Features Production Vegetables
Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change coming to Ontario this fall

Fruit and vegetable producers will get a chance to try out new equipment, test and compare technology and network at Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change (CFVTX), launching September 2011 in Norfolk County, Ont.

Fruit and vegetable producers will get a chance to try out new equipment, test and compare technology and network at Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change (CFVTX), launching September 2011 in Norfolk County, Ont.

The outdoor horticulture trade show represents the first of its kind in North America.

Commercial fruit and vegetable producers take immense pride in their farm operations and the produce they grow. To help Canadian producers stay competitive, the X-Change aims to showcase and demonstrate the latest in equipment offered to the fruit and vegetable industry at large. The X-Change celebrates the passion behind the industry with its fitting tag line “Pride In Growing.”

CFVTX will plant its roots on a farm outside St. Williams, Ont., in an area known for its diverse fruit and vegetable operations. It’s also central to sector-leading Essex and Niagara counties in Ontario. The 200-acre picturesque site located on the Lake Erie shore boasts a 4,000-square-foot convention centre, upgraded outbuildings, a 35-year-old blueberry patch with operational winery, several adjacent row crops, four-acre VIP asphalt parking, 13-kilometre manicured trail system and much more.

The X-Change will run from September 1 to 3, 2011. The first two days of the show are professional development days, exclusively for producers. On Saturday, the X-Change will welcome both the growing “weekend farmer” category, general consumers and large property owners. Saturday will also feature a 4-H Ontario Passport Challenge, a massive farmers market featuring fresh Ontario produce and a live equipment auction.

“Producers don’t want to buy an expensive piece of specialized equipment without seeing it in operation,” says Jordon Underhill, owner of ROI Event Management and the general manager of CFVTX. “Do you have time to drive from dealer to dealer to make arrangements to demo equipment? This type of event is very compelling for both the producer and the exhibitor because it brings the industry together in one interactive location.”

ROI Event Management operates out of Simcoe, Ont., and specializes in agriculture-related trade shows. The company has an abundance of pure trade show experience and a passion
for agriculture.

“This event was not an overnight idea,” says Underhill. “We have known there is a need in the marketplace for a specialized live event like this for several years and finally the timing was right to move forward.”

CFVTX is well beyond a concept. Major farm organizations such as Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, NFA and ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) are just a few of the supporting farm organizations committed.

In addition, major site improvements have been completed and a wrapped promotional trailer is on the road attending agriculture-related events across the province and into Michigan.

One of the early industry commitments came from Vanden Bussche Irrigation, an equipment supplier in the fruit and vegetable sector.

“Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change is the first of its kind in North America,” says Marc Vanden Bussche, CEO. “It was long overdue for the fruit and veg industry to have a central place to showcase the very specialized equipment we offer today’s producer. Vanden Bussche Irrigation sells product through demonstrating the capabilities and precision of the technology. Producers for the most part are visual learners; show them it can work for their farm operation and you have significantly advanced the sales cycle.”

Live demonstrations in the works include boom irrigation with solar pumping, helicopter spraying, side-by-side utility vehicle competition and the high-tech Veris Cart in action. The Veris Cart uses sophisticated GPS mapping software to track variation in both physical structure of the soil and chemical properties – in real time. Producers will be shown on –the spot how this precision equipment can help increase yields at harvest and save money on fertilizer application.

Dr. John Kelly, vice-president of Erie Innovation and Commercialization, will also be assisting to organize a working lunch speaker program for producers and the entire family unit.

“In a one-hour session, we will feed you a local produce lunch and educate you on four industry prominent topics,” says Dr. Kelly.

Prior to heading back out to the trade show, producers will have a chance to ask the panel specific questions as they relate to their operation.

The event is structured as non-profit, with any proceeds from the X-Change going back to the betterment of the trade show and industry directly.

“The event’s mandate is to help make Canadian fruit and veg producers more competitive on a global level,” says Underhill.

For more information visit www.FruitVegTechXchange.com or call 1-226-381-0282. ❦