Agriculture & Extension

AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE November 5, 2024 Members Present: Karen Cummings, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen, Jim Metz Others Present: Julie Diepenbrock, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, Shara Allen, Terri Kolb, Kelly Phillips, Amber Rehberg, and Nicole Hager. Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Tim Hansen, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Metz seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve minutes of the September 3 , 2024, meetings : Cummings moved to approve the minutes of September 3, 2024; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers : Metz moved to approve the bills and vouche rs; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Introductions: Lersch introduced Amber Rehb erg as his replacement as AED come December 13, 2024. Introductions of committee conducted as well. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral report s to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4-H Program Educator: Diepenbrock noted 2023-2024 4- H year has ended and 2024 -2025 is underway. The year ended with a bowling, pizza and awards event for those who successfully completed their 4 -H record books. Diepenbrock stated she is now heavily engage d in after school programs in Gilman, Stetsonville , and Medford and since Rib Lake does not offer an after-school program, she was able to attend the Rib Lake School Forest Day teaching a session on tree identification and exposing youth in attendance to what 4-H has to offer. Sandy Stuttgen , Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen referred to highlights regarding the recent BQA program held in Stratford for producers needing to be certified and/or re-certified. Certification allows producers to implement best management practices that help them to ensure their cattle are of high quality for sale. Stuttgen discussed the benefits of the PELTR program for emergency response personnel . Stuttgen recently conducted an in-person field day for new and established beef producers by offering a Beef 101 Cow -Calf Field Day noting there will be a 2025 WI School for Beef Producers with six sessions starting in January. Lastly, Stuttgen stated as of today, WI cattle producers will need to register their cattle with electronic (premise) ID for cattle moving in and out of Wisconsin (EID). Shara Allen, FoodWIse Nutrition Educator/Terri Kolb FoodWIse Administrator: Allen referred to the Highlights Report regarding her current programming at SOAR and Raider Academy on a monthly basis providing a cooking lesson , as well as nutritious and budget friendly snacks, meals and drinks. Allen spoke about nutrition sessions at the Rib Lake Senior Center and how the seniors appreciated learning how to cook with ingredients from their local Dollar Store and with a n air fryer . The fryers are being provided through a grant that came from the Taylor County Health Department. Lastly, Allen started her work with the 1 st and 3rd graders at Stetsonville Elementary offering stories, activities and sample foods over a five-lesson series. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips mentioned walk in counter activity has decreased since the change in season, however the phone calls have increased with signups for several programs being currently offered. Phillips noted that a lot of her time has been spent with 4 - H year end activities, events, community marketing/outreach as well as newsletters, email blasts, and weekly social media posts. Phillips continues to keep herself updated on technologies for Extension’s website as well as AI use within specific programs and applications. Michelle Grimm , Community Development : Grimm has been working with the StrongBodies volunteer teachers for recertification and retrain ing. Grimm noted that the county Strategic Planning Committee recently met to start prioritizing goals and will reconvene in January. Grimm’s next meeting for Broadband will be to work with preferred providers for coverage in the north and west portions of the county. Grimm showed the presentation as a result from the Gilman Design Charrette, including two years of strategic planning with three key focus areas being identified. Next steps is to take the plan and to start prioritizing and implementing action steps. Area Extension Director position: Introductions were conducted earlier with Rehb erg communicating her role and goals for supporting Taylor County as the new Area Extension Director. Review and consideration of approval; 2025 UW Madison – Extension/Taylor County Contract: Lersch reviewed the most relevant portions of the contract with the committee, also reminding it that FoodWIse positions are not included because they are funded through a grant administered by Extension. He also thanked the committee for providing office space and IT support for the FoodWIse educator as well as the other Extension educators located in the Taylor office. Lersch stated the 2 nd invoice from the university requesting payment from the county in support of 2024 Extension education is expected to be sent sometime this month . Lersch also reviewed the Delegation of Financial Budget Authority (DOFBA) wording, requesting that the committee also approve and designate a signor for that portion of the contract . Hager asked for more explanation of the hiring process stated on 2)a. of the contract. Both AEDs in attendance addressed her question. Cummings motioned to approve the 2025 Contract Between Taylor County and Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System ; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Committee members signed the contract, with County Board Chair Metz signing the DOFBA portion. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch stated the only open position was in Langlade County for a 4-H Educator and that the posting was due to close November 6. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, January 7, 2025, 9:00 a.m. Adjournment: Cummings motioned to adjourn at 10:10 a.m.; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE September 3, 2024 Members Present: Karen Cummings, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen, Jim Metz Others Present: Julie Diepenbrock, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, Shara Allen, Terri Kolb, and Kelly Phillips. Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Tim Hansen, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve the agenda: Metz moved to approve the agenda; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Election of Committee Vice Chair: Per County Board Guidelines, committee s are requested to formally establish a Vice Chair. Metz nominated Lemke; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. Approve minutes of the July 2, 2024, meetings : Lemke moved to approve the minutes of May 14, 2024; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers : Lersch noted the expense for ProDesigns under the Ag Account was to be reimbursed by North Central Wisconsin Cattleman’s Association ( NCWCA). Metz moved to approve the bills and vouchers; Cummings seconded the motion. Motion carried. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral report s to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Educator: Diepenbrock noted the county fair had great weather and seemed to go well . Diepenbrock stated t he MASS auction went well and represents America at its finest by having individuals, small businesses and corporations coming together to support our community youth. She also mentioned how the youth are still busy wrapping up the year and turning in their record books which qualifies them for 4 -H travel experiences. Diepenbrock stated that there were four 4-H Day Camps held during the summer with 35 youth attending. 75 youth also attended summer library programs and 17 youth on average participated in the weekly 4 -H/Huey’s Hideaway 12-week summer program. Diepenbrock also reported that five Taylor County 4-H youth members showed animals at the state fair. The overnight summer camp had 36 youth attend from four different counties with Taylor having more youth attend than in prior years. The 2023-2024 4- H program ended with 169 youth members, slightly fewer than the previous year . Diepenbrock stated that she will be conducting after-school programs with four of the county schools in the coming months. And lastly, new enrollment for 4 -H 2024 -2025 opened yesterday. Sandy Stuttgen , Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen referred to highlights about an upcoming training program for IM-SQ-IV Techniques to be demonstrated at the request of a farm wanting to show their Hispanic employees how to vaccinate herds. This program will have an interpreter from Madison assisting with communications. Stuttgen stated the UW Livestock team had a display at the recent Farm Technology Days providing information regarding handling animal health products and biosecurity. Stuttgen also mentioned that the Livestock Team is applying for a NADPRP grant for fiscal 2025 ($15,000 to $20,000 range) that will allow , if received, the team to organize and conduct in-person biosecurity workshops for dairy and livestock associations and their farm members. Michelle Grimm , Community Development : Grimm stated that the f all Strong Bodies program is kicking off next week. She mentioned that Gilman’s instructor has stepped down, so there will not be a fall class in that location. Two new volunteer instructors from Gilman, however, will be certified to teach classes in November and will begin leading sessions in the winter. The Extension training to certify volunteer instructors is funded using revenues collected from program participants. (For liability reasons, volunteer instructors have to be certified.) Grimm noted that a revised draft county s trategic plan will be discussed at tomorrow’s Strategic Planning Committee meeting. Grimm stated that the community garden will once again donate a large amount of fresh vegetables to the local food pantry. Lastly, Grimm mentioned that a g rant for Community Economic Analysis provided to the Village of Gilman will support a community planning charette to be held October 11. The Gilman school district leads a group of concerned citizens and organizations that want to plan and implement revitalization projects and develop strategies to recruit and retain community volunteers. Grimm and a colleague submitted another grant in support of a “S ocial Joinery” dinner and a movie evening when more about community volunteerism will be discussed. The committee also discussed the importance of such a project particularly as Gilman school enrollment is declining. Shara Allen, FoodWIse Nutrition Educator/Terri Kolb FoodWIse Administrator : Allen stated she set up a table at the local food pantry to discuss the uses of the food available and supplied residents with recipes using those pantry items . Allen also mentioned that $45 farmers market food vouchers are available at t he Commission on Aging. Allen has been in discussions with the Rib Lake Senior Center about offering programs related to making meals for single seniors. She has also been working with the Taylor County Health Department on a grant that would include incentive items for seniors to be able to walk away with usable items to help prepare the discussed meals. Allen participated in small group discussions and shadowing experiences that will allow her to work with Medford SOAR and the alternative high school in the coming fall months. Kolb mentioned she was working with Stetsonville and Gilman schools in the hope that they will become designated economically disadvantaged schools (at least half of students eligible for free and reduced lunches) . Both schools only need a few more low-income students to achieve this designation, one that also would allow FoodWIse to provide nutrition education in them. Kolb stated Gilman reached out to her regarding the desire to open a food pantry. Committee member Cummings provided Kolb with contact information of who else to talk with about this. Lastly, Kolb is working with the Indianhead organization on a collaborative project offering “silver sacks ” fresh produce to senior citizens and how to prepare such foods. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips mentioned her creation of a Goosechase, phone app contest for the 4-H youth during the county fair. She also noted that 4-H had a display in the grader shed along with a small UW -Extension presence. 4-H displays and materials were then available at all the public and private K -9th schools in the county for their open houses last week. Phillips stated there is a lot of foot traffic for Strong Bodies registrations with 5% being new participants. Phillips marketed the Strong Bodies programs by leaving materials at local health clinics and chiropractic clinics. There has also been a lot of traffic for plat books, plant ID and 4 -H drop off of financials and record books. Phillips stated there has been a lot of communications via social media for all programs and several updates to the website. Area Extension Director position: Lersch stated that there to date has been no decision made regarding how AED coverage will be provided upon his retirement in mid – December. He reiterated to the committee that Taylor County would not be left without area director coverage at any time. Taylor County UW Extension 2025 requested budget: Lersch noted Extension would be over budget by $4,400 with about 94% of the total budget being personnel. Lersch meets with the Finance Committee on September 12 th. Metz motioned to approve the 2025 proposed budget and to forward it to the Finance Committee; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch stated that Extension is working with a WCA subcommittee to make revision to the 136 Contract language and to develop a separate MOU document. Hansen asked if those documents relate to state statutes. Lersch stated that for the most part they do not, but that Extension leadership is also aware that statutes relating to Extension likely need to be updated. Lersch also stated that the Annual Performance review cycle is changing from the calendar year to the state fiscal year which means that he will be conducting annual reviews of educators in October/November rather than early next year. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Adjournment: Lemke motioned to adjourn at 9:57 a.m.; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE July 2, 2024 Members Present: Karen Cummings, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen, Jim Metz Others Present: Julie Diepenbrock, Tychelle Duellman, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, Shara Allen, and Kelly Phillips. Absent: Terri Kolb (excused) Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Tim Hansen, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Due to other commitments for 4-H and Metz, Hansen reordered the agenda. Approve minutes of the May 14, 2024, meetings: Lemke moved to approve the minutes of May 14, 2024; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Cummings seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers: Lersch explained the larger expenses as well as identifying the items that were to be reimbursed. Metz moved to approve the bills and vouchers; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral reports to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Educator: Diepenbrock introduced 4 -H Intern, Tychelle Duellman. Diepenbrock continued reviewing and providing details of the Summer Camp photos provided in the Highlights report. Diepenbrock spoke about 4 -H programming with Huey’s on a weekly basis over the summer and finished with the statement that 2024 Plat Books were out and available and specified locations. Michelle Grimm, Community Development: Grimm remarked on the Strategic Plan Update in Highlights and the action plans as next steps to be finalized in July and to the board for review in late summer early fall. Grimm spoke about Gilman’s Community Economic Analysis looking at Mellen’s initiatives in hopes of reaching their own CEA objectives. Next, Grimm stated that the community garden beds are complete and renovated from the grant she received last Fall. Lastly, Grimm reviewed the Clean Sweep results from Spring. Shara Allen, FoodWIse Nutrition Educator: Allen spoke about her first teaching experience since coming aboard Extension last September, at Head Start teaching a series of nutrition education classes. Allen stated she was also working with Jen at Commission of Aging regarding Sr. Vouchers – going to Sr. sites to build awareness. Moving forward Allen will be programming once a quarter at the Sr. sites introducing new food items. Allen commented about trainings she has completed and her current discussions with the SOAR program. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips stated her outreach to previous gardeners involved in the community garden, obtaining additional funds for plots that have been donated to Huey’s. Phillips commented on the finishing of foot traffic for gardens as well as StrongPeople summer class sign ups. Phillips continued about completion of 4-H Email Blasts, 4-H Newsletter and over 300 plat books printed. Phillips noted her attention was focusing on the upcoming county Fair, Farm Technology Days and the Ag Roadshow where Phillips is involved in the marketing materials for each event. Phillips finished with a comment on current foot traffic, 1 -3 residence per week regarding plat books and/or horticulture questions. Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen welcomed each committee member to attend the upcoming Farm Technology Days in Cadott, specifically to the Extension tent which will highlight bio security and livestock safety handling. Stuttgen stated she will be heading to TX to find out if she has been selected as national distinguished career award winner during the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) Professional Improvement Conference. Lastly, Stuttgen presented a slide show of her previous trip to South Africa. Extension Partnership Guidance document: Lersch referred to the document stating the biggest change is that WEXA (WI Extension Association) is no longer in existence. Lersch reiterated that Extension was looking for feedback to better outline the relationship between the County and Extension. Hansen asked if the 59.56(3)© state statutes were going to be updated? Lersch stated he is not aware of any discussions about updating the statute, however, Extension leadership is aware that it needs updating. Hansen’s concern is if the statues are outdated, the portions of the guidance document based on it are also likely outdated. Review of Extension office tasks table: Lersch noted that this suggestion to provide this document came from the Finance and Personnel committee. It basically serves as a document stating office tasks and per Lersch, is a good exercise for the department. Lersch to forward the final copy of the document to HR, Nicole Hager. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch stated that he will be retiring mid -December this year. Lersch commented that Extension that when an area director position is becoming vacant, Extension leaderships looks at whether it should be filled as is or if it in some way can be restructured. That discussion is currently taking place with his position. He assured the committee that Taylor County would have area director coverage. Lersch currently oversees 4 counties as AED. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, September 3, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Adjournment: Lemke motioned to adjourn at 10:02 a.m.; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE May 14, 2024 Members Present: Karen Cummings, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen, excused: Jim Metz Others Present: Julie Diepenbrock, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, and Kelly Phillips. Absent: Shara Allen and Terri Kolb (excused) Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Tim Hansen, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve minutes of the March 5, 2024, meetings: Lemke moved to approve the minutes of March 5, 2024; Hansen seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Cummings moved to approve the agenda; Lemke seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers: Cummings asked what is the difference between Wells Fargo and Bauernfeind for copier charges; Lersch commented how Wells was for the lease of the copier and Bauernfeind was per copy charges. Phillips commented that she investigated the price increase for the copy charges and discovered Bauernfeind was charging an inaccurate amount for black and white copies. A credit of $1040 was issued. Lemke moved to approve the bills and vouchers; Cummings seconded the motion. Motion carried. Overview of UW Extension: At Lersch’s suggestion, everyone introduced themselves. Lersch shared the Partnership Guidance document that explains the university/AED role with the county and will be looking for feedback on it at the next Ag & Extension meeting in early July; the statewide organizational chart was also shared. Lersch then passed around the Extension/County contract for 2024 and explained how Extension receives funds from the county in support of Extension education. He also mentioned that the first invoice issued for 2024 by the university to the county should be arriving this month. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral reports to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Michelle Grimm, Community Development: Grimm stated that Strong Bodies was wrapping up with one in -person Summer class continuing. Classes to start again in September. Grimm noted that Taylor County has one of the largest StrongPeople/Strong Body class attendance in the state. Cummings asked if that was the program taking place in Jump River Sr. Center. Grimm stated that is another coalition providing wellness for senior citizens. Grimm continued her update about serving on anywhere between 5 -7 county committees and her role in helping the county make decisions and to provide additional resources. Hansen questioned if she had the numbers from this past weekend’s Clean Sweep. Grimm stated they would be available at the next meeting. Grimm spoke about the Community Gardens and the refurbishment that has taken place due to a $4,000 grant that was awarded last year for the project. She also mentioned the nonprofit educational series that she has been a part of at the state level. Lastly, Grimm explained the Gilman economic development project in detail for Cummings’ benefit. Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen remarked that her primary role as an Ag Educator is to bring researched based information to farmers. Stuttgen spoke to the fact that Taylor and Clark counties currently do not have crops and soil educators, but she can refer and get assistance through the WI Extension network to provide answers related to those topics to stakeholders. Stuttgen provided Taylor County farm information from the recently released 2022 US Census of Agriculture. Stuttgen then discussed the beef-cow calf pilot project that was held virtually with great success. A field day following up on this program will be held late summer/early fall. Lastly, Stuttgen talked about her role as a WI state beef quality coordinator and her involvement with NCWCA (North Central Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association) which includes members from 11 counties. Stuttgen and the Livestock Extension team will be attending Farm Technology Days in August providing information and education about live animal handling techniques and bio security. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips stated she worked with EO Johnson to price out leasing a copier comparable to the Extension office’s current copier and found the monthly fees to be over double what is currently being paid to Bauernfeind. Phillips also reiterated that she noticed an increase in per page pricing, something that typically occurs annually, but after further investigation Bauernfeind determined it was overcharging for b/w copies which will results a credit to the Extension office of over a $1,000. Phillips continued with updates on projects: finished Tourism website, launching of Community Gardens, continuation of website and social media updated, plat book status, walk -in and call details, admin professional conference results and upcoming 4-H regional meeting. Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Educator: Diepenbrock provided updates regarding the activities for the after school and Gilman Library programs. Diepenbrock then updated the status of plat books, club activities, programming to 4 th graders and county graduates through school offered programs. Also, she spoke about upcoming summer programs such as Huey’s Summer Kids Camp, Taylor County 4 -H summer day camps, library programs, and overnight regional summer camp. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch noted a task list of office operations is being compiled by him and Phillips and will be presented to the committee for review at its July meeting. Lersch stated that he will be meeting with a representative from Carlson Dettmann to discuss recent changes to the Extension office program assistant position description (Phillip’s current position). Lersch also noted that the university fee in support of Extension education will increase by 3% in 2025. Prior to the 2024 budget, recent similar increases have been covered with reductions in other line items. Like 2024, it is likely that he will not be able to cover all of the fee increase with reductions from other lines. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, July 2, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Adjournment: Lemke motioned to adjourn at 10:13 a.m.; Cummings seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE March 5, 2024 Members Present: Ray Soper, Jim Metz, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen Others Present: Julie Diepenbrock, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, and Kelly Phillips. Absent: Shara Allen Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve minutes of the January 2, 2024, meetings: Hansen moved to approve the minutes of January 2, 2024; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Hansen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers: Soper asked why there were so many charges for the copier. Both Lersch and Phillips explained the monthly lease payment, a 2023 personal tax charge and then per copy charges for b /w and color copies on a monthly basis as well. Lemke asked if it was less expensive to purchase a machine then rent. Lersch and Phillips both commented that leasing was a less expensive option and that the copiers are typically obsolete within five years. Metz moved to approve the January thru February 2024 bills and vouchers; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Lersch pointed out that the $500 expense for 4 -H was the university annual charge to the county for 4-H Online and that all counties with 4-H programs are billed for this service. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral reports to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Educator: Diepenbrock provided updates regarding the activities for the after school and Gilman Library programs. Diepenbrock then stated that the 4 -H summer internship position was offered and accepted by a qualified applicant for the months of June, July, and August with hours split between Price and Taylor Counties. Steps are being taken to finalize the details of her acceptance (background check, etc.) Diepenbrock noted how the Federation financially supports the summer intern as well. Lastly, Diepenbrock commented on the newly designed t -shirts that will be available this spring from a contest that was held over the winter stating it had been a while since a new design was offered. Also, she spoke about planning efforts for upcoming summer programs such as Huey’s Summer Kids Camp, Taylor County 4-H Summer Camps, library programs, and overnight camp. Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen remarked that she and fellow Extension livestock educators are currently preparing to publish their calf project research in Animal Science magazine. Stuttgen remarked about the current and upcoming workshops she and her team have been busy preparing, marketing, and conducting. Examples include the beef producers annual meeting along with a BQA in -person event in January; a cow/calf school for beginners (beef 101) in March; producing quality beef workshop in Stratford also in March, and AI workshop in April. Michelle Grimm, Community Development: Grimm stated that Strong Bodies starts the final Spring session for the year next week. Lersch handed the committee an impressive and detailed outcomes report generated by the state StrongBodies office for the 2023 Taylor County program. The report includes many participant comments about positive health impacts they attribute to the program. Grimm also stated there would be upcoming public communications regarding broadband for area residents and how the Taylor County broadband project will be recognized at a 175 th Anniversary Northwoods Celebration. Both County Supervisor Mike Bub and Grimm will be discussing the project during the event. Grimm mentioned that she and Phillips are in the process of reconstructing the Taylor County Tourism website. Grimm also mentioned the nonprofit educational series is ending and that she will be cycling off her three -year involvement. Lastly, Grimm noted the Gilman development project was postponed for several reasons by the school district. Terri Kolb, FoodWIse Programming: It was noted that Allen was unable to make today’s meeting. Kolb stated that 2023 was a year for new beginnings for her and Allen so there was a lot of onboarding needing to be accomplished. HeadStart programming will begin this spring while Kolb and Allen continue to work on potential StockBox partnerships. Kolb stated they are also revisiting farmer’s market voucher utilization and availability along with potential EBT use. Lastly, Kolb discussed the educational opportunities she and Allen are finding through Indianhead in an effort to teach elderly clients more about how to acquire and prepare fresh produce. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips stated the email, phone calls and walk-in statistics for 2023. Phillips noted she serves as a StrongBodies instructor when Grimm is out of the office. She also mentioned she is currently working with Grimm on creating a new website for Taylor County Tourism. Phillips also noted she is able to proctor PAT tests for general farming private applicators. Phillips highlighted the new Taylor County Food Resource Guide that was re-created based on the vision of the Food Resource Group. Phillips also discussed the partnerships she maintains for advertising and marketing Extension’s offerings. Extension office PayGov.com Account: Lersch and Phillips explained how PayGov is currently being utilized in the Extension office and anticipate that usage will grow as more online offerings and services become available and as more people learn that this new payment option exists. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch mentioned the May 7 th event (175 th Anniversary Northwoods Celebration) and that invitations were being emailed at this time. He encouraged current and soon to be past committee members to attend. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, 9:00 a.m. since the recognition event coincides with the expected May 7th meeting. Ag & Extension Education Committee service recognition: Plaques presented to Metz and Soper for their years of service. Adjournment: Lemke motioned to adjourn at 9:36 a.m.; Hansen seconded. Motion carried. AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE January 2, 2024 Members Present: Ray Soper, Jim Metz, Catherine Lemke, Tim Hansen Others Present: Shara Allen, Julie Diepenbrock, Michelle Grimm, Sandy Stuttgen, Art Lersch, and Kelly Phillips Minutes by Phillips. Call meeting to order: Ray Soper, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. Approve minutes of the November 7, 2023, meetings: Metz moved to approve the minutes of November 7, 2023; Lemke seconded. Motion carried. Approve the agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda; Hansen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Approve bills and vouchers: Metz moved to approve the November thru December 2023 bills and vouchers; Hansen seconded. Motion carried. Lersch pointed out that the 2 nd invoice from UW-Madison was recently paid and the StrongPeople/Strong Bo dies gift certificates were purchased for the volunteer instructors. Educator Highlight Reports: Educators gave oral reports to supplement their written reports. Highlights were reviewed and discussed from: Julie Diepenbrock, Taylor/Price 4 -H Program Educator: Diepenbrock stated she is prepping for spring and summer activities. She noted that the Awards and Bowling Event that took place in November was to recognize and award those members that took the time to create and hand in Record Books. Also, a Key Award sponsored by Taylor County Farm Bureau was presented to Olivia Wier. Three members will be attending 4-H educational travel experiences in 2024. Youth will be attending this Spirit East trip this summer; another is planning to attend Washington Focus, and another applied for Space Camp. Diepenbrock noted the afterschool programs at SES and MAMS host anywhere between 10 -12 students weekly. Lastly, in 2023 there were 200 4 -H activities/programs presented in Taylor County offering members a sense of belonging. Metz asked who pays for the travel experiences. Diepenbrock stated half usually comes from the youth and their families and the other half is often provided by the Taylor County 4-H Federation. State 4-H scholarships are also available for some experiences. Sandy Stuttgen, Agriculture Education/Programming: Stuttgen remarked that she and fellow Extension livestock educators published in December an article on beef and dairy crossbreeding practices in the Journal of NACAA (National Association of County Agriculture Agents). Stuttgen also spoke about the significance of transportation practices data collection to ultimately help dairy farmers, managers, haulers, calf raisers, and the dairy community in adopting practices and improving transportation welfare to strengthen farm business viability and food safety. Stuttgen also commented about the ongoing collection of data regarding biosecurity practices and the intent to share information and challenges with federal partners in order to shape future biosecurity and keep WI beef herds protected. Stuttgen mentioned multiple workshops/events are being planned for the first quarter of the year. Examples include the beef producers annual meeting along with BQA in -person event in January; a cow/calf school for beginners (beef 101) in March; and producing quality beef workshop in Stratford also in March. Shara Allen/Terri Kolb, FoodWIse Programming: It was noted that Kolb was unable to make today’s meeting. Allen commented that she continues efforts in connecting with the community. Allen recently exhibited at a Healthy Coalition for Seniors and is currently working with Commission on Aging and other community stakeholders to determine the need for a Stockbox program in the county (staple items for seniors in need). Allen is slated to offer nutritional education to senior center dining sites as well as food pantries in the county. She also mentioned that she and Kolb are working on the details to begin Head Start nutrition classes this spring. Michelle Grimm, Community Development: Grimm stated that Strong Bodies starts next week for the Winter Session. Grimm also noted that the Taylor County StrongBodies volunteer teachers conduct classes two times a week for 10 weeks, three times a year so they are rewarded with County Market gift cards for their time and commitment. Grimm walked through the next steps for Broadband and how the grant funding would serve areas in the Town of Hammel, Medford, Chelsea and Molitor. Grimm mentioned that she and Phillips would soon be reconstructing the Taylor County Tourism website from scratch due to a failing older platform. Grimm also mentioned that the nonprofit educational series will begin again this month; the county strategic planning and the need to better define its specific intent ; and the next steps in the Gilman development project. Kelly Phillips, Program Assistant: Phillips stated she currently backed up the existing Tourism website in case of another crash. Phillips has assisted with the marketing of many Extension programs such as StrongBodies, NCWCA Winter Event and BQA Training, NCWCA Newsletter, 4-H Newsletter and Taylor’d Ag Newsletter along with daily social media posts and website updates. Extension office PayGov.com Account: Lersch and Phillips explained the need for PayGov.com on the Extension website to provide online and in office credit/debit card payment options for programs such as Ag workshops, 4 -H day camps, StrongBodies, and for 2023 plat books. Lersch requested that the committee move to place the request on the next Finance and Personnel Committee meeting agenda. If approved, the county (likely the Finance Director) will need to sign the PayGov contract. Lemke moved to approve having Finance/Personnel review the request; Hansen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Area Extension Director Updates: Lersch mentioned that there was another $2,100 deducted from the fee for the Community Development Educator in the recently paid second invoice from the university to reflect her time spent on statewide broadband initiatives. Lersch also mentioned that the fungus gnats were an on -going issue. Metz directed the staff to contact another bug expert as discussed during the meeting to get the issue resolved. Phillips to reach out to both Joe Svejda and Gordon Lekies (Bug Bomber) on possible next steps. Lastly, Lersch noted that the Legislature/UW System agreement to provide state budgeted raises to university employees was recently approved by the regents. Details of what university actions in return, including the restructuring of 43 diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, have not yet been determined or revealed. Next committee meeting: Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Adjournment: Lemke motioned to adjourn at 10:04 a.m.; Metz seconded. Motion carried.