Call in at listen: (712) 432-1001      Access Code: 448361563#
AGENDA
. Welcome and check agenda – Susan 5 mins (6:30-6:35)
- Designate timekeeper
- Introduce guest: Leslie McKinnon from TCOOPS Program Team

2. Review and Approval of Previous Minutes – Amanda 5 mins (6:35-6:40)

3. Treasurer’s Report – Cameron 15 mins (6:40-7:00)
- Financial Condition Summary
- Budget for 2010
- Financial Sustainability Committee update

4. Energy Roundup – Pamela 10 mins (7:00-7:10)

5. TCOOPs 2011 – All 30 mins (7:10-:7:40)
- Update on food – Sue (will send email update)
- TCOOPS cost/revenue requirements reminder ($70,000) – Cameron
- Vendors – Need Help here
- Fees and Event registration – Draft paper form by August 20 – Cameron with Michael?
- Update on program – Program Team representative Leslie McKinnon
- Logo and Publicity – Sue is point of contact – Review design requirements & Publicity Team job description (will send in advance)

10. TOFGA Collateral Materials – Jennifer, Cameron 5 mins (7:40-7:45)

11. Web site and members – Susan 15 mins (7:45-8:00)
- Online membership form/payment – James, Michael, Cameron
- Online bookstore – Bring questions to be answered by Michael for August meeting
- Web resources – Feedback for Michael
- Member outreach ideas from Board (e.g. send newsletters to farmers markets, restaurants?)

12. Board Work Plan 2010-11 – Sue 15 mins (8:00-8:15)
- Regional Goals for 2010-11
- Who will draft with Sue by mid-July?

13. Board calendar – Amanda (by email?) 5 mins (8:15-8:20)
- TCOOPs key deadlines (on calendar)
- Newsletter deadlines (on calendar)
- Dates when unavailable this summer (could we email these?)

15. Set next Meeting(s) and Propose Items for next Agenda – Susan — By Email? —
- August meeting
- TCOOPS progress: vendors, food, program/speakers
- TCOOPS fees and paper form – Review and decide
- Online membership up and running – confirm
- Online bookstore questions answered, decision
- Board Work plan 2010-2011 – General Agreement?
- September meeting
- October meeting (face-to-face?)

16. Summarize Action Items from this meeting- Amanda – All review from Draft minutes & Calendar —
– Send updates by email —

17. Closing remarks – All 5 mins (8:20-8:25)

18. Adjourn

9:30 am “Vegetables from the Garden to Your Table”
Happy Carver – 4-H Food & Nutrition Leader

10:45 am “Tools for Preserving Your Food/Canning”
OGCFW Members

12:00 noon “Going Green & Clean in Your Home with Herbs”
Mary Nell Jackson – Herb Society of America

1:00 pm “Native Plants for a Sustainable Landscape”
Gailon Hardin – Native Plant Society

2:00 pm “All Natural Solutions for a Safer Yard”
“Tropical John” Thomas – Co-Host and KSKY-660 A.M. “Dirt Doctor” Howard Garrett

3:00 pm “Backyard Poultry – The City Hen”
Carl Cathey – Russell Feed / Haltom City

DOOR PRIZES AFTER EACH LECTURE

For more information, please contact Esther Chambliss at 817-263-9322 or by email herbalhen@earthlink.net

Ana Sofia Joanes, maker of the movie Fresh, will deliver the TCOOPS 2011 Keynote.

We have exciting news about TOFGA’s annual Conference On Organic Production Systems (TCOOPS) 2011 which is in Killeen January 28-30, 2011. Our Keynote speaker is the nationally known Ana Sofia Joanes, maker of the movie Fresh! The movie FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who support our food system. During TCOOPS we will show this engaging film which features Joel Salatin, Will Allen and other movers and shakers in sustainable agriculture.

We are delighted that Ms. Joanes will join us at TCOOPS 2011. Mark your calendars today and we’ll see you there!

Watch the preview:

This current pumping has been computer modeled and is drawing down the Trinity about a foot or two a year, for the past 40 years. During drought the springflows from area springs are reduced about 25 cubic feet per second (cfs) – just from existing pumping. It is predicted that more wells will go dry than already do, and springs will certainly stop flowing. To learn if your county is involved, read the draft of TWDB’s Model

Meeting Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Meeting Date: Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Meeting location: Dripping Springs, Dripping City Hall, 513 Mercer

Lunch Line weaves together history and agriculture, advocacy and bureaucracy, and frames the current debate over school lunch reform within a larger national and political context.

Movie trailer

And tickets are now available for purchase here.

Join TOFGA at this great family event!

The primary focus is to bring the wonders of our natural world to kids in a safe, fun and entertaining manner. There are lots of fun and educational activities for “kids” of all ages, as well as some truly informative presentations and exhibits for adults by experts in their fields.

Learn about Native Prairie Grasses, Wildflowers, Lollipop Flowers, Wildscaping, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, Archeology / Knapping, Animal Tracks, bats, Raptors, Yard Art and more.

Vendors and Goodies on hand. Texas Organic Farmers information and veggie samples, Native Plant Society plants, Jelly and Jams, Cowboy Kennels puppies, Raised Bed Gardens, Gourds and Wood Products, Pocket Guides, Texas Folklore, Stone Work Angels from “A Wing and a Prayer”, Frog Store, and more…

Food and Drink.  Lots of variety provided by local vendors.  Burgers, Hot Dogs, Fries, Frito Pie, Nachos, Tacos, Sausage on a Stick, Chicken on a Stick, Biscuits & Gravy, Mashed Potato Buffet, BBQ Chicken, Rib Sandwiches, Funnel Cakes, Snow Cones, Popcorn, Lemonade, Soft Drinks and Water.

More information

Hosted by Brad & Jen Stufflebeam

Bring Dad out to enjoy the peak of tomato season.  Heirloom tomatoes of every color will be available.

Join us for a Community Potluck at 12:30 followed by a free farm tour at 2:30.  This month we are hosting a social gathering for the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Assoc.  Everyone is invited, so come meet others who are growing organic food for our communities.

We would like to make this a “GREEN” potluck. Please bring your own plate,cup & silverware, so we can reduce the amount of trash in the landfill.

There will also be a Tomato Contest : The Big & the Ugly. Bring us your ugliest or largest tomato & compete in the tomato showdown. Winners & prizes will be announced before the 2:30 farm tour.

More info: http://www.homesweetfarm.com/

TOFGA Fundraiser

When: Saturday, May 29th, 2010, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: 13817 Klaus Lane, Elgin, TX

This month, Slow Food Austin is supporting a farm tour at Coyote Creek Farm/Texas Best Organic Feed Mill in Elgin.  This tour is a fundraiser for the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (TOFGA) and therefore there are no take-home food items; instead, you’ll take home a wealth of information about the hardworking people who are the infrastructure necessary for our vibrant local agriculture system. Your $10 ticket goes to support TOFGA programming.
Organic pastured eggs – all you need is a chicken, right?

Nope. You need an organic-certified distributor, organic-certified pasture, and organic feed. You also need organic grain growers, a transport network to get the grain to the mill, big purchasing power and storage capacity to acquire the volume of grain that will make the whole process economically feasible – you get the idea. While this topic sounds dry, you won’t find it so when you’re standing under the galvanized metal chutes and tubes that make up Coyote Creek Feed Mill, the catalyst for central Texas’ burgeoning organic egg industry.  Enrich your understanding of the living web that makes our local ag possible!  The May 29th tour will be led by mill owner and farmer Jerry Cunningham. Tickets are $10 and proceeds go to TOFGA.

Bona Dea Breads will feature their Fresh – baked Challah Rolls for tour guests. See you soon!

Email betsyL@slowfoodaustin.org to RSVP; spaces are limited.
Maximum participants is 40.
Bring a camping/folding chair, and personal snacks and water.

A Note from the Farm:

I would like to welcome all comers to visit Coyote Creek Farm and Mill. Things that I am passionate about and will discuss with the group are:

Soil Biology, Compost Tea, Feeding the Micro-herd, Grass, Chickens, Shelters, Shade, Cattle, Permaculture, and Organic Feed Milling.

We will cover each of those topics in a hands on way to learn what makes some grass more nutritionally complete than others, how that affects hen health and egg quality. Elgin is famous for Bar-B-Q and Southside Market is only about two miles up the road from the farm. Or you are welcome to bring a bag-lunch with you and eat on the porch at the mill.

I look forward to seeing our visitors.

Jeremiah Cunningham

Specialty Crop Listening Session

When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 (9:00 am – 2:30 pm)  Travis Room
Meeting Location: San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk, 889 East Market Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205, 1-210-224-4555

OBJECTIVE: To interact with industry and state representatives, national
organizations or institutions, local producers, researchers and educators
or other groups that are interested in the issues with which the Specialty
Crop Committee is charged.

9:00 a.m.         Introduction to the Specialty Crop Listening Session Dr. Walter Armbruster, Chair, Specialty Crop Committee, National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education,and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board

9:15 a.m.         Opening Comments by Specialty Crop Committee Members

*         James Lugg, President, TransFresh Corporation and EVP Fresh Express
*         Matt McInerney, Executive Vice President, Western Growers
Association
*         Jean-Mari Peltier, President, National Grape and Wine Initiative

9:40 a.m.        Panel Challenges Facing Specialty Crop Production
*         Ray Prewett, President, Citrus Mutual
*         Cindy Wise, Executive Director, Texas Pecan Growers Assocation
*         Roy Vannoy, President, Texas Fruit Growers Assocation
*         Dacota Haselwood, Chief Governmental Affairs Officer, Texas Wine
and Grape Growers Association

10:40 a.m.       BREAK

10: 55 a.m.      Panel Challenges Facing Specialty Crop Production
(continued)

*         Eddy D. Edmondson, President Texas Nursery & Landscape Association
*         John Cosper, Executive Director, Turfgrass Producers of Texas
*         Brad Stufflebeam, Home Sweet Farm
*         J. Carnes, Sales/Vice President, Winter Garden Produce

12:00 p.m.      LUNCH (Bowie Room)

12:45 p.m.      Public Comments from the Floor

Q&A

Additional Committee Discussion

2:30 p.m.        Listening Session Adjourned

Colette M. Wood
Acting Program Support Coordinator
NAREEE Advisory Board
USDA/Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 4-2294
Beltsville, MD 20705
Phone:  301-504-4657
Fax:  301-504-4624
Email:   colette.wood@ars.usda.gov or  colette.wood@ars.usda.gov

Dial in phone number: 712-432-1001

Access Code: 480103116#

Feel free to email region2@tofga.org if you experience any problems. We will be recording the meeting.

DRAFT – TOFGA  Board Meeting – May 18, 2010  6:30-8:30pm
Phone meeting

PROPOSED AGENDA

1.    Welcome and check agenda – Susan                            5 mins   (6:30-6:35)
- Designate timekeeper

2.    Review and Approval of Previous Minutes – Amanda                10 mins  (6:35-6:45)

3.    Introduce Michael Grady Robertson – Susan                        10 mins (6:45-6:55)

4.    Action Items – Amanda                                        20 mins (6:55-7:15)
- We will go through the Board  calendar so please have it in front of you.

5.    Treasurer Appointment – Susan                                15 mins (7:15-7:30)
- Sue would like to appoint Cameron Molberg as Treasurer to finish out Jay’s term.

6.    Proposal to add Board position – Sabino                        15 mins (7:30-7:45)

7.    Resolution to change address    - Amanda                        5 mins (7:45-7:50)

8.    Update on Newsletter – Susan                                    10 mins (7:50-8:00)

9.     Update on Go Texan renewal – Jennifer                            5 mins (8:00-8:05)

10.    Proposal to buy tents for Regional Directors – Pamela            10 mins (8:05-8:15)

11.      Review of Action items – Amanda                                5 mins (8:15-8:20)

12.  Close                                                        5 mins (8:20-8:25)