Under 40s unveil next location
A roving conference focused on driving more youth into the fruit industry has
announced its next location in Europe. 
The 21st Under 40s (U40s) conference, which looks to encourage young people into engaging and progressing in the industry, will take place in Loire Valley, France in February 2011.
The conference will tour the region with intentions to visit businesses in the fields of stonefruit, soft fruit, top fruit and possibly a vineyard.
The conference organisers, who are all volunteers who work in the produce industry, have already garnered a number of sponsors including Agrovista, Norman Collett and the Farm Advisory Services Team.
The four-day conference is likely to include a day of presentations and talks before visits to various growers in the region, where UK delegates can learn and share thoughts with their French counterparts.
Frank P Matthews’s Stephanie James, who is organising the marketing and PR for the U40s, told freshinfo: ”We considered taking [the conference] to Poland but we felt somewhere like the south of France offered real diversity which would interest and attract people. We are aiming to keep prices low to attract more younger people and have kept the February slot as it is a less busy time for growers.
“We’re looking to get a greater number of growers involved and enable more young people to experience the way different businesses are run in France.”
James was speaking after a meeting, chaired by Ben Ashdown with vice-chairman James Shillitoe, of the U40s committee at Fruit Focus in Kent.
In January, growers toured top-fruit research, growing and processing facilities in Germany, from a base in Leipzig.
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