Agricultural Commission Meeting: May 14, 2025
7:00 pm Annex (small) and Virtual
6 Town Hall Dr, Princeton 01541
Published on: September 23, 2025 at 1:46pm
Last modified: September 23, 2025 at 1:46pm
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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 5/14/2025 Meeting Agenda
1/ Review & accept 3/12//2025 meeting minutes
1a/ Review & accept 4/10//2025 meeting minutes
2/ Farm Day May 10, with May 17 as a weather date, 12 – 4
– debrief or final planning depending on 5/10 weather
3/ Updates/reminders/continued discussion & planning of 2025 presentations:
a/ Spring Presentations/Activities:
I/ Small Farm Shared Experiences Wed May 28, 7 pm
– focus on Gardening
– to be held at Congregational Church
– update on promotion
– update on collation
II/ Hey Day 11am – 4pm Sat, October 4 (rain date: October 5)
– volunteers to attend
3/ Continue discussion/reflection on status of the commission and
member’s vision(s)/thoughts/strategic planning for the future
4/ New Business:
a/ Volunteer to create/maintain a Friends of Princeton Ag Comm
email list
(Encourage the public to sign up at all presentations)
b/ topics for future presentations:
(Solicit the public for other topics at all presentations)
Bee Keeping – Fall
Composting
Foraging
Horses
Back Yard Fruits
Annual USDA, NRCS, MDAR grants presentation – January
– need to determine specific topic(s)
5/ Next meeting dates:
– Wed 6/11, 7pm small room of annex
– No meeting in July ???
– Wed 8/13, 7pm small room of annex
6/ Action Items for next meeting:
Commission Members present in person: Eddie Good, Chair, Vicki Braunhardt
(alternate), John Mirick, and Lisa Prozzo (alternate)
Commission Members remote: None
Commission Members absent: Susan Connell (alternate), Dianna Gruber-Markley, Chad Steiner,
and Dylan Stimson
Public Participation in person/remote: None
Call to order: 7:00 PM
Minutes
With some corrections, the minutes for meetings on 3/12/25, 4/10/25, and 4/30/25 were
approved. John will make the corrections and gib the minutes to the Town Clerk for
posting..
Programs for 2025
Farm Day
This was moved to May 17 because of rain on May 10. Eddie will not be
available. Vicki will assist Lisa at Andean Dawn Alpaca Farm. The other
locations are Rattle Root (John), Stimson Farm (Dylan), and Wachusett
Meadows. Nothing special is planned for Wachusett Meadows. Eddie will
distribute signs. John has made a new sign featuring vegetables for Rattle Root.
Small Farm Shared Experiences
This will be May 28 at 7:00 pm at the First Congregational Church. Commission
members will provide light refreshments (Eddie to confirm). The focus will be on
gardening. Marissa has invited members of the Princeton Garden Club.
Hey Day
07193/00154/4931-1202-2605 v.1
Mass Audubon has scheduled Hey Day for October 4, with October 5 as a rain
date. We will have a table. John plans to be there with chestnuts. It would be
good to have other Commission members during the day.
Organization
The flurry of last-minute activity for the May 28 Shared Farm Experiences points up that
we need to improve our organization and advance planning, with clear responsibilities
for recruiting speakers, fixing locations, arranging for publicity and the timing of
everything. We have a good crew but because we only meet monthly, some things get
overlooked.
It would make sense to schedule events for a full year. Hey Day is always early Fall.
Farm Day is always mid-May. These are annual events. We should plan an annual
grants program with USDA, NRCS, and MDAR in January. We could then plan
programs in late October/early November, and March, at least one of which should be a
“shared farm experiences” program. We need to fill out reports on programs which will
help us to plan publicity going forward.
Use of the First Congregational Church on May 28 is a good initiative. The Senior
Center could also be a program location.
We need to coordinate/cooperate with other Town organizations. The Environmental
Action Committee will be at Rattle Root on Farm Day. Are there other organizations
with similar or complementary goals and activities?
We need to create and maintain a “Friends of Princeton Ag Comm” email list. Marissa
might do that.
Program Dates:
October 4 (rain date October 5) – Hey Day
October 22 or October 29 depending on presenter’s availability. Eddie will follow up.
January 14, 2026 (weather date January 28) – grants program
March/April – shared small farm experiences – specific date to be determined.
May 9, 2026 – Farm Day
Ideas for Programs
Dog Herding (probably a weekend program)
Composting (part of small farm experiences?)
07193/00154/4931-1202-2605 v.1
Foraging (probably a weekend program)
Horses (possibly two part – Wednesday evening and the on-site?)
Poultry
Backyard Fruits
Next Meetings
Wednesday June 11 – regular meeting in small annex room
No meeting in July
Wednesday August 13 – regular meeting in small annex room
Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:45 PM
.
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick