News
Previewing this year’s Ohio Short Course

May 24, 2012, Columbus, OH — The finishing details are being put into
place for this year’s OFA Short Course, the largest horticulture event
in the U.S.

May 24, 2012, Columbus, OH — The finishing details are being put into place for this year’s OFA Short Course, the largest horticulture event in the U.S.
 
Set for July 14-17 at the Greater Columbus Convention Centre, the Short Course will once again offer a world of products, solutions, education, and networking opportunities that will prove invaluable for the industry’s growers as they prepare for 2013 and beyond.

GROWER SOLUTIONS

Finding the educational sessions and product and service information that will benefit growers’ businesses has never been easier.

The Grower Solutions programming presents an array of answers and opportunities to greenhouse owners, managers, and growers who seek to address their specific operational and production concerns. Growers Solution showcases this information in two ways.

Education Sessions: More than 35 educational sessions and workshops will be available for growers. Led by instructors with hands-on expertise in their given fields, these classes range from basic production techniques to the use of biofungicides and the latest varieties on the market. Sessions fall within 14 categories covering the gamut of the challenges that face growers each season. These categories include:

•    Crop-Specific Production Issues

•    Production – Advanced

•    PGRs

•    Production – Basics

•    Veggies, Fruits & Herbs

•    New Varieties & Plant Trials

•    Growing Media

•    Biocontrols

•    High Tunnels

•    Growing and Selling to the Landscape Market

•    Irrigation and Water Treatment

•    Pest & Disease Control

•    Lighting

Grower solutions area: A special interactive area in the Convention Centre will help growers find profitable solutions to production challenges. This area is dedicated to the use and benefits of high tunnels.

Growers will be able to “kick the tires” on several structures made from different materials and containing an assortment of benching and structural options.

Experts will be on hand in this area to answer growers’ most pressing questions about high tunnels, such as crops that work best in these structures, their construction ease and costs, the possibilities of both growing and retailing from high tunnels, and the nuts and bolts of using them for serious production.

In addition, there are a number of interactive opportunities under the Grower Solutions umbrella.

•    Grower Extension Tour, July 14, a daylong tour visiting deMonye’s Greenhouse, Meadow View Growers, and Darby Creek Growers.

•    Virtual Grower Workshop, July 14, giving a hands-on look at the Virtual Grower software tool.

•    Trade Show Interactives: Guided tours of the trade show floor presenting products and suppliers of Growing Media and Pest Management Resources.

MORE THAN EDUCATION

The OFA Short Course is more than just grower education. It’s the world of horticulture under one roof. Put on your walking shoes and visit the 1,500 exhibit spaces on the seven-acre trade show floor.

Meet industry friends and make business contacts at allied trade hospitality suites, networking events, or mealtime meetings. Brush up on your retailer acumen with a visit to the numerous sessions available through the Garden Centre Live! programming.

And do not miss the opportunity to pin down the ever-elusive consumer in the keynote presentation by national gardening spokesperson and television personality Joe Lamp’l.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Click here to plan your visit and register for the 2012 OFA Short Course.