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Home My WebLink AboutAg & Extension 06-07-05 TO: Clarence Malick, Chairman St. Croix County Board FROM: Ronald Raymond, Chairman COMMITTEE TITLE: Agriculture & Extension Committee DATE: June 7, 2005 TIME: 9:oo a.m. LOCATION: Agricultural Services & Education Center, 196o 8th Ave., Baldwin, WI CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES ACTION ON VOUCHERS UNFINISHED BUSINESS: ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Federal Budget Report State Budget Report County Budget - Capital Improvement Plan • WACEC County Fair Agent Reports presented as time allows. HORTICULTURE AGENT'S REPORT -St. Croix County Community Gardens - Summer Tours /Open Houses Regional Direct Marketing Efforts AG AGENT'S REPORT Farm City Day Crop Care Clinic • Crop Outlook -Livestock Handling Tour RESOURCE AGENT'S REPORT -Drinking Water Test Results Cost of Community Services Study Update -Businesses Services Survey Small Business Advising and New Director -Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Education 4 -H YOUTH AGENT'S REPORT -Summer Assistant Summer Activities Update FAMILY LIVING AGENT'S REPORT •Family Resource Center Family Newspaper Summer Youth Events NEW BUSINESS: ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order.) SUBMITTED BY: Kim Reaman DATE: May 25, 2005 COPIES TO: County Board Office County Clerk News Media /Notice Board Committee Members AGRICULTURE & EXTENSION COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 7, 2005 Ag Services & Education Center, 1960 8 th Ave., Baldwin Convened: 9:05 a.m. Adjourned: 10:43a.m. Present: Ronald Raymond, Jan Zoerb, Lois Burri, Bill Peavey (arrived at 10:00 a.m.), Eugene Ruetz, Lee Milligan, James Janke, Kimberly Reaman, Jonathan Behling, Mary Lestrud, Martha Mabis, and Heidi Vanderloop. Absent: None The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ronald Raymond at 9:05 a.m. Date of next meeting was set for Tuesday, July 5 at 9:00 a.m. Eugene moved that the agenda be adopted as presented. Lois seconded the motion. Motion carried. Eugene moved that the previous meeting's minutes be approved. Ron seconded the motion. Motion carried. Lois moved that the vouchers be approved. Eugene seconded the motion. Motion carried. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Federal Budget Update — The Federal Budget for 2006 looks pretty good. State Budget Update — The UW System has been asked to take a substantial cut in the state budget. Final budget cuts to the overall UW System will not be known for several months yet. There will likely be limited impact on the county budget for 2006. County Budget— Reviewed the Capital Improvement Plan. Original plan included two new computers. The collator, purchased in 1997, needs to be replaced which is an addition to the original plan. Reaman worked with Dana Baker to obtain estimates to replace the collator, which will run approximately $5,500. Motion by Zoerb, second by Burri to include the collator in the 2006 Capital Improvement Plan with a priority 1 status. Change one of the computers to a priority 2 status and the second computer to a priority 3 status. Motion passed. Zoerb asked Reaman to work with Baker to obtain estimates for outsourcing printing jobs. Reaman reviewed the county budget timeline and indicated that the 2006 budget will remain consistent with the exception of the three upcoming retirements and the increases included with the budgeting instructions. WACEC Update— Mary and Lois Burri discussed details on the upcoming WACEC meeting. 1 HORTICULTURE. AGENT'S REPORT The St. Croix Community Garden is offering tours and open houses this summer from June until October. On display will be numerous examples of mulches, season extension technology, drip irrigation, green manure crops and cover crops. We also have installed a 3 -D Electric deer fence to thwart off the large deer population on the farm. Our second open house was held Saturday June 3r', and was attended by numerous home gardeners as well as a number of commercial market gardener. On May 19"' the New Richmond High held its annual Service Learning Days. Thirty -two juniors helped the UW horticulturalist place black plastic mulch, irrigation drip tape, weed and plant cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. This was a very successful day and the Juniors were amazed at the amount of work they accomplished. Results of a survey sent out to 270 value -added producers in a 9- county area was presented. Over eighty producers responded. These producers were direct marketers of many different agricultural products from honey, maple syrup, vegetables and fruits, to dairy and livestock. The farm sizes in the study ranged from 0.25 acres to 1,100 acres. One -third of the respondents derived a significant portion of the income from the farm. Eighty percent of respondents used direct farm to consumer sales, farmers markets and roadside stands. Overall, the need was expressed for assistance in technical aspects of marketing. Producers also suggested they would appreciate more promotion of the markets in their own communities and wanted an increase in support from local governments. Producers also would like assistance in regional marketing efforts to increase awareness of local foods, increased advertising, and an increase in marketing networks amongst producers; such as cooperatives or community support. The St. Croix County Horticulturalist continues to work with River Country RC &D, West CAP, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Educational Services and DATCP personnel to explore the possibility of a regional food system/local foods project. Agency personnel agreed that the marketing and cooperative ventures potential needs to be producer driven. It was also mentioned that agency personnel could assist in increasing consumer awareness in the local communities of local food producers and the benefits to the economy and health of the region and its constituents. The following topics were identified through a brainstorming session as possible projects the direct marketing producers and agencies could focus on: • Forming a cooperative for produce and other agricultural products • Development of a website • Development and use of a marketing brochure • Cooperative advertising — Maps (northwest heritage passage) — Compiling list of regional producers • Regional branding of locally grown produce • Development of community kitchens • Need for assistance in marketing — Grass -fed beef/poultry/lamb • Forming collective community supported agriculture • Involving Youth After meeting with Extension personnel, the following strategies were identified and it was 2 suggested that producers focus on the first one involving collaborative advertising and then slowly move on to the remaining depending on the interest of the producers in general. • Collaborative advertising — Informal, simple brochure, flier or map — Standards for who gets on it could be loose • Collaborative marketing — Selling products together with a specific marketing strategy, but no equity (just dues) or no new entity. — Examples: Farmers market, retail store or roadside stand -one owner products on consignment, CSA — Need for standards, liability issues arise. • Collaborative Processing - Community kitchen — Usually nonprofit entity involved to bear liability, own and manage — Cash flow is tough for user fees along • Cooperative Marketing — Forming coop or LLC, marketing together while providing liability protection • Cooperative Processing: — Forming a coop or LLC to process together — Equity capital, employees and infrastructure AGRiCULTURF AGENT'S RFPORT Milligan received the results on 14 alfalfa root samples for a Brown Root Rot disease identification project. The results indicate two positive results for the disease. Milligan will be collecting soil samples from these sites in June for a research project on a soil test for detection of Brown Root Rot. Milligan completed 21 dairy farm business analysis reports in May. In general 2004 was a very good year for dairy producers from a financial standpoint. Producers use the reports for improving their decision - making skills and monitoring progress. Milligan planned the Livestock Handling Facilities Tour for June :23. Farm City Day will be held at Lokker Farms near Baldwin. The 4 -H Dairy Fitting & Showing workshop will be held at Terry Mitchell's. The Pierce /St. Croix Crop Care Clinic will be held July 18 at the Emmert Farm. Milligan is also working on a Farm Technology Days project and dairy stall design. RF.SO R AGENT'S REPORT Janke gave an overview of the recent Drinking Water Program in the Towns of Cylon, Emerald, Forest, and Glenwood. Forty households participated. There were four with bacterial contamination and one with high copper. None had high nitrates. Nearly three- quarters of the 3