Fruit & Vegetable Magazine

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Outdoor hort show sets new dates

November 8, 2011  By Fruit & Vegetable


November 8, 2011, Simcoe, Ont – Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change
will shift its schedule to mid-July for 2012 and future years.

November 8, 2011, Simcoe, Ont – Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change will shift its schedule to mid-July for 2012 and future years.

The outdoor trade show, selectively designed for the horticulture sector, is the first of its type in North America. Held near the village of St.Williams, in bustling Norfolk County, the inaugural Tech X-Change this past September brought a new dynamic to the fruit and vegetable industry.

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Immediately following the 2011 X-Change, show management sat down with a steering committee of select exhibitors and progressive producers to make plans for 2012. The number one item on the agenda was selecting the optimal dates for the X-Change – a period that would satisfy both the exhibitor base and growers busy with their crops and farm operations. It was agreed there never will be a perfect date for all in the industry but there was consensus that mid-July between planting and harvesting would work best for the majority. And so the dates July 12 to 14 will be X-Change 2012.

“We listened to our customers” says X-Change founder and general manager Jordon Underhill. “On the advice of our exhibitors and growers, we have selected the mid-July period.”

The permanent site at St. Williams is centrally located between Essex County and Niagara Region, just 10 minutes south of Hwy #3, known as the “Hort Highway” for its links to the vast majority of fruit and veg production in the province.

The 2011 X-Change, boasting 242 exhibitors and 2200 qualified producers attending, set a solid foundation for future years. Although attendee numbers were somewhat smaller than anticipated in the inaugural year, the exhibitors were pleased with the quality of producers attending and the significant buying capacity they represented.

“The quality of those who attended were top notch,” states Barry Raymer from The Farm Office out of Tavistock, Ont. “We are interested in talking to active, progressive producers about our tech-based product line-up, and we completed the three day show with as many or more quality leads as we have from the bigger, long-established ag trade shows.”

Norfolk County asparagus grower, Chris Koteles, says Canada’s Fruit and Veg Tech X-Change recognizes the need for growers to see specialized hort equipment in operation, and all in one spot for performance comparisons.

“There are a lot of great farm shows out there, but the reality is, most have very little to offer today’s fruit and veg producer,” says Koteles. “The Tech X-Change is a real plus for Ontario’s hort industry.”

The CFVTX team hits the road again this fall and winter, traveling to farm shows and grower meetings in Canada and the U.S. to promote the new dates for 2012 – July 12 to 14, 2012 – and new features planned for Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change.

“There is no better way to spread the word in the agriculture community than a good old-fashion handshake and engaging conversation,” says Underhill.


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