Local Programs
2025 RVA Vegetable Growers’ Meeting
Date: Tuesday - February 18, 2025
Time: 8:30 am - 2:30 pm
Register by Feb 11, 2025 - Catered lunch will be provided so please register here: bit.ly/25RVAveggiegrower
Location: Eastern Henrico Recreation Center
Strawberry Ballroom
1440 N Laburnum Ave
Richmond, VA
2025 Topics Include:
- IPM in Vegetable Systems
- New Produce Safety Website
- 2025 Consumer Trends
Private Pesticide Applicator Credits are being offered along with VDACS Market Scale Certification.
| Richmond Area Vegetable Growers’ Meeting | |
| 8:30 | Registration |
8:50 |
Welcome and Introduction Scot Ferguson, Hanover County ANR Extension Agent |
9:00 (30) |
Virginia Tech Food Safety Website Amber Vallotton, Extension Specialist and Fresh Produce Food Safety Team Coordinator |
9:30 (45) |
Insect IPM in Vegetable Systems Dr. Alejandro Del-Pozo Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist, Entomology, Virginia Tech |
10:15 (15) |
Break Visit with Sponsors |
10:30 (45) |
2025 Consumer Trends for Producer Profit Dr. Theresa Nartea, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist, Small Farm Marketing & Agribusiness, Virginia State University |
11:15 (45) |
“No-Till Pumpkin Production: A-Z without Insecticides.” Paul Davis, Retired ANR Extension Agent, New Kent County |
Noon (30) |
Lunch – Thank you Sponsors! Visit with Sponsors and pick up Scales with VDACS |
12:30 (15) |
Legally Managing Vertebrate Pests B. Tyler Dagliano Virginia Conservation Police Officer, Department of Wildlife Resources |
12:45 (45) |
“Watermelon Health: Strategies for Disease Management” Dr. Doug Higgins Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology and Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech & Ms. Emma Nieland |
1:30 (45) |
VDACS Pesticide legal update Hannah Bonyak, VDACS Pesticide Investigator |
2:15 (45) |
Pesticide Safety Demonstration Scot Ferguson, Hanover County ANR Agent |
3:00 |
Evaluation and Pesticide Applicator Paperwork |
4-H is the comprehensive youth development program of Virginia Cooperative Extension. Young people from ages 5 to 18 engage in hands-on learning experiences under the guidance of 4-H agents and trained adult or teen 4-H volunteers. 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills.
4-H MOTTO: To Make the Best Better!
4-H PLEDGE
I Pledge...My HEAD to Clearer Thinking,
My HEART to Greater Loyalty,
My HANDS to Larger Service,
and My HEALTH to Better Living,
For My Club, My Community, My Country, and My World.
4-H COLORS: Green & White.
The white is for purity. The green, nature’s most common color, is for life, springtime, and youth.
New Kent Clubs: New Kent has two (2) very active clubs that promote youth development for youth ages 5-18. The clubs are the New Kent 4-H Cloverbuds (ages 5-8), and the 4 Rivers Shooting Education Club (ages 9-18) Adult volunteers work with the clubs on age appropriate, research based curriculum and project areas.
New Kent 4-H In-School Programming: New Kent County has three public schools and the 4-H program works very closely to provide research based instruction that correlates with the Virginia Standards of Learning. Often the in-school program involves many community volunteers to support the event and activities that are provided.
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Engaging with Communities
Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists in community viability work with Extension agents, campus-based faculty, organizational partners, communities, and individuals to further opportunity and build capacity in five program areas:
- Leadership & Planning
- Community Enterprise and Resiliency
- Community Food System and Enterprises
- Community Planning
- Emerging Community Issues
Examples of our work include training county elected officials, educating entrepreneurs, facilitating collaborative projects, supporting the growth of community food systems and local economies, enhancing agent skills and community capacity in facilitation and leadership, conducting problem-driven research, and creating publications and tools that address critical community needs.
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Community Viability Specialists