Badger Common’Tater March 2024 Issue
Draw of the Grower Education Conference & Industry Show is Stronger Than Ever
WPVGA & UW Division of Extension saw record attendance for trade show and researcher presentations
By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater
WPVGA Executive Director Tamas Houlihan (left) and Dr. Russell Groves, Professor and chair, UW-Madison Department of Entomology, prepare to welcome guests to the 2024 Grower Education Conference & Industry Show. The event is a dual effort between the WPVGA and UW Division of Extension.
There’s something special brewing in Wisconsin that has potato and vegetable growers, associated businesses, industry professionals, and the University of Wisconsin Extension buzzing.
Record attendance is once again a topic of conversation following the 2024 Grower Education Conference & Industry Show, February 6-8, at the Holiday Inn & Convention Center in Stevens Point.
A nationally respected potato conference, the Industry Show is now in its 74th year and continues to be a showcase for the state’s established potato and vegetable production area.
Unique as a dual effort between the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) and University of Wisconsin (UW) Division of Extension, the combined Grower Education Conference & Industry Show features researcher presentations and an established tradeshow under one roof.
Growers and industry professionals from across the country traverse the show floor, catching up with associates, networking, and forging new relationships, but also taking in a full slate of reports on current issues affecting farmers everywhere.
As part of the inaugural Student Leadership Development Workshop, selected university and technical college students attended the Conference & Industry Show, on Tuesday, free of charge.
They met with Mike Copas, senior agronomist for RPE, Inc., in the morning for a short initiation and continental breakfast before hitting the tradeshow floor to meet with exhibitors and learn about the vast business and career opportunities available to them.
The students attended the “Bringing Value to Agriculture” session consisting of five 10-minute presentations given by select exhibitors who apply for the opportunity to discuss new technologies, tools, services and approaches that their companies offer.
