Jan 16, 2015

Bay Area vegetable research, marketing update scheduled

Michigan State University Extension (MSU) is encouraging growers from the Bay and Thumb areas to attend a free meeting at the Portsmouth Township Hall in Bay City on Feb. 16 to learn more about last season and plan for the next.

Attendees will get to meet three of MSU's four vegetable production research specialists. In addition, MSU Extension’s Saginaw and Genesee county community food systems educator, Julia Darnton, will give an overview of the many local and state opportunities and incentives for selling fresh market vegetables.

The meeting also qualifies for RUP credits, and as a MAEAP Phase 1 Educational Session for the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program.

Topics to be addressed include Weed Control in Onions by Bernard Zandstra, MSU vegetable weed specialist; Disease Control in Onions and Vine Crops by Mary Hausbeck, MSU Vegetable plant pathologist; Insect Control in Onions, Cabbage and Sweet Corn by Zsofia Szendrei, MSU vegetable entomologist; and MAEAP Verification by Tom Young and Erik Palm.

The meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the Portsmouth Township Fire Hall, 1171 Cass Road, Bay City. Call the Saginaw Extension office at 989-758-2500 for more information.