Citrus and specialty crop producers should mark their calendars for the upcoming Florida Citrus Show, scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, in Fort Pierce, Florida.
This will be the second year of AgNet Media hosting the event, which will once again feature a tailgating theme with vendors exhibiting their products and services while sharing delicious foods. In addition, general and educational breakout sessions will feature experts in the citrus and specialty crop industries.
Josh McGill, show director, talked about this year’s event.
“We’re super excited about the 2024 event. 2023 was the first year that AgNet Media took over the Florida Citrus Show to give it a new spin and a new outlook. We started a tailgate-style format, where exhibitors got a chance to pull their trucks up and cook out with the growers. It definitely made for a more fun environment,” McGill said. “The growers were a little more relaxed and able to just network and communicate with the vendors while also having the opportunity to attend a great seminar program.
“A lot was added to the show last year. I think it was a great success, and we’re looking forward to bringing it back this year and making it even better.”
The show will be hosted at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida. Breakfast will be served at 8 a.m. before the first general session at 9 a.m. The tailgate party will commence at 11:10 a.m.
“We really weren’t sure what to expect with the tailgate format last year, but we had high hopes for it,” McGill said. “The show had been declining in the past, and we needed to find a way to breathe some new life in to it, so we took a gamble on the tailgate, and we couldn’t have received more positive feedback from both the growers and the vendors. Everyone really enjoyed the new format and it made for a much more fun event.”
Concurrent citrus and vegetable sessions will start after the tailgate party at 2 p.m. Educational sessions will feature experts from UF/IFAS and USDA.
Growers, professional crop advisers, association representatives, board members and the research community receive free attendance and complimentary breakfast and lunch at the Florida Citrus Show.
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