NNGA's 112th Annual Meeting

The 2023 Northern Nut Growers Association annual conference will be a joint meeting with the Chestnut Growers of America and the Walnut Council.  The complete program and registration materials will be available in April 2023 on the NNGA website but here is an update.    

Date: Sun. July 23  to Wed. July 26, 2023 

Location: University of Missouri campus in Columbia, MO, with field tours at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center in New Franklin, MO.  

Overview: A wide array of presentations on many different nut tree species along with educational field tours.  Conference topics will resonate with the backyard gardener to the large commercial grower and everyone in between.  The joint conference provides an excellent way to share ideas across the different groups that are interested in nut trees. Ample social time will be provided at coffee breaks, meals, and evening gatherings to catch up with old friends and colleagues and make new ones. Note, the University of Missouri is well known for their chestnut, pecan, and black walnut research but have now gotten into hazelnuts!  Because of this and the location in the central part of the U.S., you can expect to see many people connected to hazelnuts.  

Logistics: Sunday morning and afternoon is reserved for board meetings of the various organizations followed in the evening by a welcoming reception and the traditional show and tell.  The NNGA and Walnut Council Foundation will meet in the morning and the Walnut Council and Chestnut Growers of America in the afternoon.  Presenters can set up their posters Sunday afternoon or evening.  Attendees are asked to consider contributing something to the silent or live auction.  As items arrive, the Walnut Council Foundation will set up their silent auction that will be open through the afternoon break on Tuesday. 

Monday will be an all-day field tour at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center.  Plan to see research plantings of Chinese chestnut, hazelnut, black walnut, northern pecan, pawpaw, and elderberry.   In the evening is the NNGA live auction where proceeds support the NNGA grant program.  

Tuesday will be filled with invited presentations.  The plan is for two concurrent sessions with one focused on chestnut, hazelnut, northern pecan, and other topics and a second focused on managing walnut and other species for timber production.  Presenters with posters will stand by their posters during the morning and afternoon breaks.  The social and banquet will be held in the evening and includes a presentation by the keynote speaker (TBD).  After the keynote presentation, each organization will entertain the group with activities including crowning the next Big Nut, honor and service awards, the Walnut Achievement Award, Pass the Hat, and elections.

Wednesday morning will be a joint session with additional invited presentations and a final time to visit the poster session.  The conference will close at noon with an invitation to participate in the post-conference tour.

      If you want to present at the conference, let Greg Miller (empirechestnut@gmail.com) or the editor (editor@nutgrowing.org) know by January 1 2023.  There will be NO virtual option so mark your calendars and plan to physically attend.