The recent Hydroponics Farmers Federation conference and trade show held at Chisholm Institute in Cranbourne, Victoria, was a good news story for the industry Among the many highlights was the launch of a new state-of-the-art glasshouse training facility for local and regional skills training in Controlled Environment Horticulture. We walked outside Tullamarine Airport into a frigid wind that came straight from Antarctica. It was Melbourne's coldest day in a decade. Our destination was Chisholm Institute, Cranbourne, on the south-eastfringe of Melbourne. It was at the end of the urban sprawl where bricks and mortars gave way to a vast plain of low-lying bushland. It was here where growers and industry experts gathered from around Australia and overseas for the biennial Hydroponic Farmers Federation (HFF) 3-day conference and trade show. The star attraction was Chisholm's new $1.2 million Faber-designed glasshouse, fitted with the very best in greenhouse technology. It is Australia's first multi-purpose training facility for Controlled Environment Horticulture. Workers from the consortium of three companies responsible for the 1500m2 infrastructure - Faber Glasshouses, Powerplants and AIS Greenworks - were busy adding the final touches before the ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for the last day of the conference. Until then, there was plenty to see and hear before the grand opening.
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