Meeting minutes for the Hancock Harvest Council regular meeting held April 2, 2012 at the Extension Office.
Attendance: Gary Mithoefer, Carol Waterman, Glen Reynolds, Marvin Miller, Jeniece Miller, Rex Zenor, Earl Smith, Barb Smith, Edna Yeager, Roy Ballard.
The meeting was called to order at 7:04pm by Earl Smith.
The March minutes were accepted as presented.
The treasurer's report was accepted as presented. The names have been changed on the banking account. Checks will be going out to the Daily Reporter, Indiana Living Green, and the Chamber of Commerce. The balance is $3,349.24. There are deposits to be made.
The Indiana Living Green magazine ad was discussed. We reviewed the April ad. The cost was $100 which was less than the $150 price quoted earlier. We will watch for hits on the website to sign up for the newsletter. We decided to change the background color to yellow with green lettering where the outlined letters were for the May edition. We may promote the new directory or advertise the Farmers' Markets in a future ad.
There was discussion about the cause of the bee deaths in our country. The coating on the corn seed that will kill the corn worms has been established as the cause. The coating blows in the wind while the planting is being done landing on field rows, etc. The bees carry it back to the hives and it kills many of the bees. The product is banned Europe.
Farmers' Markets were discussed. Waterman's are planting early, they will have a Jazz -A-Berry Festival June 2 & 3, 2012. It will be promoted in the newsletter. New Castle in Henry County market will be June through October. The Cumberland market will be charging $55 for the season this year. The Geist market will be $35 this year. The Greenfield market begins May 5 from 8:00 to 12:00 at the fairgrounds. The Extension office parking lot will be used during the fair (June 22 to 29). The Crooked Creek Farmers' Market is looking for vendors. It will be Sunday 11:30 to 3:00 in June through October in the N. Michigan Rd. and 70th Street area. Churches are promoting in bulletins and St. Vincent Hospital is promoting. There will be a discount if you sign up April 16 or earlier. The full season of 20 weeks will be $200 with discount and 10 weeks for $125 with discount, single day $10 to $15. Eligible permits and license, products highest quality, no buying from wholesaler, other farmer's product sold with approval. Barb can forward application.
We will have more information about the county fairs at our next meeting and will decide then if we will participate at any with a booth.
The directory will be finished by the first part of May. We will be using the same format as last year.
The next Food Hub meeting will be Friday, April 27. Five meetings with farmers will be set up by the consultant to meet in May after planting time. Consumer meetings will be set up at some time. We are on the leading edge with this project. There will be another grant available for farmer training. The grant is for a maximum of $50,000. We could go ahead and apply for the grant now even though we don't know the outcome of the Food Hub; it would look good for the current grant.
This Old Farm is looking for growers. Call if you are interested.
Gas prices will affect grocery products. Grocers will begin looking for more local food.
The next meeting of the zoning ordinance will be April 24 at 6:30pm in the annex south of the court house. Please attend to support the ordinance and vote for it to pass. Rex Zenor will be going before the board before the end of May for his zoning. Every county in the state will have to have an ordinance soon.
Rush County has the first pilot program for the Livestock Friendly County, from which confinement farmers are exempt. The meeting will be Monday, April 9 at 9:30am in the Rush County Court House.
The first small farm conference in Danville will be presented March 1 & 2, 2013. The Purdue Extension will be involved. They need speakers.
The term Indiana Grown Brand is now being used.
The home based business extension program is about complete.
Herbicides carry over in mulch, hay, compost and could kill your plants. Be careful when using these.
Pest control has to be based on the weather and temperature instead of by calendar dates. You may need to treat earlier this year.
One thousand chickens can be killed at home and can be sold at Farmers' Markets or road side stands. The raw milk study is continuing this summer.
Tuttle Orchards have moved their Open House up this year because of the weather to April 21. There have been no mushrooms this year because of the weather.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm.
Submitted by:
Edna Yeager
(317)339-9788
Ednayeager49@yahoo.com