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Welcome to the Farwest Show!

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Welcome to the 2013 Farwest Trade Show! And thanks for following along at www.diggermagazine.com. As you can see, we have converted the blog to the “Farwest Edition” of Daily Digger, and we’ll be updating it frequently with highlights from the show. If you are into Twitter, you can follow along at @FarwestShow. If you’re tweeting about Farwest and want to make your tweets easier to find, please join the ongoing conversation by including the hashtag #FindItAtFarwest.

The expo floor opens at noon, but if you wait until noon to make your way to the Oregon Convention Center, you are missing out. Several of the day’s highlights are happening at the seminars this morning:

  • At 9 a.m., Joe Whitworth of the Freshwater Trust will give a talk on “The Future of Conservation: Restoration and Green Infrastructure.” He will talk about the emerging market for green infrastructure and native plants to help improve environmental function (along with beautification).
  • Also at 9 a.m., nationally-known floriculture professor and economist Charlie Hall, of Texas A&M University, will present “Lessons from the Rearview Mirror to Keep the Windshield Clean Next Time.” This seminar will focus on the state of the nursery industry coming out of the Great Recession — steps taken by businesses who survived it, mistakes made by those that didn’t, and lessons you can follow to drive your success in the coming years.
  • The “Connecting with the Consumer” track from 9 a.m.–noon will include professors Bridget Behe of Michigan State University (9 a.m.) and Jennifer Dennis of Purdue (10 a.m.), each discussing consumer preferences and feelings on the environment and sustainability.
  • Traditionally, Thursday is the busiest day of the expo itself. It’s a great day to meet people and visit the exhibits, including a packed New Products Showcase (with 14 products this year, the most ever!) and the always-beautiful New Products Showcase (a whopping 45 plants this year!) Don’t forget about the Demo Stage, which will have demos on the hour. “New Product Speed Dating” at 4 p.m. promises to be a highlight.

We hope you enjoy your day at Farwest. If you would like, please stop by our social media headquarters, which will be located at the OAN Resource Center (Booth 13027). We would love to chat.