Agricultural Commission Meeting: March 12, 2025
7:00 pm Annex (small) and Virtual
6 Town Hall Dr, Princeton 01541
Published on: September 23, 2025 at 1:33pm
Last modified: September 23, 2025 at 1:33pm
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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 3/12/2025 Meeting Agenda
1/ Review & accept 2/12//2025 meeting minutes
2/ Updates/reminders/continued discussion & planning of 2025 presentations:
a/ Winter Presentations/Activities
I/ USDA & MDAR Grants Program (3/19 with 3/26 as Weather Date)
– USDA, NCRS & MDAR are onboard
– to be held in large room of annex
– can Planning Board trade spaces with Ag Comm ?
– promotion/publicity
– coffee/etc
b/ Spring Presentations/Activities
I/ Small Farm Shared Experiences Wed April 23 (WD – Wed 4/30?)
– presentation on Back Yard Fruits
– to be held at Congregational Church
II/ Farm Day May 10, with May 17 as a weather date.
time ?
topics for future presentations:
Bee Keeping – Falll
Composting
Foraging
Horses
Solicit the public for other topics at Hey Day
c/ Hey Day 11am-4pm Sat, October 4 (rain date: October 5)
3/ Continue discussion/reflection on current status of the commission and member’s vision(s)/thoughts/strategic planning for the future
4/ New Business:
5/ Next meeting dates:
– Wed 4/16, 7pm small room of annex (need to shift from 4/9)
– Wed 5/14, 7pm small room of annex
6/ Action Items for next meeting:
Commission Members present in person: Eddie Good, Chair, Vicki Braunhardt (alternate),Susan
Connell (alternate), John Mirick, Lisa Prozzo (alternate),
and Dylan Stimson
Commission Members remote: None
Commission Members absent: Dianna Gruber-Markley and Chad Steiner
Public Participation in person/remote: None
Call to order: 7:20 PM (delayed because of Town Caucus)
Minutes
The minutes for February 12, 2025 were approved.
Programs for 2025
Program on Grants in March
Presenters have been lined up for USDA, MDAR, and NCRS. The program will be in the
large room. There will be publicity through Town email, NextDoor, and Facebook. We
missed deadlines for Redemption Rock News and other publications. Ag Comm
members will provide light refreshments.
Program in April .
We decided to reschedule the April program, probably until sometime in early
September. Eddie reports that the new minister at the Congregational Church is very
willing to provide space there for programs. This could also be a site for resuming
Sunday noon Farmers Markets.
Farm Day
This will be May 10, with May 17 as a rain date. We need to firm up details. Staffing,
and publicity. Rattle Root. Andean Dawn Alpacas, Stimson Farm, and Cornerstone
Ranch will be the sites.
Future Program Possibilities
We will probably do the small farm shared experience, possibly with a backyard fruits
component, in September, followed by Hey Day on October 4. We need to plan a
07193/00154/4929-7674-9615 v.1
program for November, and then block out possible dates and programs in 2026. We
previously listed as possibilities:
Composting
Foraging
Horses
Poultry
Herding Dog Demonstration
Maple Sugaring Demonstration
Strategic Planning
The crunch in organizing speakers and publicity for the grants program in March, and
the decision to postpone the small farm shared experiences program from April to
September, show the need for better strategic planning and organization. Both John
and Eddie had put together possible outlines for keeping records for programs that can
be used as guides for future programs. The records would include information on
location, publicity (both specific contacts and dates for publication), presenters,
locations, attendance, and de-briefing notes on what worked and what could be
improved, and procedures for programs. Eddie will have a revised version for the next
meeting.
Next meetings and events
Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 PM – grants program
Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 PM – regular meeting but different date at Town Hall Annex with
virtual option
Farm Day May 10, with May 17 as weather date
Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 PM – regular meeting at Town Hall Annex with b=virtual option
Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick