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Quality Conference Program

The 2009 Australian Hydroponics & Greenhouse Association (AHGA) conference program will include a series of specialist workshops for individual grower sectors of the industry - vine vegetables, lettuce and Asian greens, flowers and herbs. Other workshops will focus on business planning for growers, getting the best out of your technology, and pesticide and food safety issues, a ‘must know’ for today’s growers.

The 2009 National Conference of the Australian Hydroponic & Greenhouse Industry will be held at the Sydney Showgrounds, Homebush, NSW, between 19-22 July. The event is expected to attract growers and industry experts throughout Australia and overseas.

With a theme of ‘Modernising Australian Farming’, a key speaker will be Ben Van Onna, a specialist in greenhouse environmental control, plant physiology and energy management. Ben is known to many vegetable and flower growers who have attended his training courses and workshops in the Netherlands and Australia. He is a highly regarded educator and advisor at PTC+, a world-class industry training institute in the Netherlands.

The purpose of any conference is to highlight the issues of the day, and to gain knowledge that will improve our business operation into the future. The two standout issues are the global economic crisis and climate change and no more will their impacts be felt than in the protected cropping industry. To canvas these issues will be the keynote presentation on the expected impacts of climate change on intensive horticulture, by horticulturist Gerard McEvilly, a specialist in supply chain issues and management, followed by a presentation on world economic trends (what should growers know?), by Frank Drum from the National Australia Bank. Of course, no business is sound without a succession plan and this will be covered by Chris Fry, the NAB National Manager for Agribusiness Financial Planning.

The conference program includes a number of overseas speakers including Dr Mike Nichols (NZ), who will discuss alternative greenhouse crops, and Donald Lester from JH Biotech (USA), who will give a presentation on biological control, past and present. Also visiting our shores will be Henk van Tuyl from Kubo Greenhouse Projects (the Netherlands), who will canvas the latest innovations in greenhouse construction.

The conference program includes a number of overseas speakers including Dr Mike Nichols (NZ), who will discuss alternative greenhouse crops, and Donald Lester from JH Biotech (USA), who will give a presentation on biological control, past and present. Also visiting our shores will be Henk van Tuyl from Kubo Greenhouse Projects (the Netherlands), who will canvas the latest innovations in greenhouse construction.
The conference program includes many other quality presentations with a focus on protected cropping technologies, and pest and disease control and management.

The Australian Hydroponic & Greenhouse Industry is valued at over $1 billion at the farm gate and directly employs an estimated 10,000 people throughout Australia. The industry is capital intensive with capital costs anywhere between $100 and $300 plus per square metre (m2), depending on the sophistication of the greenhouse and the level of equipment being included.

For further information and registration contact:
Conference Design Pty Ltd, 228 Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7000
Ph: (03) 6231 2999 Fax: (03) 6231 1522
Email: info@cdesign.com.au Website: www.cdesign.com.au

Further industry and conference background information can be found directly at: www.ahga.org.au