MONTEREY, CA - The holiday season is a time for family, which is why, I assume, the Organic Grower Summit takes place at the beginning of December. This week, the industry’s organic family is gathering in Monterey, California, mimicking that of a traditional holiday gathering with a few exceptions: ground-breaking dialogue, educational opportunities, and only the best networking to be had with some of the industry’s brightest. Already, the Organic Produce Network is anticipating 160+ grower representatives, 600+ attendees, and a whole lot of fun to be had at the third annual must-attend event.
If you haven’t already taken a peek at the schedule, I’ll put it simply: It’s jam-packed and you’re going to love it. For those of us looking to fill our brains with as much of the latest industry findings as possible, I suggest we pack extra notebooks and pens so that we’re well prepared for the eight education sessions. This year, the topics span a variety of hard-hitting organic subjects, including food safety, ag tech, sustainability, and arguably the biggest crop on everyone’s mind, hemp.
This year’s keynote speaker, Amy Ansel, will also touch on that last rousing topic, lending her expertise and industry insight to OGS attendees. Titan Bioplastics Co-Founder will not only be taking the main stage as OGS’s keynote speaker, but will also be on-hand with her fellow Co-Founder, Tanya Hart, on the show floor to share all that they’ve gathered as it relates to the burgeoning crop category, including investment opportunities, the pros and cons of its costs, and how it can be the natural solution many growers have been looking for.
And, those attendees looking to start celebrating the December festivities earlier than the 25th should also find their way to the Keynote Session in order to congratulate this year’s Grower of the Year award recipient: Lundberg Family Farms.
Another unique event happening at this year’s show is the airing of Driscoll’s The Last Harvest documentary. Following the showing, attendees should be sure to stick around for a panel discussion that will include Soren Bjorn, Dave Puglia, Hannah Freeman, and Carmen A. Ponce, with Tonya Antle as the moderator. The discussion will help attendees walk away from the documentary with actionable solutions to solving the labor crisis.
Last, but certainly not least, OGS wouldn’t be the produce industry event we know and love without a show floor exhibition—slated to take place on both the 4th and the 5th.
Of course, this sneak peek only includes a few of the highlights the ANUK team is looking forward to, but there's much, much more going down in Monterey this week. I say we experience it together, produce industry fam, so see you there!
