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Thank You Seminar Sponsor!

Seminar schedule times are subject to change.

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Registration at Trade Show Entrance

Don't wait in line, pre-register today!

8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - Breakfast in Trade Show Hall

8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Trade Show Open

Visit exhibitor booths!

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Tailgate Party

Try exhibitor's tailgate food and vote for your favorite!

morning Session (8:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)

General Session

  • 9:00 - Welcome

    Frank Giles, AgNet Media, Scott Adkins, USDA Ron Cave, UF/IFAS

  • 9:15 - Federal Agriculture Priorities in 2024

    Mike Joyner, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association

  • 9:45 - Preserving Farm and Rural Lands

    Sue Mullins, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

  • 10:15 - The Endangered Species Act: Species Endangered or Florida Ag Endangered?

    Mike Aerts, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association; Brett Butlemeier, UF/IFAS

  • 11:00 - Lunchtime!

    Visit the vendors to sample their tasty tailgate dishes. AgNet Media will also be serving a full meal.

Afternoon Session (2:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.)

Citrus Seminars - Indian River Research and Education Center Auditorium


CEUs available

  • 2:00 - Welcome

    Session Moderator: Amir Rezazadeh, UF/IFAS

  • 2:10 - Florida Citrus Breeders Discuss What’s New and Recommended

    Matt Mattia, USDA; Kim Bowman, USDA; Jude Grosser, UF/IFAS; John Chater, UF/IFAS; Moderator: Flavia Zambon, UF/IFAS

  • 2:40 - Updates on Trunk-Injection Therapy Performance

    Ute Albrecht, UF/IFAS

  • 2:50 - Identifying New Therapies in a Grove-First Approach

    Randy Niedz, USDA

  • 3:00 - Water Farming in Florida

    Sandra Guzmán, UF/IFAS

  • 3:10 - Millennium Block and ‘MAC’ Trials: 4th Year Progress

    Flavia Zambon, UF/IFAS

  • 3:30 - Broadening the Sweet Orange Definition to Offset HLB

    Anne Plotto and Jinhe Bai, USDA

  • 3:20 - Improving Pectin Extraction and Characterization

    Wei Zhao, USDA

  • 3:40 - New Citrus Fertilizer Recommendations Update

    Kelly Morgan, UF/IFAS

  • 3:50 - Post-Harvest Fungal Disease Management

    Gabi Olmedo, USDA

  • 4:00 - Carbon Nanoparticles as Soil Enhancers for Improved Crop Yield

    Xiaoping Xin, UF/IFAS

  • 4:10 - Growers Discuss HLB Management Tactics

    Timothee Salin, George Hamner Jr., Matt Machata and Pat Schirard, Daniel Scott, Moderator: Mark Ritenour, UF/IFAS

  • 4:55 - Seminar Session Ends

Vegetable Seminars - U.S. Department of Agriculture Auditorium


CEUs Available

  • 2:00 - Vegetable Learning Stations

    Hands on learning for vegetable growers.

  • 2:30 - Welcome

    Moderators: Anna Mészáros, UF/IFAS; Erin Rosskopf, USDA

  • 2:40 - Origins of Florida’s Invasive Insect Species

    Muhammad “Zee” Ahmed, USDA

  • 2:50 - Thrips parvispinus Monitoring and Management

    Anna Mészáros and De-Fen Mou, UF/IFAS

  • 3:00 - Florida Vegetable Virus Update and Area-Wide Pest Management

    Clive Bock, USDA

  • 3:10 - Utilizing Banker Plants in Pest Management

    Cindy McKenzie, USDA

  • 3:20 - Saving Water and Money with Soil Moisture Sensors

    Craig Frey and Sandra Guzmán, UF/IFAS

  • 3:30 - Robotics and AI in Vegetable Production

    Yiannis Ampatzidis, UF/IFAS

  • 3:40 - Weed Identification and Management

    Calvin Odero, UF/IFAS

  • 3:50 - Food Safety Regulations Update

    Taylor O’Bannon, UF/IFAS

Visit the Vegetable Learning Stations

The vegetable learning stations will be open for growers to visit with experts on various production-oriented topics. The stations will be in the lobby of the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory. Plan to visit the stations from 2:00–2:30 p.m. or after the vegetable speakers’ session concludes.
The learning stations will feature the following topics:
  •  Thrips parvispinus Identification, Trapping, Monitoring and Management
  • Identification of Vegetable Viruses and Their Insect Vectors
  • Nematode Management by Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation
  • Technologies and Tools for Vegetable Production: Soil Moisture Sensors and Drones
  • Weed Identification and Management
  • Food Safety Update: Food Safety Modernization Act, Food And Drug Administration Assignments, On-Farm Readiness Reviews
    and Tomato Good Agricultural Practices
 
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Thursday, March 12, 2026

8:45 a.m. - Welcome

Frank Giles, AgNet Media

Mark Kistler, UF/IFAS

Scott Adkins, USDA

9:00 a.m. - Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) Data Portal Demonstration

Speaker TBD

9:15 a.m. - Fresh From Florida: Maximizing the Sunshine State Brand

Melissa Hunt, FDACS

9:25 a.m. - CRAFT Grower Panel: Optimizing the Program and Reporting Results

Moderator: Steven Hall

10:05 a.m. - Break and Visit Trade Show

10:45 a.m. - Citrus Research and Development Foundation Update

Rick Dantzler, CRDF

11:05 a.m. - How Transgenics Work and Its Future

Manjul Dutt, UF/IFAS

11:35 a.m. - Opportunities for the Integration of Genetically Modified Plants

Peter McClure, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

12:00 p.m. - Lunch and Visit Trade Show

Citrus Seminars

1:30 p.m. - UF/IFAS and USDA Citrus Breeders Panel

John Chater, UF/IFAS; Matt Mattia, USDA; Weston Johnson, The Coca Cola Company

2:00 p.m. - Large-Scale Variety Trials Update

Flavia Zambon, UF/IFAS

2:10 p.m. - HLB-Tolerant Varieties With Health-Promoting Compounds

Christina Dorado, USDA

2:20 p.m. - Grove First: Identifying HLB-Fighting Materials

Randy Neidz, USDA

2:40 p.m. - Research Updates on Oxytetracycline Trunk Injection

Ute Albrecht, UF/IFAS

2:50 p.m. - Stretching the Toolbox: Controlling Multiple Insect Pests in Citrus

Lukasz Stelinksi, UF/IFAS

3:00 p.m. - IrrigMonitor: What Research Shows and What Actually Works

Sandra Guzmán, UF/IFAS

3:10 p.m. - Citrus Black Spot: Disease Spread and Quarantine Status

Clive Bock, USDA

3:20 p.m. - Extreme Weather Pathways for Citrus Black Spot: Hurricane Dispersal and Freeze Effects

Weiqi Luo, USDA

3:30 p.m. - Post-Freeze Considerations and Extension Resources

Alissa Hevesh, UF/IFAS

Specialty Crop Seminars

1:30 p.m. - Building Better Banker Plants

Cindy McKenzie, USDA

1:40 p.m. - Current Methods for Managing Root-Knot Nematodes

Johan Desaeger, UF/IFAS

1:50 p.m. - Integrated Pest Management

Keji Li, UF/IFAS

2:00 p.m. - Innovative and Integrative Tools to Improve Organic Tomato and Strawberry Production

Xin Zhao, UF/IFAS

2:10 p.m. - Avocado Breeding for Central and South Florida

Anne Plotto, USDA

2:20 p.m. - Reducing Costs by Reducing Water

Sandra Guzmán, UF/IFAS

2:30 p.m. - Sugarcane: A Public/Private Partnership

Matt Rouse, USDA

2:40 p.m. - Novel Technologies: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Gregory Conde, UF/IFAS

2:50 p.m. - What’s the Hype About Regenerative Agriculture?

Jason Hong, USDA

3:10 p.m. - Grower Panel: Regional Specialty Crop Opportunities

To be announced

3:45 p.m. - END