The annual Horticulture Industries Show will mark its 40th anniversary Jan. 13-14 at the Graduate Hotel in Fayetteville, with sessions appealing not only to growers of all types and levels.
“For four decades, horticulturists from Arkansas and Oklahoma have used this show as a way to improve their skills, see new varieties, hear about new techniques and make new connections,” said Jackie Lee, president of this year’s show. Lee is director of the Fruit Research Station for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “It’s the only program dedicated to horticulture industries in Arkansas.”
“The 2022 show features five concurrent sessions with 55 individual discussions covering fruits, vegetables, beekeeping, hydroponics, gardening, local foods, organic and sustainable production systems,” Lee said. “We have something for everyone.”
Day one includes “Breeding Tastier Vegetables: A Collaboration,” being presented by chef Matthew McClure of The Hive restaurant in Bentonville; Jonathan McArthur, farm manager and field educator with the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food; and Patch Troffer, culinary director for the Row 7 Seed Co. Also on the first-day schedule are programs focused on hydroponics and hops varieties for Arkansas.
Day two includes sessions on using food waste compost for seedlings, production practices for an heirloom squash of Choctaw native Americans, and winter cut flower production.\ Wes Ward, Arkansas’ secretary of agriculture, will be the keynote speaker. Attendees can also take part in a tour of the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food, a unique part of the Division of Agriculture that helps equip new farmers with the information they need to succeed.
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