The annual horticultural growers’ short course will be organized by the province in 2023, according to the Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association, which has hosted the 65-year-old educational program since its inception in 1958.
Rebranded as the Regenerative Agriculture and Growers’ Short Course, the event will be presented by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food in partnership with LMHIA and the Pacific Agriculture Show. The latter will continue to operate the trade show that runs in parallel with the short course.
“We are expecting the 2023 event to be bigger and better than ever,” said LMHIA executive director Sandy Dunn in a note to sponsors on November 7.
She referred questions regarding the change to Rajiv Dasanjh, horticulture team lead within the agriculture ministry’s industry development unit.
According to the province, LMHIA will remain fully involved in program development. However, the province is adding ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ and ‘Indigenous Reconciliation’ sessions to the lineup.
The ministry is also hiring a conference planner to assist with delivering the show.
The event will take place January 26-28, 2023 at Tradex in Abbotsford. This marks a return to its usual dates after shifting to the end of March this year following public health concerns related to the omicron variant of COVID in the run-up to the show last winter.
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