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Home My WebLink AboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 10/21/2015 BAYFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE October 21, 2015 County Board Room, 4:00 p.m. Courthouse, Washburn, WI AGENDA 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 4pm by Chair Dee Kittleson. Members present included Dee Kittleson, Marco Bichanich, John Bennett, Jim Crandall and Fred Strand. Also present were Jason Fischbach, Lilly Soshnik-Tanquist, Kurt Tibbals, Liz Lexau, Matt Cogger, Donna Ganson, Tim Kane and Karen Bade. 2. Approval of Minutes of May 26 and July 20, 2015 Meetings (action item) Motion made/seconded by Crandall/Bichanich to approve the May 26 and July 20, 2015 minutes. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment No public comment. 4. Out-of-State Overnight Travel Requests (action item) No out-of-state travel requests. 5. 2015 UW-Extension Budget Update Report Kane reported on the 2015 budget expenditures to-date. Several line items, including HRA, Printing and Duplication, UWEX Board, Agricultural Agent and Teen Court were briefly discussed. Overall 2015 budget expenses are on target. 6. 2016 UW-Extension Budget Request (action item) Kane reviewed the 2016 Budget request and noted changes that had been made by County Administrator Abeles-Allison. Motion made/seconded by Crandall/Bichanich to approve the UW Extension 2016 Budget Request. 7. Educator/Agent Program Sharing Jason introduced Lilly Soshnik-Tanquist, AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and Kurt Tibbals, Ag Research Assistant. Lilly has a one year appointment and will be working mainly with the High Tunnel Project and the Agripreneur Program. Kurt’s position as Ag Research Assistant is funded by grant monies and has him working mainly with the Hazelnut Program and the Viburnum Project. Tim Kane – Community Resource Educator  The July 28 Business On Stage presentation had featured Blue Wave on the Bay and had taken place at their new building. Several photos of the project and evening’s presentation were shared.  Reviewed hazardous waste collections that had taken place in July and August in Washburn, Iron River, Herbster and Grand View. Tim provided the committee with a list of materials collected. Especially noted was the 135 pounds of mercury that had been turned in.  The Lake Superior Business and Technology Conference had taken place August 14 at WITC, Ashland. Tim provided several photos showing panel members, Business Idea Contest judges and contest participants.  A Cyber Risk/Cyber Crime Workshop was held October 14 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Paul Houck and A. J. Van Beest, Bayfield County Information Technology, were the principle presenters on the importance of cyber security to businesses and organizations.  The next Business On Stage presentation will take place October 27 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Featured will be David Bretting of C. G. Bretting Manufacturing. Bretting’s presentation “Bretting Manufacturing: 125 Years of Success” will discuss how the firm started, grew and prospered over its 125 year history. Donna Ganson – 4H & Youth Development/WNEP 4H  Bayfield County Fair held August 6-9, 2015, was the culmination of the 4H year. Donna had worked mainly with the Awards Committee and Cloverbud Judging.  Awards & Recognition Dinner was held October 17 at the Benoit Civic Center. Highlights of the evening included: o Presentations from Kelsie Shields and Nicole Lupa, youth who had participated in Citizenship Washington Focus. CWF is a wonderful opportunity for youth to visit Washington, D.C., learn essential civic leadership skills and leave with the tools that will allow them to bring about real change in their communities. The Bayfield County Leaders’ Association historically pays for half the cost of the trip. o Dorothy Swenson, a 50+ years 4H Leader, was inducted into the 4H Hall of Fame. Dorothy lost her life in a house fire earlier in the year.  Re-enrollment for the 2015-2016 4H Year is currently underway. It is once again being done online and Ian and Donna are assisting members and leaders whenever necessary.  A committee has been created to help evaluate the Bayfield County 4H program and suggest ideas to better accommodate today’s busy 4H families.  A survey taken by Bayfield County 4H project leaders indicated that more of a connection is needed between leaders and members. Ian and Donna will be working to help provide means to establish that connection. WNEP  Currently teaching grades 1, 3, 5, and 6-8 in the Bayfield and Mellen School Districts.  Considerable time was dedicated to creating new lesson plans that comply with the new core curriculum.  A new hire was finalized to replace the position vacated by Ann Christensen earlier in the year. The position is 60% and will be housed in the Ashland County UW Extension office.  Heidi Ungrodt has returned on an ad hoc basis as an NEP educator housed in Bayfield County. Heidi will work an average of 10 hours a week. Matt Cogger – Horticulture Educator  Provided a grain bin safety demonstration at the Bayfield County Fair. Was a popular feature at the fair, especially to teenaged boys. Also working with Kevin Susienka to conduct simulated grain bin rescue training.  Taught the Youth Safety Tractor Certification course to six youth ages 12-16.  Has been working with the High Tunnel project at the schools and is in the process of developing a High Tunnel Production Manual.  Worked with orchards through the growing season. Poor production year for blueberries. The spotted wing drosophila is a pest that is here to stay and caused significant damage to raspberries locally; very costly to control organically.  Fruit Growers Summit in the planning stages for December.  Matt also reported on his recent trip to Kyrgyzstan which was done through the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program. The goal of this two week program was to provide farmers in the Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan with training on how to grow fall raspberries. They held several training sessions in local villages; each session was attended by 10-15 farmers who were interested in growing fall raspberries. Liz Lexau – Family Living Educator  Relationship Education o Relationships Matter Class – currently teaching a class to male inmates at Bayfield County jail; just finished up a class to the public that was attended by eight individuals held at the Washburn Library; and will be offering a class to staff or volunteers of family serving agencies on December 7 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.  Teaching co-parenting and parenting education classes.  Helped plan and facilitate the Caregivers Conference held in Ashland at the AmericInn on October 2 which was attended by 80+ individuals. Liz went on to explain how relationships matter to everyone and that strong, stable interpersonal relationships affect our mental health, physical health, economic stability and community interaction and directly affect almost all areas of her programming. Jason Fischbach – Agriculture Agent  Jason shared the following websites: http://feastbythebay.org - the F.E.A.S.T. website is a clearinghouse of information for all things food-system related in the Chequamegon Bay Region. This website is currently maintained through the community outreach partnership of the UW Extension of Bayfield County and the Farm to School Programs in the Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn School Districts. http://bayfieldfarmjobs.weebly.com – This website was created in response to labor needs in Bayfield County. The site provides job and internship opportunities for those looking to work in ag related fields and a place for growers to post job openings  Jason updated the committee on the progress being made in the hazelnut breeding program. The program has reached a critical point. Three hundred plant samples have been harvested this fall and will be analyzed. The top four will be micro-propagated with seedlings available for planting by spring/fall of 2016.  Jason recently participated in Farm Succession Coordinator Certification Training. The training helps facilitators gain insights on barriers to farm/ranch succession, strategies on working with families, facilitation tools to keep the process moving and a chance to discuss real-life examples of farm succession conflicts they may have encountered in their work. Jason is currently working with seven farm families and is finding the process very rewarding. 8. Coop Extension Reorganization Proposal In response to the 7.7 percent budget cut expected for UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension’s Dean and Director Rick Klemme charged the Cooperative Extension Administrative Committee (CEAC) to develop strategies for addressing the reduction. The local presence component was the first to be addressed. The following schematic illustrates what a proposed “cluster” or multi- county area could look like. 9. Next Meeting Date and Time The next meeting of the Ag & Extension Education Committee was set for January 20, 2016, 4pm, Bayfield County Board Room, Courthouse, Washburn. 10. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 5:20pm. Respectfully submitted by: Karen Bade, Office Manager UWEX Bayfield County