Please note: This page contains program information for a festival that has already taken place. Information about the 2014 festival program will be added as details are finalized.
Truffle Growers' Forum
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Dr. Nick Malajczuk presenting on successful
truffle production in Western Australia
at the 2012 Truffle Growers’ Forum |
The Truffle Growers' Forum is an annual gathering and focal point for North America's truffle cultivation industry. It attracts an international cast of speakers, and growers from across the continent to discuss the breadth of thought and methods employed by successful truffle producers throughout the world. It enables growers, researchers, journalists, and truffle purveyors to keep up with advances in truffle science, engage with a wealth of experts, and make valuable contacts within the industry. The program for this event is dynamic, with different speakers each year, showcasing recent developments from around the globe. We assemble the best program possible, but as in any good conference, who you meet is often as valuable as what you learn. Since its inception in 2006, the Truffle Growers' Forum has served as a unique catalyst for future business and research collaboration.
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| Jacket cover for Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms, edited by Alessandra Zambonelli and Greg Bonito. |
The theme for January 2013 is the launch and public debut of the most recent book on the science and cultivation of truffles and other mushrooms: Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects edited by Dr’s. Alessandra Zambonelli and Greg Bonito, both of whom will speak at the Truffle Growers’ Forum event. This book will be an essential reference for anyone interested in the soil ecology, genetics, and cultivation of truffles, and provides an extensive knowledge base and inspiration for future studies on these ecologically and economically important fungi. Also speaking will be chapter authors Dr. Ian Hall, and Dr. Charles Lefevre.
 Dr. Hall, and Dr. Zambonelli also happen to be authors of Taming The Truffle,which is beyond doubt the most valuable reference on truffle cultivation written in English.
The Truffle Growers’ Forum will be held Friday, January 25th, and Saturday, January 26th, 2013 at The Hilton Eugene, headquarters hotel for the Oregon Truffle Festival. Friday consists of a lecture series with this year’s speakers covering the breadth of the truffle cultivation industry. Breakfast and a truffle lunch are included on Friday.
Saturday’s events are in the field, touring a research truffiere designed to produce five European truffle species and three Oregon truffle species, as well as a truffle hunt with truffle dogs for the native Oregon white truffles. Breakfast and a festive winemaker’s luncheon with a guest chef are included on Saturday.
Speakers
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| Dr. James Trappe, world renowned truffle researcher and professor emeritus at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Among Dr. Trappe’s numerous contributions to our understanding of truffles was his academic mentoring of many of the world’s leaders in truffle cultivation, as well as many of the speakers who have presented their work at the Oregon Truffle Festival. These include Dr. Nick Malajczuck, Dr. Carlos Colinas, Christine Fischer, Dr. Shannon Berch, Dr. Tom Michaels, and Dr. Charles Lefevre among many others. Dr. Trappe will once again serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Truffle Growers’ Forum. |
Dr. James Trappe
Truffle Researcher and
Professor Emeritus at
Oregon State University
Truffle Growers' Speaker
View Bio
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| Dr. Alessandra Zambonelli is among Europe’s foremost experts in the science of truffles. She is a professor of mycology at the University of Bologna, directing an influential research group, and serves as President of the Italian Mycological Association. She is author of numerous books and articles on truffles and their cultivation. Her latest contribution to the world of truffle cultivation is the book Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms, edited in collaboration with Dr. Greg Bonito, to be published in December 2012 and given its public debut at the Oregon Truffle Festival. Dr. Zambonelli will be speaking on the status of truffle cultivation in Italy, as well as recent advances in our understanding of truffles. |
Dr. Alessandra Zambonelli
President, Italian
Mycological Association
Truffle Growers' Forum Speaker
View Bio |
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| Dr. Greg Bonito is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University, where he has studied the molecular taxonomy of truffle species from around the world and contributed numerous groundbreaking publications on native and introduced truffle species in North America. Most recently he has co-edited the book Edible Ectomycorrhizal mushroom in collaboration with Dr. Alessandra Zambonelli, to be published in December 2012 and given its public debut at the Oregon Truffle Festival. Dr. Bonito will be speaking on recent advances in our understanding of truffle genetics and their implications for the science of truffle cultivation. |
Dr. Greg Bonito
Duke University
Truffle Growers' Forum Speaker |
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| Dr. Ian Hall is the lead author of Taming The Truffle, the single most comprehensive and valuable resource written in English currently available to truffle growers throughout the world. Dr. Hall pioneered the cultivation of Tuber melanosporum, Tuber aestivum, and Tuber borchii in the Southern Hemisphere, starting an industry that now exports is products back to Europe. Dr. Hall will be speaking on the status and methods of truffle farming in the Southern Hemisphere. |
Dr. Ian Hall
Truffles and Mushrooms Ltd.
Truffle Growers' Forum Speaker
View Bio |
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| Dr. Shannon Berch is a Research Scientist with the Government of British Columbia, and holds adjunct professorships with both the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and the Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology at Royal Roads University (RRU) in Victoria. She is a founding member of the Truffle Association of British Columbia (TABC) and leads their research and development program. She consults for North American truffle growers, providing independent assessment of inoculated seedling quality as well as site assessments and agronomic advice. Both as a lover of truffles and an active member of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society (SVIMS), she is successfully prospecting for edible native truffles in British Columbia. Dr. Berch will be presenting on recent developments in the international research literature on truffles and their cultivation. |
Dr. Shannon Berch
Research Scientist
Government of British Columbia
Truffle Growers' Forum Speaker
View Bio |
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| Dr. Charles Lefevre is the President and founder of New World Truffieres, Inc., a rapidly growing company specializing in truffle cultivation and controlled production of inoculated truffle trees. He co-founded the Oregon Truffle Festival in 2006 with his wife, Leslie Scott, to promote the native Oregon truffles as well as cultivation of the European truffles in orchards. Dr. Lefevre will be speaking on the industry developing around harvest of the native Oregon truffles, as well as the current status of truffle cultivation in North America. |
Dr. Charles Lefevre
New World Truffieres
Truffle Growers' Forum Speaker
View Bio |
The full program for the 2013 Truffle Growers Forum will be announced as it finalizes. Please contact Dr. Charles Lefevre with questions.
Phone: (541) 513-4176
email: charles@truffletree.com
website: www.truffletree.com
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Charles Lefevre and Simon Cartwright walking in an orchard of
oak and hazelnut trees inoculated with Tuber melanosporum.
Read Article |
Purchase Tickets
Truffle Growers' Forum - $650 per person - SOLD OUT!
Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26
7:30 am - 4:00 pm ONLY
The Truffle Growers' Forum is an annual gathering and focal point for the International truffle industry, featuring a range of speakers with expertise in the science of truffle cultivation, the practicalities of truffle farming, and the realities of marketing truffles. The Truffle Growers’ Forum provides growers, purveyors, researchers and journalists an opportunity to keep up with the status and methods of truffle cultivation worldwide, engage with the wealth of experts in attendance, and make essential contacts within the industry.
The Truffle Growers' Forum may also be purchased as part of Experience Five below.
Experience Five: The Epicurious Grower - SOLD OUT - $1050 per person
Select Experience One offerings plus The Truffle Growers’ Forum. The Truffle Growers' Forum is an annual gathering and focal point for the International truffle industry, featuring a range of speakers with expertise in the science of truffle cultivation, the practicalities of truffle farming, and the realities of marketing truffles. The Truffle Growers’ Forum provides growers, purveyors, researchers and journalists an opportunity to keep up with the status and methods of truffle cultivation worldwide, engage with the wealth of experts in attendance, and make essential contacts within the industry.
The Truffle Growers' Forum may also be purchased as an à la carte event below. Read more about Truffle Growers' Forum -->>REFUND POLICY
Please see our refund policy on our Buy Tickets page. |
