North Country
Farming Network

Organization/meetings
Board representatives need to be chosen before the annual meeting on April 26th when Board officers will be elected – partially by meeting and partially by email/phone/mail? Lorraine McBride and Joann Darling have expressed interest in serving.
Tim is an officer of the Montpelier Grange and will check on the availability of their space for NCFN Washington Co. meetings

Workshops
A beekeeping workshop can be scheduled with Chelsea Public Library for this spring
Jim is working on a high tunnel workshop and will check on having a cheese workshop at LACE

Website
Mojo said the Macromedia Contribute software we use for the website won’t accommodate a counter – we’ll email Annalei Babson at NEK about it
Jim will be added to the google calendar so he can post workshops
Dawn & Mojo will check to see if google calendar can accept links to other webpages with more detailed descriptions about events
Pompanoosuc Agricultural Society website www.forage.ning.com is all interactive – Mojo and Dawn will look into this option for NCFN

Pompanoosuc Agricultural Society
2 members of the Pompanoosuc Agricultural Society attended and shared some information about their organization. Some of their interests are
Local slaughterhouse (closer to the Thetford area than Tim Ward’s)
Cheese making
Commercial kitchen for community use
Food sovereignty issues
Grain growing – wheat, sunflowers

Education and Promotion of Fresh Foods
Willing Hands may be able to partner with the cooking classes in Chelsea – Dawn will contact Lynn Caulkins
Vegetable of the month suggested with recipes
Tunbridge Fair this year – The Year of the Vegetable – they are looking for recipes to display at the fair. Send them to ncfnwashington@gmail.com
Cooking demos suggested at farm markets – including kids demonstrating how to use fresh local produce

More packets of free seeds were handed out – there are still lots more so come to meetings and get them!

19 February 2009

* Welcome to all the first time visitors to a NCFN meeting – there were 8!
* Many packets of seeds were distributed and there are many more available
* Susan & Todd Hoffman of Wild Hill Herbals in Chelsea contributed some Echinacea purpurea seeds, purple coneflower – the one that grows tall and is best used by gathering and drying the flowers at the height of blooming or making into a tincture
* There was renewed interest in a NCFN table at local farm markets, so that each vendor does not have to go to each market
* It was suggested that Vershare could construct a farm stand for local farmers and gardeners to use informally, perhaps as a construction project for the summer camp or Mtn. School
* Interest in a cider press and community bread oven was discussed
* It was suggested to advertise NCFN meetings on the Vershire list-serve
* A spring workshop on extending the season with Pete from Pete’s Greens was suggested
* We discussed the NCFN role in local community, Transition Initiatives and sustainability in general
* Dawn is willing to earn Permaculture certification through Earth Activist Training this summer in Maine and then come back and present what she has learned; there is a line item in the Heifer NCFN budget for Permaculture training that could cover some of the tuition
* Simple hoops with plastic over them were suggested to melt snow and plant early
* Next Soup Night just might feature a kale salad along with the soup, to give folks an idea of how to enjoy this lovely but somewhat unusual vegetable
* The Vermont oil seed growing project was discussed

Please feel free to contact me if you want more information on any of these topics – a lot was discussed and it’s hard to get every detail down! Also…if you would like to scribe at meetings so I don’t have to try to get everything in my notes, that would be wonderful…please let me know.

Dawn Hancy, Coordinator

Washington / Orange Co. Chapter

North Country Farming Network

802-685-7752

agricolasfarm@gmail.com

16 October 2008

Present: Deb, Ann, Dawn, Phil, Kathy, Joann, Helen, Lucy, Lorraine, Todd

Grants:

* It’s time to report to Ben & Jerry’s and ask them for more money once we’ve spent what we have
* Discussed passing on the gift – sometimes cash or work barter are acceptable as last resort, but passing on livestock or some kind of similar payback is preferred
* Everything must have receipts. Heifer Int’l is adamant about this down to every
* last dime.

Website suggestions:

* Members’ stories are welcome for the online newsletter
* When equipment is purchased, the Eq. Committee can send an email update to the list and post it on the website
* Post a web page of Equipment Librarians
* Add a Committee page to the website
* Dawn add new email to website and take Lorraine off the membership page
* Consider Paypal for memberships and donations in the future

Future workshops / programs:

* Ann – poultry
* Phil – bees
* series of farm potlucks and programs in summer presented by each farmer
* wildcrafting
* native plants & crops
* Native American farming practices and philosophies
* Workshops twice a year for using equipment

Committees:

* Livestock, Equipment, Steering, Membership and Website Committees all met this week

Equipment:

* Lorraine is willing to store and schedule wool & food processing equipment
* For committees to purchase equipment or supplies, small things can be reimbursed, larger items must go through the Treasurer (Helen) with invoices.
* A trailer would be insured by the vehicle owner, but inspected and registered by NCFN
* We need storage for the trailer at least for winter and spring. Deb Baker is willing to store it but her road is not very accessible in inclement weather/seasons.

General:

* NCFN is not focused on exotics like emus, but more standard farm animals
* Still need grain bin location – so far no takers, but possibly in Middlesex, Barre / Washington area
* Next meeting – 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m. at Vershare?

Present: Dawn Hancy, Phil, Mojo, Jim, Rebecca, Anastasia, Pamela, Chris, Deb

Committees:

Dawn will compile & distribute contact info for each committee

Publicity / Membership outreach (if they wish to be combined)

Livestock and equipment

Education:

Lending library – members get books through the mail.

Programs

Displays at events

General items of interest:

* Dawn will set up display board for NCFN, booth at Northeast Animal Power Field Days, Sept. 26-28 at Tunbridge Fairgrounds.
* Next year’s Tunbridge World’s Fair will be the Year of the Vegetable. People are encouraged to submit recipes for using vegetables to encourage fair-goers to grow and cook more vegetables. Send recipes to Dawn at agricolasfarm@gmail.com or PO Box 88, Vershire, VT 05079, or Stephanie at stephrock@hughes.net.
* Rural Vt is helping NCFN hire an intern to create software to coordinate work bees / chore sharing.
* Link to newsletters with calendar of events of interest to us: on Nofa VT, First Branch Sustainability Network, Vital communities, Rural Vermont, VT Peak Oil, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, etc.
* Money from Network funds are available for us to go to workshops and then to teach/share with the rest of the group. We can also go and staff a booth for at least 2-4 hours, depending on event as reps from NCFN in exchange for admission.
* List serv and blog could be added to our website w/announcements, also via email
* Need for farming blog from us in VT.
* Blog will have its own URL and a link to our website.
* We discussed slaughtering animals and the best place to go. There’s a good custom butcher on Jenkins Brook Rd. He doesn’t smoke animals though. VT Smoke and Cure is expensive.

Grain bin update:

* Most likely grain will be organic layer crumbles.
* Possibly will be located at someone’s homestead at the modern old schoolhouse in Vershire. Electricity, driveway, and traffic is a concern for the owner. The issue is to dig a trench to get the electrical line through.
* Maybe put an advertisement in Ag review to ask someone to host the grain bin.
* Jim will check on two Washington farms for possible grain bin locations.
* We want to put bin up this fall.
* Eventually we would like local grain to fill the bin too.

Equipment:

* Scalder worked with boiling hot water, not with anything less hot. It wasn’t keeping the water hot. We should buy another one.
* Need new cones.
* Maybe to buy a big plucker – but it’s expensive. Looks like a washing machine.
* Maybe switch the technical assistance money to buy some new equipment.
* Venture kits funded for cheese making, food preservation, etc.

Livestock Committee:

* Discussed a one year timeframe to give back the livestock to the Network after receiving an animal. Some felt this was not enough time, especially with longer gestation periods for larger animals. The Livestock Committee will work with applicants to create an appropriate plan.
* Qualifications; someone from Livestock Committee makes sure you have at least a run-in shed/shelter for animal, fence, access to summer/winter water, pasture, basic financial qualifications and management skills. Application and contract exist and Dawn will email by request, maybe post on website? Dawn will find out NCFN will pay for it up front or if the member pays for it and then gets reimbursed by NCFN.
* We can have booklet/package made up for new animal owner with basic information and name of vets etc. Deb Baker has similar documents from Hooved Animal Sanctuary that can be referenced.
* There isn’t money available for fencing or infrastructure for farms. There is a revolving loan fund of $5,000 for agriculture projects and ag related small business.
* Jim is trying to sell lamb and cattle if anyone is interested.

We printed out the budget and discussed it and the ways we can use it productively and projects we can start. The committees will work on this separately and report to the larger group at ongoing monthly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month. Meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m. and will alternate between Washington and Orange Counties, e.g. LACE, Chelsea Public Library or members’ farms, especially in warmer weather/growing season.

Rebecca White, Secretary and Dawn Hancy, Coordinator

Washington/Orange Co. Chapter

10 people present, 6 female and 4 male, including 2 children under 18 (statistics collected for required reporting to Heifer Project International)

Committees:

The main work of this meeting was to create committees to carry out the work of the various projects outlined in the grant funded by Heifer International and the NCFN by-laws.

* Committees may consist of generally three people
* Committees will meet in addition to regular organizational meetings to carry out their work
* Committees will create their own proposed guidelines to be presented to the larger group at organizational meetings, following NCFN by-laws and grant guidelines
* Committees will report to the larger group at regular organizational meetings

The following committees were chosen:

* Membership
o Contacts/Member list
o Outreach
o Member benefits
* Education
o Library
o Programming
o Publicity
o Conferences/events
* Equipment
* Grain
* Chore Swap/Work Bee
* Livestock
* Website

A Steering Committee consisting of the two Chapter Board Representatives (Jim Ryan and Giovanna Cracchiolo), the Chapter Treasurer (Helen Banevicius) and the Chapter Coordinator (Dawn Hancy) will help to interpret the NCFN by-laws and budget to guide the other committees.

Please see the attached chart of proposed responsibilities of each committee. And please feel free to join one of them – these projects are currently funded and ready to roll – we need your help to truly make the Network work!

Organizational issues discussed…

* NCFN Board: The Board is scheduled to meet next in January 2009 and will review and vote on by-laws at that time. In the meantime, Giovanna will send the most recent by-laws to Dawn, who will make them available on the website along with minutes from meetings.
* Meetings: Chapter organizational meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday each month at locations to be determined. Programs will be held seasonally as appropriate.
* Procedures: While we clearly need to continue to create policy and procedures that will work for us, we discussed the following as a start. Proposals will be presented by committees or individuals to the group present at any meeting. Proposals will be accepted unless there is an objection, which will then be considered. This follows the principles of decision-making by consensus rather than majority vote, and is intended to foster a sense of cooperation, trust and responsibility as opposed to competing factions or unbalanced individual power. Brainstorming is a different step in this process, when all opinions and ideas are welcomed for consideration before creating a specific proposal. A workshop on consensus and decision-making could be helpful and interesting!
* Accounts: Helen will set up accounts for NCFN purchases so that committee members will be empowered to order equipment and invoices will be sent to Helen as Treasurer.
* Bank statements that were being sent to Lorraine are now being sent to Helen Banevicius, Treasurer for Washington/Orange.

Updates on projects & programs…

* Chore swap network: Chuck Mitchell, Representative from Caledonia/Orleans Chapter and President of the NCFN Board and Jim Ryan, Washington/Orange Representative and Vice President of the NCFN Board met with Amy Shollenberger from Rural Vermont to discuss hiring a Rural Vt. intern to set up software for a chore swap/barter program for NCFN.
* Grain bin: It was recently determined that there is an electrical auger with the grain bin that NCFN purchased for the Washington/Orange Chapter so the parties that were interested in hosting the bin will be contacted again to determine whether they can accommodate the electrical hook-up.
* Canning: LACE (Local Agricultural Community Exchange, Barre) will be hosting a community canning event. NCFN members in Vershire are interested in a group canning workshop as well. Perhaps the two events will be combined, or will at least support and complement the other.

Other items of interest…

* Poultry: Networking with the Vermont Bird Fanciers was suggested since many NCFN members are interested or engaged in raising poultry.
* Garden pest tips:
o Copper repels slugs, though it is an expensive commodity right now.
o Muscovy ducks take care of snails and slugs.