Editor’s note — The Packer’s Global Organic Produce Expo has two parts this year: GOPEX Home, an online experience focused on education and perspective from industry leaders, happening later this month, and GOPEX Go, an in-person, COVID-conscious event scheduled for August. Register here.
Grimmway’s Jeff Huckaby and Cal Poly’s Andy Thulin will discuss organic produce research at an education session Jan. 27 during the 2021 Global Organic Produce Expo.
Huckaby is the president of Bakersfield, Calif.-based Grimmway Farms, and Thulin is the dean of the Cal Poly College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Grimmway recently donated $5 million to Cal Poly for the launch of the Center for Organic Production and Research on the university’s campus.
“Our partnership with Grimmway will facilitate bringing increased science and technology to the production of organic food,” Thulin said in a news release. “Cal Poly is at the forefront of using the power of collaboration to solve real-world problems. This new center will integrate the greatest talents in academia, private industry, government and a wide range of disciplines to benefit the organic industry as a whole.”
Some of the research topics on which the center will focus its efforts include water quality, soil structure and biodiversity, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, technology innovation, and composting and organic matter, according to the release.
In the upcoming GOPEX session, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST on Jan. 27, Huckaby and Thulin will talk about some of the key challenges for organic production and how research can move the industry forward in the coming years as it explores solutions for some of the most important issues facing organic growers.
