The Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, OR, will again be the venue for 2017’s annual meeting of the Idaho-Oregon Onion Growers Association on Feb. 7.
Malheur Onion Growers Association President Paul Skeen told OnionBusiness.com that the annual Idaho Oregon Onion Growers meeting is traditionally well attended and provides an opportunity to growers to receive updated information on important research projects that have been funded with the assistance of Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Committee Research Committee.
Skeen said, “The sessions provided during the meeting allow growers to earn credits toward maintaining their agricultural licenses. In addition, the networking opportunities are extremely beneficial. It’s a time when growers can visit and exchange ideas, and we have trade show with many vendors that allow growers to conduct face-to-face meetings. It’s virtually a one-stop-shop for everything our onion industry needs to keep up to speed with.”
When asked if the latest snow damage to Treasure Valley onion sheds and storages would be discussed, Skeen replied, “You know we are probably going to have to address it, but we just haven’t figured out how to go about it. It’s a tragic topic that is top-of-mind for everyone, and it’s been hard to wrap our heads around everything that has happened here.”
The meeting agenda kicks off with registration and breakfast from 7:30-8:30 a.m., followed by Skeen’s welcome to members. From 8:40-9:10 Brenda Schroeder and Mike Thornton from the University of Idaho will discuss “Reducing Onion Losses from Diseases during Long Term Storage.”
Grant Kitamura, chair of the IEOOC Promotions Committee, will give a 9:10-9:20 a.m. update on activities with program changes, and “Economics of Onion Production and Marketing” will be presented by Gina Greenway7, agricultural economist from the College of Idaho.
Greenway is an assistant professor in Department of Business and Accounting and received her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Idaho, where she also taught agricultural economics courses and worked as a research associate.
A seed report will be given by Lyndon Johnson of Bayer/Nunhems, and Dr. Clint Shock of Oregon State University will give an overview of research on the Food Safety Modernization Act from 10:20-10:50 a.m. Stuart Reitz of OSU will follow from 10:50-11:10 with “Surface Water Quality in the Treasure Valley in Relation to FSMA Standards for Water Testing.”
From 11:10-noon Luis Urius, worker protection specialist with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, will discuss WPS Standards.
Following lunch from noon-1 p.m., John Wong will lead the Hall of Fame ceremony. Candi Fitch, executive director of the IEOOC, will oversee the Marketing Order Election as well.
The trade show opens at 1 p.m., with a welcome from IOGA President Dell Winegar at 1:30. A seed report from Deron Beck of Monsanto/Seminis will be given 1:35-1:50, and Joel Felix of USU will discuss “Best Practices for Application Outlook through the Irrigation Drip to Control Yellow Nutsedge in Direct-Seeded Onions.” The final session of the day is “Thrips and Iris Yellow Spot Virus Management by Stuart Reitz.
Registration is free for members of the Idaho or Oregon Growers Association. For all others, registration is $150. Pre-registration can be done by contacting Sheila Seeman at 208-722-5044. Vendor registration for the tradeshow is closed.
