The biennial UK Onion and Carrot Conference and trade exhibition will be held Nov. 14, 2017 at the East Midlands Conference Centre on the University of Nottingham campus in England. After several years of holding this industry event in Peterborough over two days, organizers decided to move the event nearer to the growing region and change the format to a one-day event.
The conference will feature a series of technical and marketing presentations relevant to both crop sectors with a breakout session in the morning where crop-specific agronomy presentations will be given.
The first set of results from the new AHDB Horticulture SCEPTRE-plus project, which trials crop protection products, will be presented with updates on any new potential active ingredients or products suitable for allium crops. John Clarkson of Warwick Crop Centre will summarize a new project that looks at the biology and control of Fusarium diseases across multiple crops, along with the development of molecular tools to identify and quantify multiple Fusarium species.
The afternoon session will include a grower’s view of the future of the carrot and onion industry from Andrew Francis, senior farms manager at Elveden Farms Ltd. based in Norfolk. Mark Tate, co-owner of the Midlands’ largest independent fresh produce wholesaler, George Perry, will explain why this outlet remains an important market for onions and carrots, which have a combined retail value of over 480 million pounds, according to Kantar.
The event, sponsored by Bayer and Elsoms Seeds/Bejo, will conclude with a dinner, giving attendees an opportunity to network with industry colleagues from home and abroad. In 2015, delegates from over 10 countries attended.
For more information, visit onionandcarrotconference.co.uk.
