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46th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference
February 3 - 6, 2007, Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa
Tucson, Arizona
Speakers
General Information | Program Features | Hotel
Information | Schedule
Speakers | Sponsorship | Activities
Trading Room | Conference Registration | Tabletop
Registration
Opening General Session
Monday, February 5, 2007
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
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For Monday morning’s General Session, ASTA is honored to begin the session with a greeting from The Honorable Don Butler, Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture. Butler will discuss the importance of and the issues affecting the seed industry in the state of Arizona.
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The session then begins with a presentation by Elizabeth Pivonka, President of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, entitled “Understanding the Consumer: Building a New Brand for Fruits & Vegetables,” discussing the “More Matters” campaign and public health. A passionate advocate of the health promoting benefits of fruits and vegetables for America’s better health, Dr. Pivonka has been integrally involved with the Foundation’s e orts since it was incorporated in 1991 as a founding partner of the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program. She guides the Foundation’s e orts to work through industry members and government partners – who collectively leverage over $100 million in public and private sector resources – to advance the overall 5 A Day Program effort of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Her work has been published in professional nutrition science journals, and she co-authored 5 A Day: The Better Health Cookbook published in 2001 by Prevention magazine publisher Rodale Press. |
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Following Pivonka is Matt McInerney, Executive Vice President of Western Growers, who will discuss challenges of the past year, including labor and bacterial concerns, and ways to overcome these challenges for the future. McInerney’s knowledge of industry-wide issues was gained from his extensive duties in the Trade Practices/Commodity Services Department, where he handled Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) contract disputes. He has also served on the NAFTA Advisory Committee for Commercial Dispute Resolution Regarding Agricultural Goods, and has been Chairman of the Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC) since its inception in 1999. In 2004, he was appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.
The first 15 people to arrive at the session will receive an ASTA garden tool kit! |
Vegetable & Flower Division Meeting
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
The agenda of the Vegetable & Flower Division meeting this year will also comprise the business of the ASTA Biotechnology Committee and the Vegetable & Flower Legislative and Regulatory Committee. The agenda includes a presentation by George Gough, Manager of State and Local Government Affairs for Monsanto, discussing environmental concerns relevant to state legislative and regulators. Sally McCammon of USDA and Ted Batkin, President, Citrus Research Board will also discuss the USDA’s Specialty Crop Regulatory Initiative (SCRI). SCRI is a collaborative public/private effort with the goal of realizing the potential of biotechnology in speciality crops. Sally McCammon and Ted Batkin are both on the steering committee of this intitiative.
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