Photos of the Backs of People’s Heads

Winter is the time for professional development. This works two ways – I present professional development opportunities for tree fruit and vegetable growers and green industry professionals through a variety of regional conferences and webinars and I get to learn some new things as well.

In the past few weeks I have found myself hosting our Green Industry Winter Webinar Series (there’s still time to register!), attending the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention where I assisted with the A/V and attended a few sessions on Tree Fruit Production and using Social Media to market your farm and product. I attended the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Conference and co-hosted the Southeastern Regional Tree Fruit Growers Conference.

I want to share pictures of these programs. The programs are fascinating and there is so much to learn. But as I go through the photos, I see they are mostly of the backs of people’s heads:

The Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention:

Learning about Bitterpit Prevention in Honeycrisp Apples at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention

2015 Southeast PA Winter Fruit Growers Educational Meeting

2015 Southeast Region Tree Fruit Growers Conference

Fearless Pruning of Fruit Trees with Lee Reich at the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Conference

Fearless Fruit Tree Pruning with Lee Reich at the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Conference

Something a little different – some backs of heads, but hey look! There’s legs and the screen shows a soil experiment going on up on the stage illustrating a simple test that can check for healthy soils.

These photos do not reflect the quality and value of the meetings. (I would take pictures of smiling faces, but I don’t have permission to post their pictures all over the internet, and I hate it when someone does that to me – so backs of ball caps and bald spots it is.)

Perhaps in this case, words are better than photos:

Why Do I Go?

I attend these meetings for a few reasons:

1. Professional Development. We can always learn more and these conferences are a great way to learn about the newest science, research, techniques and trends out there. Going to a conference gives me access to a lot of information in a short time in one place.
2. Meeting, assessing, recruiting speakers. As an Horticulture Educator I am responsible for putting on my own workshops and conferences. Nobody wants to sit and listen to me ALL day and I am not an expert in everything. So I need to recruit the experts. Going to conferences like these put me in a place to introduce myself, recruit speakers and also, lets me see what they are like as speakers. Some speakers are better in small rooms, some in larger, and let’s be honest, some should stick to doing something else. Participating in these events allows me to vet speakers someplace besides the program I offer.
3.  Partnerships and Collaborations. As was the case with my attendance at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, I was assisting in addition to learning. This large conference is put on by a committee made up of collaborators around the region. I assisted the Tree Fruit Team who handles all the A/V for the event. With dozens of speakers and many meeting rooms, this gets to be a big deal. When things were slow, I attended programs.
4. Networking. Penn State is huge. There are staff I only work with over the phone, I haven’t met them in person. Conference give me a chance to meet these people in person. These events also allow me the opportunity to reach out and introduce myself to a number of professionals in the industry, to pass out my business cards and discuss potential collaborations.

Why Should You Go?

Did you know that the controls of Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB) in Tree Fruit Crops are creating an increase of secondary pests in orchards? This according to Penn State Tree Fruit entomologist Dr. Greg Krawczyk. He notes that the chemical controls used to keep the BMSB in check coupled with the lack of diversity in an orchard are keeping populations of beneficial insects down. These beneficial insects typically keep secondary pests likes mites, scales and aphids under control. Orchards with BMSB problems are noting an increase in secondary insect problems that weren’t a problem before treating for BMSB. Want to know what to do about that?

Had you ever thought about wrapping black electrical tape around branches of trees so you can see the light-colored scale insects in the crawler stage and know when to apply the appropriate control?

Did you know that for $50 Penn State Extension representatives will come to your orchard or farm or nursery and help you calibrate your spraying equipment using advanced technology and tools, with the potential to save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year in pesticide expense?

HAT’S why you attend these programs. To get this type of information and for all of the other reasons I mentioned. Sure you get your pesticide certifications and other professional certification CEUs, but you get the latest news, research and techniques.

At the PASA Conference I experienced many ‘A-HA!’ moments at a program about soils and another program about Living on a Few Acres, and I am fairly comfortable with both of these topics. The speakers were amazing, the information valuable and timely and now I’m trying to figure out how to get the presenters to speak at an event or two here in Bucks County.

There is always something new to learn and new people to meet, wherever we go.

So get on out there, attend one of the many programs PSU Extension is a part of, just get a front row seat so you’re not looking at the backs of all those heads!