Author: ivga_admin

It’s time to renew or sign-up for 2022! The dues rate for regular members is $20. The corporate membership rate remains at $80/year. Download the membership form here.

The annual membership meeting of the IVGA is Wed., March 30, 2022, 11:00 AM-Noon Eastern Time. All are welcome to attend! The meeting will be held in person at the Purdue Extension Hancock County Office, 972 E. Park Avenue, Greenfield.

Members may also attend the meeting by going to the Southwest Purdue Ag Center (SWPAP), 4669 N Purdue Rd, Vincennes, where a virtual connection to Hancock County will be set up. Sign-up is not required, but if you think you will attend at SWPAP, it would be helpful if you could send a note to ivga @ ivga.org so we can get an idea of how many people to expect.

Members may also attend the annual meeting virtually via zoom from their own home or farm. If there is interest, other locations may be set up with a virtual connection where people could attend in person. Contact ivga @ ivga.org if you are interested in one of these options.

In 2018 Chateau SW^® herbicide received a 24(c) special local needs label for cucurbits in Indiana. The product is produced by Valent, but the label is held by the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association.  IVGA members may obtain a copy of the label by paying an annual fee of $100, reading and understanding the ‘conditions for use,’ signing appropriate forms, and getting the forms notarized. One cannot use Chateau SW^® without completing the forms and obtaining a label. This process must be repeated every year. IVGA President John Young will be at the Southwest Indiana Melon and Vegetable Growers Meeting in French Lick on March 13, 2020, to accept fees and provide forms. Contact John at 317-752-0559 for more information.

Officer elections at the IVGA Annual Meeting on Feb. 11, 2020 brought in a new Vice-President: Mike Roney of Tuttle Orchards in Indianapolis. Congratulations, Mike!

Many thanks to out-going Vice-President William Harriman for your years of service to IVGA as VP, and prior to that, on the Board of Directors.

President John Young and Secretary-Treasurer Mike Horrall remain in office. John and Mike, thanks for all you do for IVGA!

Board members Brian Garwood, Ken McCammon, Jim Paarlberg, and Mike Vargo were re-elected to terms ending in 2023. Thanks for your continued service!

Mike Roney’s election to VP left an opening on the Board of Directors. Ed Burek of Burek Farms in LaPorte was elected to fill that position, with a term ending in 2021. Welcome to the Board, Ed!

It’s time to renew or sign-up for 2020! The dues rate for regular members is $20. The corporate membership rate remains at $80/year. Download the membership form here.

All vegetable and melon growers are welcome to attend the annual membership meeting of the IVGA, Feb. 11, 2020, 11:00 AM-Noon, at the Indianapolis Marriott East. This is right at the start of the Indiana Horticultural Conference and Trade Show.

The IVGA was established to be the Voice for Vegetable Growers in Indiana and is dedicated to the improvement of vegetable production and marketing in Indiana. The IVGA supports education and research about vegetables and melons in Indiana, and as your advocate, the IVGA is your resource to help find solutions for your every day problems.

Join today and be a part of a great team in Indiana!

Recent activities on behalf of Growers in Indiana:

• Special local needs label (24c) for use of herbicide Chateau in melons

Gifts to support research/education projects:

• Building Online Financial Indicators for Local Food Systems (2020)
• Precision Irrigation Management in Indiana Vegetable Farming (2020)
• Online MW Vegetable Production Guide (ID-56) (2018)
• Supporting the Vegetable Industry Success: Marketing Tools for Farm Decision-Making (2017) Farmers Market Price Reports
• Determining the efficacy of a red yeast, Sporobolomyces pararoseus, as a biological control agent on leafy greens and tomato (2015)
• Certification of a GAPs Trainer for Delivery of Produce Food Safety Training (2015)
• Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes Naturally Present on Commercial Cantaloupe Seeds (2014)
• Neonicotinoid Impact on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) in Cantaloupe Production (2014)
• Listeria monocytogenes Persistence and Movement in Cantaloupe Plants and Fruit (2013)
• Tillage and Cover Crop Effects on Beneficial Insect Larvae (2012)
• A Search for Weedy Sources of Virus Infection in Indiana Cucurbits (2012)

IVGA is proud to provide small grants to support work by two Purdue faculty members. Dr. Wenjing Guan will use funds in a project to develop information and resources on precision irrigation management in field and high tunnel production. Dr. Ariana Torres will use funds to collect foundational data on costs and revenues for vegetable production and develop an online financial calculator for vegetable operations. The information and resources developed from these project should prove especially useful to new and beginning vegetable farmers. Thanks to Drs. Guan and Torres for all their work to improve vegetable production and marketing in Indiana!

The directory of IVGA members who sell wholesale produce has been updated and is available at ivga.org under the Wholesale Growers link. This directory and the complete membership directory for 2017 have been mailed to 2017 members.

It’s time to renew or sign-up for 2018! The new dues rate for regular members is $20. If you wish to order a hard copy of the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide or Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter, you can indicate that on the membership form, but they are no longer included in the price of membership. The corporate membership rate remains at $80/year.

The annual membership meeting of the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association will be held Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, at 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., at the Indianapolis Marriott East. IVGA still has openings for new board members. Contact President John Young if you are interested or wish to nominate someone. Elections for board members and officers will be held at the meeting.

Earlier on Feb. 14, as well as on Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, educational programs and the trade show at the Indiana Horticulture Congress offer lots of opportunity for learning and networking. Learn more at inhortcongress.org. Hope to see many IVGA members there!

The Indiana Vegetable Growers Association board is seeking board members for 3-year terms beginning at the annual meeting in February 2018. Members interested in serving, or with suggestions for potential board members, should contact President John Young at [email protected] or 5028 E. Landersdale Rd. Mooresville, IN 46158.

The Indiana Vegetable Growers Association has awarded Dr. Ariana Torres of Purdue $1,000 for the project ‘Supporting the Vegetable Industry Success: Marketing Tools for Farm Decision-Making.’ Dr. Torres will collect prices and product availability at selected farmers markets in Indiana and generate weekly reports that will be available at the Purdue Horticulture Business Extension program website: www.hort.purdue.edu/hortbusiness.