Texas Horticulture Opportunities Conference set for July 13-14 in San Marcos

Registration is open for the Texas Horticulture Opportunities Conference on July 13-14 in San Marcos, hosted by the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife.

The conference will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center, 1001 E. McCarty Lane. Registration is now open here. The Texas Horticulture Opportunities Conference is happening concurrently with the Texas Pecan Growers Association annual conference and trade show.

Conference offers look at alternative crops
As the Texas population grows and spreads, opportunities for home and farm-based businesses in horticulture are sure to follow, said Amit Dhingra, Ph.D., professor and head, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Bryan-College Station.

The conference offers a program for new landowners seeking information about horticulture crops and entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as for current agricultural producers looking to diversify their operations by introducing new or alternative specialty horticulture crops.

July 13 topics and speakers
The program on July 13 will run from 1-5 p.m. and open with a welcome reception and trade show viewing, followed by the topics and speakers:

The support system for horticulture opportunities in Texas – Dhingra.
Opportunities for marketing horticultural crops in Texas today – Manuel Garcia, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist and assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.
Go Texan, a program supporting horticulture opportunities in Texas – Casey Corley, marketing coordinator, Texas Department of Agriculture.
Horticulture: a growing opportunity – Jimmy Klepac, owner, Klepac Greenhouses Inc., Blanco.

The day will adjourn at 5 p.m., with a Texas Pecan Growers Association event at 6 p.m. for those who purchase a separate ticket.

July 14 topics and speakers
The program on July 14 will run from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., opening with remarks on pecans in Texas from Troy Swift, president of the Texas Pecan Growers Association. The day will feature the following topics and speakers:

Tree fruit growing and marketing – Tim Hartmann, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension statewide fruit specialist and assistant professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
Berry growing and marketing – Stephen Janak, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Hallettsville, and Dustin LaBat, owner, Specklebelly Farms, Weimar.
Cut flower production and marketing – Nicole Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Texas State University, San Marcos.
Vegetable production and marketing – Joe Masabni, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension vegetable specialist and professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, and Nick Farmer, owner, Gotham Greens, Seagoville.
Christmas trees in Texas – Andrew King, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research ornamental horticulturist and assistant professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Overton, and Damien Prause, owner, The Old Time Christmas Tree Farm, Spring.
Agritourism – Stacy Tomas, Ph.D., AgriLife Research instructional assistant professor, Arch H. Aplin III ’80 Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism, Bryan-College Station, and Duane Patrick, co-owner, Sunset Hill Tree Farm, Cleburne.

Breaks throughout the day will give attendees a chance to visit the Texas Pecan Growers Association trade show, and the conference will adjourn at 5:30 p.m.

Source: Texas A&M