Connecting Farmers, Researchers, and the Agricultural Community at the 2026 Growers Conference
Storrs, CT — On January 8, 2026, UConn Extension and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station hosted 270 growers, agricultural service providers, educators, students, and researchers on UConn's Storrs Campus at the annual Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers Conference. The full-day event featured educational presentations, farmer-to-farmer focus groups, research poster presentations, concurrent breakout sessions in the afternoon, and a robust trade show.
The program opened with welcoming remarks from UConn Extension’s Associate Dean, Dr. Amy Harder, followed by educational presentations on farm automation, cover cropping for soil health, crop nutrition, marketing strategies for organic certified products, high tunnel management, growing alliums, on-farm composting, and cut flower production and pest management.
Farmer-to-farmer focus groups provided structured peer discussion on topics including cut flowers; caring for our bodies while we care for the land; high tunnels and season extension; vegetable pest and disease management; non-traditional wholesale markets such as food hubs and farm-to-school; and on-farm composting.
Attendees also viewed research poster presentations addressing cereal rye cover cropping, fertility management in high organic matter systems, glyphosate resistance in Connecticut amaranth species, cabbage fertility and soil health, strawberry disease management, plant-parasitic nematodes, diamondback moth management, and soil-biodegradable plastic mulches, and earned pesticide recertification credits.
Evaluation results indicated strong, positive impacts from the conference. Of the 91 respondents to the evaluation survey, 75% reported that they learned something that would help their business, while an additional 23% responded “possibly.” Furthermore, 89% of respondents indicated that they either intend to make changes or may make changes to their farming practices and operations based on what they learned at the conference. Participant feedback included praise for the breadth of topics, the practical and research-based content, and the opportunities for interaction with peers and Extension educators.
The 2026 Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers Conference provided a great opportunity for local growers to connect with UConn Extension and partner organizations to increase understanding of science-based research in a collaborative and supportive professional environment.
Save the date: Next year's conference is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, January 12th, 2027. We hope to see you there!