NCSU Box 7616 Raleigh, NC 27695 919-515-7781 Barclay Poling NCSU, Box 7609 Raleigh, NC 27695 919-515-1195

North Carolina Strawberry Association, Inc. 1138 Rock Rest Rd. Pittsboro, NC 27312

r the o f w o ! ter N Regis erry Expo b S traw In this issue: Strawberry Expo Information and Registration Form New Promo Grant Points from the Preplant Meetings Partnering with Chefs Organic Research

october 2010 12


The North Carolina Strawberry Association, Inc. Debby Wechsler, Executive Secretary 1138 Rock Rest Rd., Pittsboro, NC 27312 phone: 919-542-4037 fax: 866-511-6660 (toll-free) e-mail: [email protected] website: www.ncstrawberry.com © 2010, NC Strawberry Association, Inc. This newsletter is a benefit of membership in the association. For more information about membership or the association, or to submit an article to the newsletter, contact Debby Wechsler, Executive Secretary, at the above address. Newsletter Schedule: The Strawberry Grower is generally published on a monthly basis except for Nov/Dec and Jan/Feb issues, near the beginning of each month. Send items for inclusion by the 20th of the previous month, or contact the NCSA office about final deadlines. Advertising rates: Contact the NCSA office to receive a rate sheet or quote. Word ads (Buy & sell listings) are free to members for up to two issues. All ads should be camera-ready; digital ads preferred. additional charges may apply for typesetting and layout. For more information, please contact Debby Wechsler at the above address. DISCLAIMER: INFORMATION IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE BUT ITS ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND INTERPRETATION ARE NOT GUARANTEED AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED ON AS A SOLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION.