Horticulture Industries Show Conference

January 6-7, 2012

"Propagating Success:

Pursuing Excellence in Horticulture "

Friday's Keynote Speaker

Diane Ott Whealy, co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange of Decorah, IA will speak over "Preserving Genetic Diversity, One Seed at a Time" at the 2012 Conference on Friday, January 6.

Seed Savers Exchange is is a non-profit, member supported organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.

Their mission is to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.

At the heart of Seed Savers Exchange are the dedicated members who have distributed hundreds of thousands of heirloom and open pollinated garden seeds since their founding over 35 years ago. Those seeds now are widely used by seed companies, small farmers supplying local and regional markets, chefs and home gardeners and cooks, alike.

Founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy to honor this tradition of preserving and sharing. Their collection started when Diane's terminally-ill grandfather gave them the seeds of two garden plants, Grandpa Ott's morning glory and German Pink tomato. Grandpa Ott's parents brought the seeds from Bavaria when they immigrated to St. Lucas, Iowa in the 1870s.

Today, the 890-acre Heritage Farm, near Decorah, Iowa, maintains many thousands of heirloom garden varieties, most having been brought to North America by members' ancestors who emigrated from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world.

Saturday's Keynote Speaker

Mark Andrews has been with Greenleaf Nursery Company for the past 20 years in various positions. His initial position focused on production research for the Oklahoma and Texas divisions and included emphasis on the installation of water and recycling systems. The position evolved into an emphasis on New Product Development, looking at what varieties the company needed to start growing and also looking for new selections within the plants in production at the nursery. Currently, Mark’s primary emphasis is on production planning and scheduling, along with crop management for major accounts and growth regulator use on Hydrangeas.

Prior to working for Greenleaf, Andrews worked for the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) for the University of Minnesota and Oklahoma State University. These positions included an area Integrated Pest Management (IPM) position, Horticulture Agent for Cleveland County and Manager of the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Stillwater.

Andrews received his B.S. degree in Forestry and M.S. degree in Plant Pathology from the University of Minnesota. Mark's topic on Saturday is "New Plant Varieties—Where Do They Come From?"