For Immediate Release: Dec. 26, 2023

Contact:           Marilyn Bay Drake  303-594-3827 admin@coloradoproduce.org

Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association to Hold

10th Annual Conference Feb. 27-28, 2024 in Westminster,

Registration Now Open

The Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) will celebrate its tenth annual conference, Feb. 27-28, 2024, at the Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colo. CFVGA was established in 2014 as the only organization in the state representing all sizes, types and varieties of produce growers. Anyone with a stake in the Colorado produce industry is invited to attend. Conference goers have traditionally included farmers, allied industries, produce buyers, researchers, university personnel, CSU Extension employees and food system professionals.

“Until CFVGA was founded, produce growers did not have a single organization to advocate for them and provide resources specific to our industry,” said Roger Mix, Mix Farms, Center, Colo., who was earlier this year elected president of the CFVGA Board. “I have been a Board member for nine of the 10 years CFVGA has been in existence and am so pleased to see how it has grown in membership numbers, areas of activity and resources it provides to its growers.”

Employing the new format from 2023, the conference kicks off at noon Feb. 27 with a luncheon and membership meeting. All are invited to attend. The schedule continues into early evening the same day, resumes early morning on day two and concludes early that afternoon.  

Following the kick-off session, attendees can choose from a number of breakout sessions, including how to effectively use irrigation sensors, the new Food Safety Modernization Act ag water rule, affordable labor-saving ag technology, and mitigating weather-related crop losses. The Tuesday (Feb. 27) keynote session, to begin at 4:15, is “Climate: 2023 Weather, El Nino, 2024 and Beyond,” featuring Becky Bolinger, Colorado's assistant state climatologist.

The keynote to kick of Wednesday (Feb. 28) is “Growing for Human Health: The Science and Application of Produce Prescriptions,” where panelists will discuss the new movement to “prescribe” fruits and vegetables for health in lieu of medical prescriptions. The opening session will conclude with CFVGA’s annual awards and recognition ceremony. Breakout sessions on day two include how growers can participate and grants available for farm-to-school programs, getting started in the foreign work H-2A program, and opportunities for a skilled ag workforce through community college programs. New to the array of breakout choices will be an open session, where attendees come with topics or questions they want to discuss with their peers in the Colorado produce industry.

In addition to educational sessions, the conference features extended break times and two buffet-style receptions designed to provide plenty of networking time and opportunity for attendees to visit with exhibitors. CFVGA expects to have 40 or more exhibitors with everything from crop inputs, the latest in ag tech and services vital to Colorado’s produce industry. The conference will wind up with a noontime reception, followed by the very popular grower-buyer networking session, where growers and buyers of Colorado produce to meet each other in a fast-paced, speed dating type of format.

Registration is now open for individuals and for organizations and companies to become part of the line-up of exhibitors. See https://site.pheedloop.com/event/CFVGA24/home for more information.

The CFVGA is comprised of more than 250 members, including growers of all sizes and types of production throughout the state, as well as representatives of allied industries. The Colorado fruit and vegetable growing sector contributes nearly $485 million to Colorado at the farm gate and is multiplied as it goes through the distribution chain. Over 90,000 Colorado acres are in fruit and vegetable production. Learn more at coloradoproduce.org



-30-