October 2020 - 9

INDUSTRY NEWS
SAKATA CREATES CEA DEPARTMENT
Sakata Seed America has announced the
formation of a controlled environment agriculture
(CEA) department.
This new department will focus on indoor
agriculture, a growing segment of the produce
industry that focuses both on traditional
greenhouse production as well as specialized
vertical farming.
According to Justin Davis, Sakata's director of
sales & marketing, this new group is designed
to bolster the company's leadership role in
developing varieties for controlled environment
agriculture. " We have been focused on this
segment for a number of years, especially in the
leafy greens category. The timing is ideal for
Sakata to create this group to hone our efforts
on CEA in order to bring more products to the
market for indoor ag. "
Leading the new division will be Tracy Lee,
an 11-year veteran of Sakata Seed America
with an extensive background in agriculture. At
Sakata, she has played active roles specializing in
product development for multiple categories, as
well as handling the company's home garden and
farm market vegetable seed sales.
" I think there is tremendous growth
opportunity in serving the controlled environment
agriculture segment, and I'm very pleased that
Sakata is continuing its leadership in the market.
This is something that I'm passionate about and
have been active in for the past several years, "
says Lee.
BIOSAFE'S SANIDATE DISINFECTANT
LABELED TO KILL CORONAVIRUS
BioSafe Systems' SaniDate all-purpose
disinfectant is now labeled to kill human
coronavirus. It is categorized as " SaniDate 6% "
on List N - the exclusive collection of
disinfectants meeting specific criteria for use
against SARS-CoV-2. This peroxyacetic acid
product already attracts consumers as a threein-one
disinfectant with vast applications, but with
the EPA approval its mass appeal has leveled up.
This three-in-one solution saves time and money
by cleaning, disinfecting and deodorizing hard
surfaces in one step with one product. In addition
to human coronavirus, SaniDate works against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus
and Salmonella enterica. SaniDate All Purpose
Disinfectant has proven useful for complete
cleaning coverage in the home, office, schools,
vehicles, the garage, the toolshed etc.
SaniDate also eliminates mold and mildew
and mitigates its growth and spread. Use this
disinfectant on a daily basis to clean dirt, grime, oils
and other common soils found on hard, non-porous
surfaces in high-traffic areas of public life.
GREAT LAKES
FRUIT, VEGETABLE & FARM MARKET
FLEXIBILITY,
EDUCATIONAL
SESSIONS HEADLINE
VIRTUAL 2020 GREAT
LAKES EXPO
Due to COVID-19, many trade shows and
businesses have been forced to alter their
plans and events for the 2020 calendar
year. For the first time ever, the Great
Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO
will be transitioning to a virtual EXPO for
2020, including virtual booths, educational
sessions and more.
Although there won't be any in-person
events, the virtual 2020 Great Lakes EXPO,
which will still take place on the originally
scheduled dates of Dec. 8-10, will allow
attendees and exhibitors alike the unique
opportunity of interacting and engaging with
speakers, vendors and other growers - all
from the comfort and safety of their own home.
HOW IT WORKS
Attendees will be sent a link to the virtual
Great Lakes EXPO platform, which will take
them to a lobby. From there, attendees
will be able to choose between entering
educational sessions or the trade show floor,
among other options.
When attendees enter the virtual " trade
show floor, " they will be presented with a
categorized list of exhibitors. From there,
attendees will be able to navigate between
exhibitors and visit their individual " booths. "
For exhibitors, virtual booths will have
a similar look and feel to those you see
when physically walking a trade show
floor. Despite the virtual elements, each
exhibitor will start with a " blank booth, "
which will allow the vendor to make the
space their own with custom signage and
company information. Attendees will be
able to connect with the exhibitors, ask
questions and digitally take copies of any
documentation the exhibitor provides.
Ben Smith, the executive secretary of the
Michigan State Horticultural Society and
EXPO board member, said that the shift to
virtual will not only keep attendees and
exhibitors safe and healthy, but will also still
provide valuable networking opportunities.
" A few of the benefits of holding a virtual
EXPO this year are the ability to stay safe and
healthy while attending sessions or 'walking'
the trade show floor, " Smith said. " Vendors
and attendees will be able to network while
not having to worry about maintaining social
distancing, wearing a mask or regularly using
hand sanitizer. "
EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS
A signature of the Great Lakes EXPO, the
virtual EXPO will still feature plenty of keynote
and educational sessions. Attendees will
not only be able to still attend educational
sessions, but the virtual options offer more
flexibility with the amount of sessions
attendees can attend at any given time.
" Our flexibility of options will be the
best ever this year because of (the virtual
capabilities), " Smith said. " Some educational
sessions will be live and some will be prerecorded,
but all will offer the ability to ask
questions of the presenter. The educational
schedule will be expanded to cover more
time during the day. This will allow attendees
to attend more sessions than they normally
would. Attendees will also be able to earn
pesticide recertification credits on the
sessions that offer them. "
Aside from the flexibility and health and
safety benefits, shifting the 2020 EXPO
to a virtual platform also means that the
educational sessions will have a wider variety
of content and speakers. In addition, the
virtual platform allows us to host individual
Q&A sessions separate from scheduled
educational sessions. This will offer
significant one-on-one time or small group
Q&A with our speakers and researchers.
" One benefit of a virtual EXPO will be
the ability of (Michigan State University)
to contribute presentations and interact
with the attendees in online educational
sessions, " Daniel Brainard of the MSU
Horticulture Department said. " Under
present MSU regulations, staff could not
attend an in-person event like the EXPO. "
" We are working to virtually bring in other
expert speakers from distant locations
who otherwise would be unable to travel to
Michigan in December, " Gregory Lang, also of
the MSU Horticulture Department, said.
For more information on the virtual
2020 Great Lakes EXPO, registration and
educational session details and more, visit
www.glexpo.com.
GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 9
http://www.glexpo.com
October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2020
