100th Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association

The 100th Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association will be held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana from July 19 through July 23, 2009. Our Local Arrangements Chair is Mr. Jim McKenna with the USDA Forest Service and Purdue University's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR).

Stewart Center is the site of all meetings for NNGA's 100th Annual Meeting, beginning with a board meeting at 10:00 AM on Sunday, July 19. Everyone is invited to attend and participate in this important meeting. Following registration Sunday afternoon, join us for a welcome mixer and barbeque at Purdue's Martel Forest and FNR's Wright Center, followed by the ever popular Show and Tell at Wright Center.

The schedule for nut growers on Monday begins with the Annual NNGA Business Meeting at 9:00 AM, followed by the first technical session featuring a plenary lecture by Dr. Jules Janick, Professor of Horticulture at Purdue. An all-day field trip is planned for Tuesday, and a second, full day of technical presentations is scheduled for Wednesday.

The exhibit area will be open on both Monday and Wednesday. The 17th Annual Research Fund Auction will be held Monday evening following dinner, and the annual Banquet and elections are scheduled for Wednesday evening. An optional all-day field trip is planned for Thursday.

Financial Support for Members of State Nut Grower Associations--
Several state nut grower associations have committed to support this meeting financially. The Indiana Nut Growers has already donated $500. A portion of this money will be allocated to lower the registration fee for Indiana attendees. Ask your association officers for details and encourage them to support NNGA's 100th anniversary meeting.

Register early and save. Use the tear-out registration form in this newsletter and mail it today. Registration forms are also available online at www.nutgrowing.org. Please send in your reservations as soon as you can since many service providers require deposits or payment as much as 60 days in advance. Save shipping and handling: use the registration form to order a commemorative Centennial T-Shirt and Cap to wear at the meeting.

Those of you belonging to other nut growing organizations or interest groups, please share copies of this article and registration form with your fellow enthusiasts. Give them the address of this Web site page-- www.nutgrowing.org/meetinfo.htm

Registration/Sign-in will start at Noon on Sunday in the Stewart Center. The Registration/Sign-in Table will also be open on Monday from 7:00 AM until Noon.

In the event that it is necessary to cancel your registration, all fees will be fully and cheerfully refunded if your cancellation is received before July 1. After July 1, all but $15 will be refunded.

Sunday Social--Bar-B-Q.
Sunday evening's welcome mixer and barbeque will be held at Purdue's Martel Forest and FNR's Wright Center. We plan to have a wine tasting of Midwest fruit wines along with a cash bar. Relax and renew old friendships and make new acquaintances. And take advantage of this unique opportunity to informally tour Purdue walnut plantings and the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Centers' (HTIRC) greenhouses.

Tuesday--NNGA Field Trip.
We'll board buses at 8:00 AM and depart for the Martell Forest to see the HTIRC Juglans germplasm collection that contains various walnut species, butternut hybrids, and walnut mutants. Afterward, we'll see their butternut canker resistance breeding orchard. Box lunches will be provided as we travel to the nearby Arbor America Inc. nursery and production fields, where we will tour 100 acre blocks of intensively cultivated grafted walnuts grown for timber production. The CEO of the company and the greenhouse manager will provide an overview of the company and discuss different cultivars, intensive plantation management, and propagation and pruning. Our third stop will be at the Purdue Throckmorton Agricultural Center and the Meigs Farm where we will see Purdue's organic apple production research, pawpaw cultivars, and wine grapes. Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture staff will be on hand to explain their research and answer questions.

Wednesday--Banquet.
Our Banquet will be in the beautiful Purdue Ball Room in the Memorial Union. Our Featured Speaker will be Dr. Robert Swihart, Head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, and a preeminent, internationally acclaimed scientist in wildlife biology. Dr. Swihart's research specialty is squirrels and his presentation will be a light-hearted look at squirrel behavior with fascinating photos and stories. This will be a presentation no nut grower should miss!

We wish to especially thank Purdue's Forestry and Natural Resources Department for their generous $2,000 contribution to this meeting. This is being applied toward the banquet to lower the cost so that all can attend.

Thursday--Optional NNGA Field Trip.
We will board buses at 7:45 AM for an eight o'clock departure. Those who wish to tag along by car will follow the buses. Maps will be provided in case of separation from the buses.

The first stop will be at Gene and Betty Wild's apple orchard with its 800 varieties of apples, many of them heirloom cultivars. In-season (July) apples will be available for tasting and Gene may have his apple press in operation.

Next we will visit Charles Spurgeon's large Carya collection with its many cultivars of pecan, hickory and butternut. We then will stop at a local park for lunch.

After lunch we will travel west to Terre Haute on I-70 to visit Jerry Lehman's persimmon and pawpaw orchard. We will depart Terre Haute about four o'clock for our return to Lafayette at approximately 5:30 PM. Tag-alongs may depart for their home at any time during Thursday's field trip.

Monday--Shopping, Crafts and Meeting.
Many Complementary Alternative Program (CAP) committee members are dues paying members of NNGA and will be attending the business meeting on Monday morning. There will be time set aside for crafts and talks following the mid-morning break. Plans are in the works for an afternoon visit to Purdue gardens and greenhouses.

Wednesday--CAP Tour
Participants will board buses at 8:30 AM for an hour ride to the Fair Oaks Dairy's twenty thousand (20,000) acre farm. There you will see a 15,000-head dairy herd operation. Board the farm's "Cow Bus" for a 45 minute tour of one of the largest dairy farms in the United States. You might even get to see a calf birthing at the farm's birthing center. The remainder of the tour is a walking tour: visit the cheese plant; see ice cream being made; and go shopping. The tour lasts about three hours including time for lunch. Lunch can be purchased at dairy's sandwich shop, or take a sack lunch with you. Subway also has a shop on the premises. Return about 2:00 PM. There is no charge for children under two accompanied by a parent For a preview, visit the dairy's website at: www.fofarms.com.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEETING ATTENDEES

The CAP ladies have assembled an NNGA Centennial Cookbook. One copy is included with each Nut Grower Registration. Additional copies can be ordered for the price of $12.00 for pick up at the meeting. After the meeting the price will be $15.00 plus postage. Only 200 copies are being printed. If you want to be sure of getting one or more extra copies of the 100th anniversary cookbook, order as soon as possible. Orders must be in by July 1 to qualify for the discount and the books must be picked up at the meeting in Indiana. These early orders should be sent to Sally Martyn, P.O. Box 34, Sparta, ON, Canada N0L 2H0.
Email: tcg@execulink.com. Tel. (519) 775-2292.

The NNGA Centennial Cookbook would make a wonderful gift.

Use the registration form in this newsletter to purchase tickets for meal-plan meals. The dining hall cafeteria we will be using is located in Cary Quadrangle (our dormitory residence), which is about seven blocks from the meeting rooms in Stewart Center. Nut growers may wish to purchase lunch on Monday and Wednesday at the food court located in the Memorial Union, which is a building attached to Stewart Center, or at one of the several off-campus restaurants within a few blocks of Stewart Center.

The banquet on Wednesday evening is priced separately on the registration form. The Tuesday field trip fee and the Thursday field trip and tag-along fees include lunch.

On Campus.
There are two on-campus housing options this year. The first is Cary Quadrangle, which is a dormitory residence on campus that is also the site of our daily meal-plan meals. Two hundred rooms have been reserved in Cary Quadrangle. This is a modern air conditioned building and all reserved rooms are on the same floor. There is a private bath for every two rooms, located between the rooms. Cary Quadrangle is located about seven blocks from the meeting rooms in Stewart Center. Reservations for rooms in Cary Quadrangle should be made using the registration form in this newsletter.

The second on-campus housing option is the Purdue University Union Club Hotel. For those who desire to lodge closer to Stewart Center, the Union Club Hotel is a unique blend of classic and modern elegance that offers all the services and accommodations you would expect of a world-class university like Purdue. Room styles include deluxe double, double twin, queen, double double, family suite, and luxury suite. Room rates are in the $100/night range. For more information, visit www.Hotel.Purdue.edu. The Union Club Hotel is holding a block of rooms for us until July 1.
NOTE: You must make you own reservations with the Union Club Hotel. For reservations call (800) 320-6291.

Off Campus.
A Best Western Executive Plaza is located at 4343 State Road 26 East, in Lafayette. For reservations, call (765) 447-0575.

Residence Hall parking areas are available for parking on campus. Parking at Stewart Center is very limited.

Messages can be left with the Cary Quadrangle office at (765) 494-2472, or with Kim or Lynn at the Conference Center at (765) 494-7225

Technical sessions are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday. The Program Committee is still seeking presentations from hobbyists, home growers and professionals on walnut, chestnut, hickory, pecan, hazel, pawpaw, persimmon, almond, beech, ginkgo, pine nut and related species. Presentations describing personal experiences as well as professional research on the selection, grafting, growing, fertilization, disease and pest control, marketing and consumption are being sought. To quote Gary Fernald, "If you have reached a point in your life when the green knowledge caught is now the green knowledge sought, share your thoughts that we all might be taught."

If you are interested in making a presentation or in recommending a potential presenter, please contact:

We have 20 and 30 minute time slots available. Presenters will be asked to submit a written report to Dennis Fulbright for inclusion in the 100th Annual Report of the Northern Nut Growers Association.

Purdue catering will allow us to place cookies, brownies, etc. on separate tables near the coffee break table. They must contain nuts and/or fruits and be home made. So bring a dozen or two of your favorites. Also bring another dozen for the research auction.

Following the welcome barbecue and mixer on Sunday Jerry Lehman will act as Master of Ceremonies for the ever popular Show and Tell. Everyone is invited to tell of their experiences back home. Have you developed a new method for grafting, tree husbandry, marketing success, organized a new chapter or just want to show slides or a video of your orchard, or a new nut or fruit? Others wish to learn from your success and to avoid your failures! This is your chance, whether it is 3 minutes or 10. Please let Jerry Lehman know of your desire to make a presentation. He can be reached by email at JWLehman@aol.com, or by phone at (812) 298-8733. Making arrangements ahead of time is not necessary-just inform Jerry of your desires at the BBQ. If you want to show slides, please bring photos or a PowerPoint presentation with you on a CD, DVD, or flash drive.

The 17th annual NNGA Research Fund Auction will be held on Monday evening. Your donated items will add excitement and variety to this well-attended event. What a great way to advertise and demonstrate your product to a captive audience. Contact Ernie Grimo or Jerry Lehman for details. Ernie can be reached at (905) 934-6887, or by email at nuttrees@grimonut.com. Jerry can be reached at (812) 298-873, or by email at JWLehman@aol.com.

If you can't attend you can show your support by mailing your auction donation to:

The bidding will begin at 7:00 PM and the auction will conclude when the last item is sold and the last payment received.

The exhibit area will be in Stewart Center and will first be open for setup on Sunday afternoon, 19 July. Exhibits pertaining to growing, processing or selling nuts, scion wood, trees, tools, nutcrackers, displays, etc., are both requested and welcome. Shipping is the same as auction items. Please label as exhibit.

This year attendees' pictures will be taken individually and a collage made. Each couple or single attendee will receive a free copy at the conclusion of the meeting along with a key identifying everyone in the collage.

Location
Purdue University is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, approximately 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis. If you are coming by car, the campus is located west of Interstate 65 and the Wabash River on both sides on Highway 26 in West Lafayette. Watch for the NNGA signs on campus. Registration is in Stewart Center (128 Memorial Mall).

If you are coming from Lafayette, cross the Wabash River on Highway 26, which becomes State St. in West Lafayette, proceed approximately 1 mile and turn right on Memorial Mall. Stewart Center will be the first large building on your right. Cary Quadrangle can be reached by continuing two blocks further west on State St. and turning right on N. University St. Proceed north on N. University St. to W. Stadium Ave. Cary Quadrangle is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of N. University St. and W. Stadium Ave. A map of the campus can be downloaded from www.purdue.edu/campus_map/.

If you are coming by plane, Indianapolis International Airport is located just 1.5 hours southeast of Lafayette/West Lafayette and is served by most national airlines as well as by a few regional carriers. Shuttle service is available daily to and from Purdue. Purdue University Airport is located in West Lafayette on Airport Road. Lafayette Aviation offers scheduled air carrier services, a repair station, and avionics sales and service. If you wish to fly your own plane to the meeting, call (765) 743-9692 to make arrangements.

If you are coming by train, Amtrak's Cardinal service between New York City and Chicago stops in Lafayette, as does the Hoosier State operating between Indianapolis and Chicago. The Amtrak station in Lafayette is 1.2 miles from Stewart Center. To make reservations call 1-800-USA-RAIL.

Typically it is warm-but can be hot-and humid in Indiana during late July. Thunderstorms normally occur less than once per week and are of short duration.

We will post the agenda on this Web site when it becomes available. If you wish to know when the agenda is posted, send email to icomserve@aol.com with the subject "NNGA Meeting Updates."