Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 20, 2008
Contact: Tina Smith, UMass Extension Floriculture Team
413-545-5306
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Green Industry Flowers at the 2008 New England Greenhouse Conference & Expo

As many as 2,000 growers, garden retailers and greenhouse enthusiasts are expected to attend the 2008 New England Greenhouse Conference & Expo at Worcester’s Centrum Centre, November 5-8.
 
The conference, held every other year since 1980, is sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and its UMass Extension Floriculture Program, along with the five other New England and New York state university Extension programs, and New England Floriculture, Inc.
 
This year’s conference will feature 70 educational sessions with regional and national experts, as well as more than 200 trade show booths.
 
Among the highlights this year is special incubator, or “Seedling,” exhibitor space for those who are new to the greenhouse industry or who are involved in a start-up business, along with one-on-one “Meet the Experts” sessions.
 
According to Tina Smith and Paul Lopes of the UMass Extension Floriculture Program, Extension staff and farmers from the six New England States plan the conference which is the largest nationally recognized floriculture industry show in New England.
 
“This is a great opportunity for local growers to hear nationally recognized speakers right here in Massachusetts,” said Smith.
 
Educational sessions focusing on perennial production, propagation, strategies for growing and marketing green, special in-depth symposiums on retail marketing, time management and using biological control will be featured on Wednesday, November 5th.  The program on November 6th and 7th will feature seminars on various greenhouse and perennial crop production tips, fertility and water management, various pest and disease management issues, retail marketing, energy efficient greenhouse crop production tips and alternative energy options, marketing trends, and many other topics.
 
Registration for the conference ranges from $35 for one-day trade show attendance to $160 for the full program.
 
For more information about the New England Greenhouse Conference and Expo, visit the web site, http://www.negreenhouse.org or contact Tina Smith, 413-545-5306 or Paul Lopes, 508-295-2212 ext. 24, University of Massachusetts Extension Floriculture Program.
 
Additional information on UMass Extension and its Floriculture Team is available at http://www.umassextension.org and http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/ respectively.
 
Audio portions and some fact sheets and slide shows of the educational sessions of the 2006 New England Greenhouse Conference are available on CDs. An order form may be found at http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/ed_programs/ne_greenhouse_conference.html