Agricultural Commission Meeting: February 12, 2025
7:00 pm Annex (small) and Virtual
6 Town Hall Dr, Princeton 01541
Published on: September 23, 2025 at 1:27pm
Last modified: September 23, 2025 at 1:31pm
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“The listings of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair 48 hours before said meeting, which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.”
LIST OF TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED
Agricultural Commission 2/12/2025 Meeting Agenda
1/ Review & accept 1/8//2025 meeting minutes
2/ Updates/reminders/continued discussion & planning of 2025 presentations:
a/ Winter Presentations/Activities
I/ Debrief Raptors & Rodenticides Jan. 15
– Honorarium Update – Eddie
II/ USDA & MDAR Grants Program (3/19 or 3/26 WD) – Eddie, Dylan depending on availability of presenters.
c/ Spring Presentations/Activities
I/ Backyard Fruits March ? or April – combine with
II/ Small Farm Shared Experiences. April 23.
consider a focus for some of the program –
perhaps preparing for a farm inspection or Back Yard Fruits
– discuss/vote to move meeting to Church
III/ Farm Day May 10, with May 17 as a weather date.
details to be worked out later.
topics for future presentations:
Bee Keeping – Falll
Composting
Foraging
Horses
Solicit the public for other topics at Hey Day
3/ Continue discussion/reflection on current status of the commission and member’s vision(s)/thoughts/strategic planning for the future
4/ New Business: Review & accept annual report
5/ Next meeting dates:
– Wed 3/12, 7pm small room of annex
– Wed 4/9, 7pm small room of annex
6/ Action Items for next meeting
Commission Members present in person: Eddie Good, Chair, John Mirick, Chad Steiner, and Dylan Stimson
Commission Members remote: Susan Connell (alternate) and Lisa Prozzo (alternate
Commission Members absent: Dianna Gruber-Markley and Vicki Braunhardt (alternate)
Public Participation in person/remote: None
Call to order: 7:10 PM
Minutes
The minutes for January 8, 2025 were approved.
Programs for 2025
Raptors, Rodenticides, Collateral Damage, and Better Options
The program went forward on January 15. Jane Newhouse was an excellent presenter. There were 25 or so people present. Good interest and audience participation. A little more information on “better options” would have been useful. For future programs, we might consider a simple sign-in sheet: name address (at least town), and email. Eddie is struggling with paperwork for the honorarium. John suggested he emphasize that the honorarium comes from the Ag Comm budget and is not an additional expense.
Program on Grants in March
This will be on March 19 with March 26 as weather date. There has not been any response from USDA. We can go forward with only MDAR if USDA does not want to participate. Eddie and Dylan are waiting to hear from USDA and MDAR.
Program in April Combined with Small Farm Shared Experiences.
We will present a program on April 23 on back yard fruits, which may include blueberries, raspberries, and tree fruits. Eddie will approach Tower Hill about a possible presenter. This will be combined with a small farm shared experiences focusing on fruits.
Rev. Joelle of First Congregational Church is looking to involve the church in community activities. Eddie will coordinate to schedule this program there. This might also lead to opportunity to re-establish the Sunday Farmers Market at that site.
Farm Day
This will be May 10, with May 17 as a rain date. Details will be discussed at future meeting.
Future Program Possibilities
Bee Keeping in the fall, prior to Worcester County Beekeepers Association Bee School in January the grants program is in February.
Other possibilities include:
Composting
Foraging
Horses
Poultry
Herding Dog Demonstration
Maple Sugaring Demonstration
Annual Report
The Commission reviewed Eddie’s draft and had a few suggested edits. Eddie will revise the draft and submit the report.
Strategic Planning
Eddie led a discussion about the Commission’s organization. It would help to have coordinators with responsibility for maintaining our website, getting publicity for our programs, and organizing our programs. The minutes of meetings are a good general record but do not have detailed information. Using the “backyard fruits” program as an example, John suggested that we could have an information sheet for every program with name, presenter, location, publicity, copy of the flyer, etc. He will rough out a draft for consideration at the next meeting.
Next meetings and events
Wednesday, March 12 at 7:00 PM – regular meeting at Town Hall Annex with virtual option
Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 PM – grants program
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 PM – regular meeting at Town Hall Annex with virtual option
Wednesday, April 23 at 7:00 PM – Backyard Fruits and Small Farm Shared Experiences at Church
Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick