January 5, 2005
Indiana Horticultural Congress set for Jan. 24-26
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 2005 Indiana Horticultural Congress, which will take place Jan. 24-26 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Indianapolis, will address agritourism and small business issues in addition to topics related to fruit and vegetable production.
"The Horticultural Congress provides updates on production practices, pesticides, food safety, produce quality, specialty crops, market opportunities and other new concepts," said Peter Hirst, an associate professor of horticulture at Purdue.
In particular, this year's congress will feature a daylong session on agritourism, an emerging source of revenue for many operations. Roy Ballard, a Purdue Extension educator in Floyd County, said agritourism involves bringing the public to the farm, either to buy something directly from the producer or for entertainment or education.
Ballard, one of the session's organizers, said that agritourism is something more farmers are considering as a way to make their operations profitable while using existing resources.
"This event is part of Indiana's agritourism training initiative and is supported, in part, by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant," Ballard said. "We'll cover market analysis, the potential benefits and risks associated with agritourism, developing a business plan, and several other topics related to agritoursim."
The agritourism session is geared toward educators, local economic development coordinators, convention and visitors bureau staff, tourism professionals, small business development center staff and others who are interested in learning more about agritourism.
Other sessions at the Horticultural Congress include small business marketing, fruits, vegetables, raw products, organic certification, Hoosier botanicals and the Indiana Wine Grape Symposium.
Specific information about each of the sessions is available from the Horticultural Congress Web site.
Registration, which is due by is Jan. 20, costs $40 for members of the Indiana Wine Growers Guild, Indiana Horticultural Society, Indiana Vegetable Growers Association, Indiana Farm Marketing Association and Hoosier Organic Marketing Education. Non-member registration fee is $50. Cost to attend only the agritourism training is $20. The fee for the separate Raw Products Conference is $40. On-site registration is an additional $15. Details about costs for luncheons and banquets are available at the Web site or by calling (888) EXT-INFO.
Hotel reservations are available through the Adam's Mark Hotel, located at 2544 Executive Drive, by calling (317) 248-2481. A special conference room rate is available prior to Jan. 14 by mentioning the Indiana Horticultural Congress when making reservations.
Writer: Kay Hagen, (765) 494-6682, kjh@purdue.edu
Sources: Peter Hirst, (765) 494-1323, hirst@purdue.edu
Roy Ballard, (812) 948-5470, rballard@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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