WEARE TOWNSHIP — The 2025 West Central Spring Horticulture Meeting is set for Tuesday, March 25, at the West Central Michigan Research and Extension Center at 5185 N. Oceana Dr.
This meeting is hosted by Michigan State University Extension, and MSU Extension educators and industry partners will provide a full day of informative talks and answer questions.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with educational presentations beginning at 9 a.m. Lunch is included. The meeting will provide attendees with updated information related to commercial tree fruit production.
The program will start with a Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) update and a Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) update on regenerative agriculture. Dr. Randy Beaudry will discuss the work being done on lenticel breakdown in apples. Following Dr. Beaudry’s talk, information will be shared about the biocontrol efforts against spotted-wing drosophila and updated information on water rules from the Produce Safety Team and the MDARD. Dr. George Sundin will discuss the various tree fruit diseases for the 2025 growing season, and Dawn Drake will provide a market update.
Following lunch, there will be indoor presentations and an outdoor show-and-tell about precision agriculture tools in orchards with a focus on tart cherry production. Invited speaker, Dr. Brent Black from Utah State University, will share his work leading a collaborative project with Dr. Todd Einhorn, Dr. Richard Price, and Jack Sinnaeve from Michigan State University.
Precision agriculture tools are widespread in both row crops and orchard systems, yet many producers still struggle to interpret the data to implement effective conservation strategies to boost profitability. While every farm and field has its own unique circumstances, the fundamental approach to leveraging data to benefit the farm remains the same. Three MDARD Restricted Use Pesticide Dealers (RUP) credits will be provided, and Certified Crop Advisers continuing education credits credits have been requested.
Learn more about how precision agriculture tools can be applied to orchard systems and how researchers are using this information to develop orchard management strategies to enhance fruit quality and financial stability on the farm.
Early registration — on or before March 21 — is $25 with late and on-site registration — after March 21 — is $40. Any cancellations received on or after March 21 will incur a $25 cancellation fee.
To register and view the updated agenda visit https://events.anr.msu.edu/WestCentralSpringHorticultureMeeting2025/ or contact Oceana MSU Extension at 231-873-2129 or walicki@msu.edu.
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