Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAg & Extention Committee 03-05-1996ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF CON Pvffr EE MEETING TO: Robert M. Boche, Chairman St. Croix County Board FROM: Vern Dull, Chairman COMMITTEE TITLE: Extension Ag Committee/Resource & Education Committee DATE: March 5, 1996 TIME: 12:30 p.m. LOCATION: Ag Center, Baldwin CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES UNFINISHED BIISINESS: Administrative Report - Budget - Status of Ag Building Family Living Agents Report - FNP Program - March Leader Training - Together Time Ag Agent's Report - Educational Programs 4-H & Youth Agent's Report - Vita - Youth Protection Policy Update - Mini -Talent Explosion - New 4-H Family Effort - Resource Agentfs Report Resource Guide - Business Management Counseling - EPA Grant Application - Barn Preservation Workshop - Development Plan Ordinance Review - Development Plan Survey NEW BIISINESS: ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) SUBMITTED BY: Lee Milligan DATE: February 22, 1996 COPIES TO: County Board Office County Clerk News Media/Notice Board Committee Members Ag & Extension/Resource & Education Committee March 5, 1996 Ag Center, Baldwin Present: Vern Dull, Tom Dorsey, Raymond, Lee Milligan, Jim Janke, Martha Mabis. Convened: 1:10 p.m. Adjourned: 4:15 p.m. Art Jensen, Chris Bethke, Ronald Kim Reaman, Mary Lestrud and The meeting was called to order at 1:10 p.m. Date of next meeting was set for Wednesday, April 3 at 12:30 p.m. Dorsey moved that the agenda be adopted as presented. Raymond seconded the motion. Motion carried. Jensen moved that the previous meeting's minutes be approved. Bethke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Dorsey moved that the vouchers be approved. Jensen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Administrative Report The ag building office space was discussed. The Federal Ag offices will be moving in 1996. Land Conservation and Extension staff are developing a cost analysis of staying in the present location or moving to a new site with the Federal Ag offices. The cost analysis will be completed within two weeks. Representatives of the Committee and Departments will be meeting with the Village of Baldwin City Council to discuss their long- range plans and long-term lease options. Concerns with the current offices include handicapped accessibility, meeting room space, general condition of offices, and future availability of offices for lease. Milligan, Lestrud, and several committee members attended the District 8 WACEC annual meeting. Dean Ayse Somersan will retire September 3. A replacement will be hired before September 3. Lestrud was one of eight agents selected to discuss a successful educational program. Lestrud discussed the successful Reading Festival she developed in St. Croix. Ag Agent's Report Fifty-seven crop producers and consultants participated in a Precision Ag Seminar coordinated by Milligan. The seminar featured UW-Extension specialists and a panel composed of Roger Lindquist and Steve Halleen. Participants learned profitable grid sampling size, global positioning equipment available, and tips on how to use it. Fifty crop producers participated in the pesticide applicator certification training program. To date 74 producers have participated. Another program will be held March 2. Milligan taught at a dairy nutrition program with 19 participants. University of Minnesota Extension dairy nutritionist was guest speaker. Participants learned how multiple component pricing of milk occurs and how to feed dairy cows to influence milk components. Milligan continues to provide educational input to three dairy producers involved in deciding whether to increase the size of their herd to 300 or 400 cows. Milligan is also providing input to a swine producer trying to decide if the sow herd should be doubled. Milligan is helping several large dairy herd producers for a large dairy herd producer network. The network will provide producers an opportunity to discuss similar issues and problems that are specific to their size of operation. The organizational meeting will be in late March. The Managing Dairy Farm Profitability participants are working with Milligan on analyzing their farm business records. Individual reports will be available by late March for comparison with the group summary. Farm visits have addressed farm financial management issues, raising dairy replacements, dairy nutrition, and dairy housing and milking facilities. Milligan is coordinating and teaching two forage seminars in March. The DHI annual meeting is March 14 and the banquet March 23. Family Living Agent's Report Mary introduced Extension's Family Nutrition Educator, Martha Mabis. Martha showed a display on soups and discussed her current outreach efforts with young families at WIC. She also plans educational programs in the future at senior meal sites, jail, and possibly AFDC clients. Mary and Martha spent four days in Menomonie at training (Mary taught sessions on financial goals and values and limited families and Earned Income Credit). Together Time youth have been recruited for regular visits to two nursing homes. Mary has provided a lesson on fruit nutrition and preparation for HCE leaders at four county locations and is currently working on lessons on osteoporosis. Mary will be attending a two-day conference in March with HCE members regarding health issues (paid for with state HCE funds). Mary has been asked to speak to a Hudson group of 50 men and women on eating nutritious meals/food labels for older adults. Mary's APEX committee is examining County -wide Search Institute data after their survey of our teenager's. Programs and goals will be developed as an outgrowth of that student survey. - 2 - 4-H & Youth Agent's Revort VITA -- The Department of Youth development recommended that Reaman be promoted from Assistant Professor -probationary to Associate Professor with tenure. Dean and Director of UWEX concurred with the recommendations of the department and divisional committee and requested that Reaman be recommended to the Board of Regents this spring for this promotion. Youth Protection Policy Update -- Reaman distributed a handout outlining the 4-H Leader trends: 1992 - 326 leaders; 1993 - 407 leaders; 1994 - 299 leaders; 1995 - 247 certified leaders; 1996 - 281 certified leaders. There are currently 32 leaders who need to complete the WI 4-H Youth Protection Policy. The elevated number of leaders reported in 1992-93 reflects a concerted effort to report project leaders and other adults involved in 4-H, regardless of the level of their involvement, in addition to school programs, by the previous agent. Mini -Talent Explosion -- About 120 4-H members participated in this county contest: 11 demonstrations, 21 speeches, 39 interpretive reading, 3 club music entries, 1 club on-stage drama and 2 club mini -dramas. Reaman handed out a list of the individual 4-H members and 4-H clubs who were selected to advance to the District Talent Explosion, March 16. New 4-H Family Effort -- The 4-H Leaders' Council has expressed concern about helping new 4-H families With no previous 4-H experience understand and succeed in the program. Mary Omann and Reaman, along with the Leaders' Council, will work on developing a resource guide for new 4-H families that would provide very basic information regarding the county program. 4-H Ambassadors -- The 4-H Ambassadors are involved in fund raising to rebuild the float for summer parades. The estimated cost to rebuild the float is $500. Over the next couple of months, the Ambassadors will visit 4-H clubs to ask for contributions. Resource Agent's Report Two full days of business management counseling were held at the Government Center. Only one day was scheduled originally, but the second date was scheduled to accommodate the additional demand. Additional dates have been scheduled on March 26 and April 8. Janke is working with Dr. Charles Rader at UW-River Falls to prepare a grant application for $25,000 from the US EPA. The money would be for a project to compare the various computer models that predict the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination from the surface. - 3 - The New Richmond Preservation Society has asked Janke about sponsoring a regional workshop on barn preservation. Members of the society are willing to volunteer assistance. UW-Extension has sponsored two workshops per year in other parts of the state. The upcoming workshop in Monroe is scheduled for late March and has already received 150 registration. Janke asked the committee for feedback on whether to invert the time to hold a workshop for Western Wisconsin in the spring of 1997. The committee felt that it was a worthwhile project as long as priority activities were not harmed. Janke reported that he arranged for UW-Extension Land Use Attorney Brian Olsen to assist the county in reviewing the current zoning ordinance to identify problems and weaknesses. Development Plan Survey questionnaires are still being received. Responses from local government officials have topped 90%. Other groups range between 77 and 88%. Raymond moved to adjourn. Jensen seconded the motion. Motion carried. ��Y Ort J se Secretary cz - 4 -