HomeMy WebLinkAboutAg & Extension 10-06-09 NOTICE OF MEETING AND
ST. CROIX COUNTY AGRICULTURE & EXTENSION COMMITTEE
October 6, 2009 9:00 a.m.
Agricultural Service and Education Center
1960 a Ave., Baldwin, WI
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
DATE OF NEXT MEETING — November 3, 2009
REVIEW OF VOUCHERS
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT:
• Budget
• WACEC
• Personnel
• Strategic Planning
• Other Administrative Items
OLD AND NEW BUSINESS:
AGENT'S REPORTS:
• Resource Agent
- Working Lands Update
• 4 -H Youth Development
- Educational Programs for 4 -H Youth Development
• Ag Agent
• Family Living — No report
• WNEP
• Horticulture Educator Report
ADJOURN
SUBMITTED BY: Pete Kling
DATE: September 24, 2009
Copies to: COUNTY BOARD OFFICE NEWS MEDIA/NOTICE BOARD
COUNTY CLERK COMMITTEE MEMBERS
(Items may be taken in different order)
9/24/2009 2:49 PM
Agriculture & Extension Committee
October 6, 2009
Agricultural Services & Education Center Convened: 9 a.m.
Baldwin, Wi. Adjourned: 10:42 a.m.
Present: Gene Ruetz, Bill Peavey, Linda Luckey, Richard Marzolf, Lee Milligan, Pete Kling,
Marie Witzel, Ruth Hilfiker, and Mary Lestrud.
Absent: Dan Raebel - unexcused
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ruetz.
Date of next meeting was set for November 3, 2009
Peavey moved that the previous meeting's minutes be approved. Marzolf seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Peavey moved to present revised budget with $3,200.00 for server for UWEX share. Marzolf
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Peavey moved to approve September vouchers for $12,355.78. Luckey seconded the motion.
Budget:
Kling presented a budget update and has not received any direction from the finance committee
yet. Kling noted that a high speed computer connection from the Hudson Government Center to
the Baldwin Ag Center was removed from the IT budget. As a result, county departments in the
Ag Center are forced to purchase a computer server that will be shared amongst them.
Committee approved adding $3,200 to the 2010 preferred budget for UW- Extension's share of
the server.
Ag A2ent's Report — no report
4 -H Agent's Report
Witzel shared the following updates about 4 -H Youth Development.
This year a 4 -H family in Glenwood City is hosting a year long FLEX student from Tajikestan.
This is a great way for 4 -H families to learn about life in another country without having to leave
the US, which is often a financial burden for the family. The exchange student will be joining
the county 4 -H program, working with 4 -H ambassadors and speaking at club meetings about his
country and the exchange program.
4H4ME training was held this month; Polly Henke and I attended to learn how we could
implement it in St. Croix County. 4114ME is the web -based companion to the 4HPlus program.
4HPlus will continue to be used in county offices to manage 4 -H enrollment data. 4114ME
works together with 4HPlus to offer additional features. County participation is available at no
additional cost. Participation is optional and will be offered on a first -come, first -serve basis.
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Everyone Ready® is an online volunteer management training program developed by Energize
Inc. National 4 -H Council, through a grant from Monsanto, is making this program available to
all Extension staff at no cost to individuals (although the cost to individuals is $495 per year).
Each month a new volunteerism topic is introduced — either as an Online Seminar or as a Self -
Instruction Guide.
WNEP Report
Lestrud discussed a regional in- service opportunity that she organized for colleagues with a $580
grant from UW Extension. Twenty-seven WIC staff from many counties as well as two WIC
dieticians from St. Croix County attended the in- service. The majority of the presentation was on
the trends, consequences, and prevention of childhood obesity. Lestrud shared some of the
information with the committee members. This topic relates to work that does with helping
families eat healthier meals and communities and schools to implement programs that provide
exercise and healthy foods for children. There are serious financial and health consequences of
the doubling of the childhood obesity rate over the recent 10 year period.
Resource Agent's Report
Kling attended a Working Lands Initiative workshop in Wausau coordinated by DATCP. The
workshop highlighted the changes that were recently made to the state Farmland Preservation
Program; including increased per acre payments, the establishment of Agriculture Enterprise
Areas, and the Purchase of Agriculture Conservation Easements. St. Croix County will likely
update its plan as a part of the ongoing Comprehensive Plan update. A group of local farmers
and landowners that attended the Ultimate Land Use Study tour in 2008 as well as a local
Working Lands Workshop 2009 could serve as the steering committee for the Farmland
Preservation Plan update.
Family Living Agent's Report — no report
Horticulture Educator Report
Commercial Horticulture Report — Ruth Hilfiker
Hilfiker gave an update on the process toward her major goals of facilitating: 1) an increase in
the production and marketing of locally grown fruits and vegetables and 2) the development of
small horticulture businesses. She gave examples of her educational programming during the
past two months including:
• Bringing science and marketing strategies to horticulture producers — As a result of
Hilfiker's on -farm counseling and workshops many new fruit and vegetable fresh market
farms have been developed or are in the process of being set up. Farms from 1 to 40
acres are selling to local restaurants, grocery stores, farmers' markets, and schools.
Subjects Hilfiker has taught have included bio- intensive bed farming, signature crop
marketing, hoop house set up to minimize insect damage, developing a marketing plan,
and using LED lights for insect management.
• Bringing state specialist to local farms - Hilfiker has co- counseled and taught with state
university specialists. Recently, this has included making arrangements for three
professors in plant pathology and entomology to co -teach a Grape IPM Workshop.
Hilfiker showed the grape berry moth pheromone trap that was demonstrated to growers
at the IPM Workshop by a natural insect enemy grape specialist from Michigan State
University. 35 commercial grape producers attended.
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Dr. Brian Hudelson, director of the plant pathology lab in Madison co- counseled with the
ag manager of Lakeside Canning in New Richmond regarding plant disease samples. Dr.
Russ Groves, the state vegetable entomologist co- taught a vegetable insect management
field class with Ruth to demonstrate the insect stages of Colorado Potato Beetle, life
cycles of cabbage worms, and biological insect control measures. Groves made farm
visits with Hilfiker during his stay in St. Croix County.
Assisting in promoting and networking between horticulture producers and buyers
— Hilfiker counseled growers on how to set terms of sale of their products and promote
their business to potential buyers. An example was given in which Hilfiker helped
facilitate the sale of 550 ears of sweet corn from a local grower to the New Richmond
School District this fall as noted in a half page news article in the local paper.
Meeting adjourned
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Marzolf
Secretary
Recording Secretary Witzel
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