Not only was it the 10th Biennial Conference, but for the first time trade partners had the opportunity to invite their grower customers to learn, share and network with like-minded people. Many growers have commented that they were most appreciative of the opportunity to be invited along.

The dinner and farm tours proved very popular, with high demand to attend. Many growers who travelled from interstate were glad they made the trip, given the success of the event. There was a lot of interest in the ebb and flood bench and the lighting display at the Powerplants stand and the Autogrow equipment also received quite a lot of attention. 

There were many positive comments from attendees, particularly from the berry growers who attended who said they had learned a great deal and were able to connect with other berry growers as well as suppliers. They were impressed with the program, and have suggested in future that a berry related speaker would be a fantastic addition to the programme.

Many of the guest speakers were very well received, including Richard from Cravo, Frank Costa and Jan Dijkman from Philips. Jan’s presentation generated considerable interest in LED lights and the presentations were a wonderful inclusion to the event. Many delegates commented on the calibre of speakers, which set the scene for an informative three days.

With the highest number of delegates attending so far, the HFF Conference was deemed the most successful to date. There were approximately 270 delegates attending, with the ratio of growers very high.

The attendees consisted of a great mix of people from nursery backgrounds along with tomato growers, berry growers, protected vegetable growers such as capsicums, leafy greens, Herbs, some field vegetable growers and propagators.

HFF President, John Elford, was overwhelmed with the attendance and support for the event. “To put it simply, we are so proud of every aspect of the conference and the people who made it a great event. Special thanks to the sponsors, speakers, allied Trade and, most importantly, the delegates. Our challenge now will be to try and duplicate this event in two years’ time.”