Miami Beach, Florida, USA
April 11, 2011

More than 120 watermelon professionals gathered at the 2nd International Watermelon Conference in Miami Beach, Florida last week to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. The three-day conference, organized by vegetable seed supplier Nunhems, brought together industry experts from watermelon growers and marketers to researchers and trade groups to discuss vital topics such as exporting, food safety and retail marketing.

The conference, dubbed the “Americas Summit,” drew attendees from as far away as Brazil and Spain, with a mix of speakers, tours and networking opportunities targeted towards North, Central and South American growers.

“This is a global industry, but much of the business is conducted regionally,” said Pepe Gomez, Nunhems Watermelon Crop Sales Manager, Americas. “The International Watermelon Conference provides a rare opportunity for those involved in watermelons in the Americas to connect, learn and share.”

The conference kicked off with an elegant opening reception on the beach-front terrace of the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort in Miami Beach on Thursday evening. Friday was filled with a full day of information-rich speakers and presentations, with several attendees able to take advantage of the opportunity to earn American Society of Agronomy Certified Crop Adviser continuing education credits. Nunhems CEO Douwe Zijp opened the event by welcoming attendees and stressing the company’s commitment to sharing knowledge and providing platforms, like the International Watermelon Conference, that help others to do the same.

“Nunhems is thrilled to stage such a conference, as it personifies what our company constantly strives to achieve: interaction with growers and others in the industry, and providing them with information and support to help make their crops, their businesses, better and stronger,” Zijp said.

On Saturday, attendees enjoyed the rare ability to tour crucial steps in the produce supply chain, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Port of Miami. The event provided many opportunities for socialization and networking, including an elegant Friday night dinner cruise off the coast of scenic Miami Beach.

Even with its full slate of learning activities, many at the International Watermelon Conference noted that it was the attendees that were the strength of the event.

“We were able to gather industry representatives from across the Americas, Europe and beyond,” Gomez said. “Just having all those people in the same room is an amazing experience. Add to it the expert presenters and we had all the ingredients of a world-class conference.”

“It was very impressive,” John Lapide, attendee and owner of South Carolina-based watermelon shipper Melon 1, Inc. said. “A good group of speakers, an excellent venue; well worth the trip to Miami.”

While International Watermelon Conference’s theme, “The Road Ahead,” was weaved throughout the conference’s content, it was perhaps no more noticeable than the Harley-Davidson motorcycle parked in the foyer outside of the hotel’s conference room. As part of the festivities, one lucky attendee won a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

“Our goal was to not only make the International Watermelon Conference educationally valuable, but also fun,” Gomez said.

This is the second time Nunhems has hosted the International Watermelon Conference. The first conference was held in Valencia, Spain in 2008 and attracted growers from across Europe and around the world.

The vegetable seed business of Bayer CropScience operates under the name of Nunhems. Nunhems is the global specialist in vegetable genetics and services. As a globally integrated group of teams, Nunhems builds unique customer relationships and shares products, concepts and expertise with the professional horticultural production industry and supply chain. The portfolio of Nunhems consists of 2,500 varieties in 28 vegetable crops, including leading varieties of carrot, cucumber, leek, lettuce, melon, onion, pepper, tomato and watermelon. With more than 1,600 employees, Nunhems is present in all major vegetable production areas in the world.

Website: http://www.seedquest.com/id/n/nunhemsusa.htm

Published: April 12, 2011