2200 Pocket Road Florence, SC 29506

2026 Eastern Wheat Workers and Southern Small Grains Workers Conference

Save the dates of April 20-22 (Monday through Wednesday) for the 2026 Eastern Wheat Workers and Southern Small Grains Workers Conference to be hosted by Clemson University at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina.

A tentative schedule will be presentations on Monday and Tuesday and end with a field tour on Wednesday morning. Schedule, registration, and hotel details will be shared at a later date.

Registration is now open for the 2026 Eastern Wheat and Southern Small Grain Workers Conference! Please click on this link to register --> EWW / SSGW Registration Webpage.

 

Important meeting deadlines:

Guests can also call the front desk and use code G-CLEM to book.

  • April 3 – Graduate student poster abstracts due (submission details forthcoming)
  • March 31 – Last day for early registration discount 

While the conference program is still being finalized, a general schedule overview is provided below to help coordinate travel plans (Eastern Daylight Time):

 

Monday, April 20

Tuesday, April 21

8am – 9am 
Opening remarks

& Keynote

9am – noon

General sessions
2pm – 4pm
Breakout session

5pm – 6pm
Poster session

8am – 11am
General sessions

11am – noon
Business meeting

& Closing remarks

1pm – 3pm

Field tour

 

Travel planning to Florence, SC

Because the meeting will begin early Monday morning (April 20), attendees are encouraged to arrive to Florence on Sunday (April 19). The meeting will end on Tuesday afternoon close to 3pm EDT that may allow a late drive or flight home that day; however, hotel rooms will be available Tuesday night (April 21) for attendees choosing to return on Wednesday (April 22).

Meeting venue: Clemson Pee Dee Research and Education Center (REC)

Hotel with group rate:  Hyatt Place Downtown Florence (see reservation link above)

                                       100 East Evans Street Florence

    Florence, South Carolina, 29506

Flight options: Florence has a regional airport (FLO) that typically offers several flights daily to and from Charlotte, NC (CLT). The airport is located less than 3 miles from the hotel in downtown Florence and approximately 10 miles from the Clemson Pee Dee Research & Education Center. Attendees can also consider flying into (and out of) Columbia (CAE; 1.5 hr drive), Myrtle Beach (MYR; 1.5 hr drive), Charleston (CHS; 2 hr drive), Raleigh (RDU; 2.5 hr drive), or Charlotte (2.5 hr drive), and driving in a car rental to Florence. This may be a cheaper option depending on departure city.

Daily commute between hotel and venue: To avoid attendees from having to rent a vehicle during the meeting, a charter bus will be available to pick up attendees from the hotel each morning to transport to the Pee Dee REC, as well as return attendees back to the hotel in the afternoon/evening. There are common rental car companies in Florence that have reservation booths at the airport and independent locations throughout Florence if attendees wish to drive and not ride the charter bus.


The conference will include:

  • Keynote address: The history and impact of Coker’s Pedigreed Seed Company.
  • General sessions: Short talks across a range of topics that include cultivar development, management, disease and pest resistance, emerging markets, growers outreach, and more.
  • Breakout sessions: Discussions on the status and changes to the uniform testing nurseries.
  • Graduate student poster session: Interactive event to learn about ongoing research.
  • Field tour: Walkthrough of Clemson University small grains trials in Florence.
  • Sponsor booths: Dedicated space for sponsors to showcase products and services.

 

Questions about the event?  Please reach out to Rick Boyles at rboyles@clemson.edu.

Interested in sponsoring the event?  Please reach out to Rick Boyles at rboyles@clemson.edu.