NCACAA - West District

Western District Meeting Minutes
May 31, 2007
Haywood County Extension Center

Call to Order: Meeting brought to order by Pres. Tony McGaha at 10am

Attendance: Skip Thompson, Silas Brown, Ross Young, Tim Mathews, Bill Skelton, Calle Birdsell, Rob Hawk, Elizabeth Ayers, Jeff Vance, Jeff Bradley, John Dorner, Amanda Stone, Tony McGaha, Kenneth McCaskill, Alan Durden, Tamara Cole, Brittany Whitmire

Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting (10/26/2006) were distributed via email to the ag agents email list. Ross Young made a motion to approve the minutes as posted. The motion was seconded by Amanda Stone, and the minutes were approved as emailed.

Treasurer's Report: Diane Turner (not present) provided a written summary. A balance of $702.28 in checking; $5,524.95 in the money market account; and $33.97 in the shares account. Motion to approve the report was made by Silas Brown, seconded by Jeff Vance and approve by the membership.

Old Business:

State Ag Agents meeting is June 19-21

• the deadline for registering was extended to June 1 with no late fee
• 8 people going from the West District
• softball team - Jeff Bradley will coordinate the effort
• Chris Talley has the softball shirts

2008 National Meeting

• it was suggested to amend the by-laws to allow the state meeting (hosted by the West District) prior to the national meeting
• Ross Young to confirm Thurs night lodging and Friday meeting room availability
• Alan Durden asked about the additional charge for the state meeting - meals & lodging
• Bill Skelton asked everyone to continue efforts to solicit contributions
• each agent should raise/contribute $1000
• Jeff Vance asked if there were a current list of contributors to avoid asking again - Stanley Holloway has a current list of donors
• form for donations is available at the NC Ag Agents web site or contact Lenny Rogers
• Ross Young - Sons and Daughters Committee - tours, etc. - stated there will be a need for volunteers to assist with the tours

2007 National Meeting

• July 14-19 in Grand Rapids
• attending will be Ross Young, Kenneth McCaskill, Elizabeth Ayers, Linda Blue
• the current voting delegate is Silas Brown who will not be attending
• $500 provided for voting delegate ($400 from administration and $100 from Ag Agents Assoc.)
• Kenneth McCaskill will be the voting delegate

New Business

New Officers - Jeff Vance on the nomination committee nominated the following:
Silas Brown - President
Skip Thompson - Vice President
Diane Turner - Secretary
Tamara Cole - Treasurer
Motion was made by Kenneth McCaskill to accept the nominations - second by Bill Skelton - unanimous approval

Brittany Whitmire made a short presentation regarding the RMA Community Outreach & Assistance Partnership Program. She stated she was available to assist with marketing options and business planning. She can be reached at:

Brittany Whitmire
1178 Whitmire Rd.
Brevard, NC 28712
828-862-4231
bfwhitmi@ncat.edu

She mentioned there is an upcoming event: Farm-to-Fork: Niche-Based Livestock Marketing on Sept 29, 2007, 9am - 4pm at the Madison Extension Center - for more information contact Brittany.

Calle Birdsell mentioned the Watauga County Commissioners have provided $10,000 for a multifloral rose project. Although multifloral rose is not currently on the NC noxious weed list, lobbying is occurring to get it on the list.

Tony McGaha mentioned that Calle Birdsell was featured in Farm Bureau for public speaking skills at the national competition in Salt Lake City recently.

Bill Skelton asked if there was a need to revive the Hay Directory since hay production this year is off by 30-60%.

Other Upcoming Events:

• Rob Hawk - Ag Options Tour on June 26 of 3 farms in Buncombe and 3 in Madison
• Blue Ridge Biofuels is asking farmers to grow crops (canola & others) for use as biofuels - a test plot is being started at the Waynesville Test Farm
• Tamara Cole 4-H Horse Kids Training on June 11-13 at the Ag Center in Fletcher - need 20 calves and have $1000 to pay for use of calves - there will be about 100 kids participating
• Tim Mathews - Haywood County Garden Tour on June 9 - $10 per ticket
• June 6 - Pesticide Pickup at the Haywood Extension Center 10am - 2pm
• June 27th Watauga
• June 28th Sparta
• Elizabeth Ayers - Madison County Graded Sale on Sept 4 at the Madison Co. Fairgrounds
• can bring livestock on Sept 3
• hay and water provided
• need 4-600 head
• E. Ayers will send out flyer/announcement
• Tony McGaha - WNC Preconditioned Sale - First sale is Aug 2 - last sale is Sept 1
• Hay Field Day July 19 at the Waynesville Test Farm with 1.5 hours of pesticide credit
• Bill Skelton - Lettuce Field Day June 14th
• at Fletcher in the morning
• at Waynesville Test Farm in the afternoon
• Dole Food Safety representative will be at the Haywood Extension Center
• Red Angus Field Day is June 9
• Beef Roast is July 14 at Tuscola High School - tickets are $7 in advance
• Amanda Stone - Nursery Short Course is Sept 20 at Fletcher
• Lanscape Design is July 27-28 - some skills necessary
• Calle Birdsell - Burley Tobacco Field Day is Aug 30 at the test farm

John Dorner went through the West District Ag Agents mailing list for accuracy.

Tony McGaha asked for a volunteer for the next meeting. Calle Birdsell volunteered and said she would check on available dates in late Oct-Nov. Calle confirmed Oct 25 as the next meeting date.

Tony McGaha asked about the reported crop circles in Buncombe County. Jeff Bradley stated he would investigate and report back.

The meeting adjourned in disarray.

Lunch at the Sagebrush was sponsored by Chuck Francis with UAP.

Minutes prepared and submitted by Skip Thompson.

Posted on 6/7/07

Please send comments and suggestions to John Dorner.