Join us for the 2024 Comprehensive ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour
Get your tickets before June 8th

ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour June 13 & 14
Beginning Growers Workshop June 12th

Join Us to Celebrate Two Decades of American Elderberry

Learn from passionate experienced growers, researchers, value-added producers, and industry experts who’ve been diving into the best practices for growing and marketing your American elderberry crops and products.

Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia, Missouri

Tickets

Terry Durham on stage at Elderberry Workshhop

Two days packed with everything ELDERBERRY!

Lunch, Snacks and ElderBerry Reception included.
Special Room Rate at Stoney Creek Inn.
June 12 ADD-ON Beginning Growers Workshop that will be at The Bradford Research Convention Center.
Get tickets below.

This year we are celebrating two decades of elderberry at the conference! It will be held at the same location as last year, Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia, Missouri. Hotel room discounts are available once you click into the event link to purchase tickets. The Beginning Growers Workshop will take place the day before the general 2-day conference.

June 13 & 14 Comprehensive ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour

Learn and enjoy for 2 days packed with the latest American elderberry research on cultivating and medicine. Talk with growers from around the country, both experienced and new. Presentations from researchers, value-added producers, industry experts and more.

8:30am Thursday & Friday (official schedule will be posted later).
At Stoney Creek Inn, 2601 S Providence Rd, Columbia, MO.
$295 per ticket.
Lunch Included.
You can purchase the Full Conference Pass that includes the Beginning Growers Workshop as well for $355 per ticket.
ElderBerry Reception from 5-6:30 on Thursday, June 13th. Enjoy elderberry vendors, snacks, samples and merriment.
Orchard Tour begins 3pm Friday, June 14th.

June 12 - Beginning Growers Workshop

The Beginning Growers Workshop will take place the day before the general 2-day conference. Here you can expect to learn how to successfully plant and grow American elderberries commercially. We will cover some of the latest research and different selections as well as risk mitigation and best practices.

1:00pm
At The Bradford Research Conference Center, 4968 South Rangeline Road Columbia, MO.
$80 per ticket.
Save $20 if you purchase the Full Conference Pass that includes the Beginning Growers Workshop and the 2-day Workshop & Orchard Tour.

We are really excited to release the speakers and schedule soon, as it seems each year just keeps getting better. We want to encourage new and experienced growers to attend, or those interested. Click below to learn more and order your tickets!

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Tickets

Two decades of growing American Elderberry makes Terry an industry pioneer. Owner of River Hills Harvest Elderberry products, Terry works to make sure all growers have the knowledge they need to be successful.
Mitigating Risk -- an introduction to the Orchard Tour. A new plot of elderberries showcases the recommended way to begin your elderberry plantings to mitigate risk and take the guesswork out of orchard-startups, practically ensuring success.

Karen and Paul van Huizen began growing elderberries in N.E. Victoria in 2017. Pioneering the industry in Australia, they launched Elderglen in 2020. Growing and producing their own products on farm, they are passionate about elderberries and products that make a difference to people’s health, the land, farmers and local economy.
As a permaculturalist, working in emergency management with fire, flood, storms, COVID, landslide and drought, Karen sees the importance in future proofing food, water, shelter, income and community as these emergencies increase in frequency and intensity.
Paul is focused on best practice models and finding ways to improve efficiencies. Together it has helped shape their elderberry business. Karen loves learning and sharing their knowledge and experience. She believes that elderberries can be part of future proofing and that education and collaboration are key to growing the industry and developing new markets which is good for the farmers, product producers and end consumers.

Thomas Ruggieri, fermenter/farmer. Tom manages the Fair Share Farm fermenting kitchen and produces over 10,000 pounds of live-culture ferments annually from the farm's harvest. As a former environmental engineer and farmstead winemaker he also has extensive experience in regulatory systems and fruit fermentation.

A graduate student at the University of Missouri, Matt’s research project aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of six weed management strategies in American elderberry, including effective weed suppression, plant performance and economics.

Patrick Byers is the Commercial Horticulture Field Specialist with University of Missouri Extension, serving 9 counties in southwest Missouri. His educational background includes horticulture degrees from the Universities of Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Patrick’s 33-year career has touched all aspects of horticulture, and his current job focuses on advisement to fruit and vegetable farmers with the goal of supporting sustainability and profitability. His passions include berries (especially elderberry), garlic, native fruits and nuts, hops and orchids. He will be presenting on Fertility: Science & Application as well as Elderberry Insects.

Kyle Bridges is a passionate entrepreneur with a decade of experience in e-commerce. With over 8 years dedicated to serving the recycling industry in wire sales and in a business development role nurturing relationships with national accounts. He is currently the CEO of Nobleberry, LLC, which will utilize the robust network of domestic elderberry supply to develop value added products. He will be presenting on Adding Value: Systems for Elderberry Entrepreneurs.

Andrew Leach is a Sustainable Commercialization Associate with University of Minnesota's Forever Green. He works on agroforestry topics and helps with intellectual property for the exciting continuous living cover crops Forever Green is developing. His presentation is about Processing Elderberries in Minnesota.

Elderberry Breeding at the Savanna Institute
Lily Hislop is the Elderberry and Black Currant Breeder for the Savanna Institute. She started at SI in fall 2023 from a blueberry breeding position. Lily has a PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics and has worked with a variety of species including sweet corn, pumpkin, miscanthus, and teosinte.

Chris Patton is the President of the Midwest Elderberry Cooperative. His presentation is about just that, Commercial Berry Processing & Hub Formation.

Field Propagation of Elderberry Hardwood
Cuttings
Caleb O'Neal is a Research
Specialist, The University of Missouri SW Research Extension & Education
Center.

Sydney Moore is a graduate student at the University of Missouri. She is from central Illinois and graduated with her Bachelors from Missouri State University in Environmental Plant Science. Her thesis project focuses on genotype by environment interactions in American elderberry.

Craig has spent many years helping elderberry farmers across the US with their drip irrigation. His designs and knowledge have proven success in the American elderberry industry. If you ask who we'd recommend, it's always Craig!

Automatic Harvesting Prototype Team Photo

Join us for the 2024 Comprehensive ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour Get your tickets before June 8th

ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour June 13 & 14 Beginning Growers Workshop June 12th

Join us for the 2024 Comprehensive ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour
Get your tickets before June 8th

ElderBerry Workshop & Orchard Tour June 13 & 14
Beginning Growers Workshop June 12th