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Fruit and vegetable growers from across the state gathered in downtown Columbus in January to learn the latest developments in their industry.

Approximately 1,500 people attended the 2006 Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress, according to Tom Sachs, executive director of the Ohio Fruit Growers Society and the Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association.

This year’s event included educational sessions on production and marketing as well as the annual trade show.

During the conference, Peggy Kirk Hall, director of Ohio State University’s Agricultural and Rural Law program, discussed liability issues associated with u-pick and agritainment operations. She said farmers need to be aware of any dangerous conditions on their property before inviting customers on the farm.

"A warning sign is a very good liability tool for you as a landowner," she said, noting that signs should even warn customers about bees and poison ivy.

She also discussed part of Ohio’s new tort reform laws, which Ohio Farm Bureau lobbied for last year. The new law offers some immunity to u-pick operators. The law states that growers offer customers no assurance of safety simply by inviting them on their farm, and they are not liable for injuries caused by natural terrain or the cultivation of soil.

"This isn’t going to protect you from manmade hazards," Hall said.

Also at the conference, Leslie Stoel, assistant professor of merchandising management at OSU, told growers ways to make their retail space more effective.

She said signs need to have high contrasting colors and be easily read even by those with poor eyesight.

"You need to think about the age of your customers," she said.

Stoel explained that there are two types of shoppers: destination shoppers who want to get in and get out and shoppers that are more inclined to browse. She said if given a choice, destination shoppers will enter a store, turn left and move clockwise, while browsers will turn right and move counterclockwise.

She divided a store into nine sections, showing that 20 percent of the sales will occur in the front right corner compared with 5 percent in the back left.

"You want to try and put the register toward the back (according to this model)," she said, but noted that the threat of theft or efficient use of space may lead store owners to keep the register in the front.

This year’s conference also was held in conjunction with the Mid American Ag and Hort Services Human Resource Seminar, which covered topics such as worker safety, labor compliance and worker productivity.

"People are the most important resource of agricultural and horticultural businesses," said John Wargowsky, MAAHS executive director.

Caption: Chris Henney, OFBF director of agricultural ecology programs, (left) and Pat Petzel, OFBF director of consumer communications, (second from right) explain the benefits of the Our Ohio brand at the trade show.