International Elderberry Symposium welcomes farmers and scientists from around the world

The Second International Symposium on Elderberry was held June 18 – 20, 2025 in Columbia, with 200 attendees from states across the U.S., as well as from Australia, Canada, Portugal, Slovenia, and the UK. Elderberry farmers and scientists traveled to Missouri during peak elderberry flowering season to interact and learn among peers.

The meeting facilitated exchange among many different stakeholders in the elderberry community, including researchers, farmers, processors, and marketers. Speakers in both plenary and breakout sessions covered a range of elderberry topics spanning economics, horticulture, weed management, crop breeding, entomology, brain health, metabolomics, food science, mechanical harvest, plant virology, elderberry business strategies, wine and vinegar making, and product adulteration. More than 25 posters stretched the diverse elderberry topics even farther. The Symposium was rounded out by a trade show and displays that included wine tastings and samplings of diverse elderberry products, from powerful elderberry supplements to cutting-edge elderberry skin care products. 

ElderBlossom View, a beautiful and unique elderberry farm, winery, and event space located just south of Columbia, hosted a spectacular evening for symposium attendees. The following evening, a banquet featured a locally made elderberry dessert with a welcome by Dr. Shibu Jose, associate dean for research and director of the Agriculture Experiment Station for the MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources.

Field tours included MU research laboratories, field research plots at the MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm, lunch at The Nature Conservancy’s stunning Missouri River Center, and tours of several beautiful elderberry farms around Central Missouri. 

Many international connections were made among scientists that will lead to future collaborations on elderberry research. Deals and connections were also made among elderberry farmers, processors, and marketers from around the world.  An important session featured scientists directly asking farmers, processors, and marketers what is needed in terms of future research. 

“We all took notes as the desire for more and deeper elderberry research was evident,” said Andy Thomas, associate research professor in horticulture and agroforestry at Mizzou. “We hope to eventually turn these needs and concerns into new grant-funded research projects.”

Conference organizers thank the numerous sponsors and donors for their support of the Second International Elderberry Symposium, including a major grant from the USDA – Specialty Crops Research Initiative.