Minutes for the Growers of Organic Food Yukon meeting January 15, 2006.

In attendance: Joanne, Sheila, Claire Desmarais, Garret & Heidi, Brian & Susan, Tom & Simone.

· Meeting was called to order by Joanne at 1:15 pm. Minutes of the previous meeting on September 12 were read. Moved Brian/ seconded Sheila that they be accepted as read. Motion carried.

Correspondence:

· GoOFY has an email address that people should feel welcome to visit to get updates from COG.

Reports:

· Simone reported that there is approximately $2500 currently in the bank and that $2000 is yet to be allocated to the Legume study. A final payment is still outstanding from ACAAF pending submission of the report ending 2005.

· Brian reported that the legume report has been received from our technician on disc and hard copy. The next step is to receive the soil test results and source what amendments will be required in the spring. Simone will tally up the budget so we’re on schedule for the spring purchases. It was suggested that if funds are available, some should be given to Karen for the report writing that she did. Garret offered to look at the soil test results and come up with what amendments are required. No more than $500 will be required to pay for his time in creating the report. Someone should check whether the amendments will come from the 2005 or 2006 budget.

· Sheila gave an APF industry update. There is still $10,000 earmarked for GoOFY for networking and $2000 for conferences. There is also still about $46,000 as of yet not earmarked for any group but available. Discussion was held on the possibility of a rock-crushing proposal for organic amendments. Sheila & Joanne were going to look into this idea.

Old Business:

· Brian wrote a letter of support from GoOFY for Debra Throssell and her Product Directory proposal.

· Brian wrote a letter of support from GoOFY for Ruth & Andy Lera for their Bubblehouse (greenhouse) research project.

· Joanne will submit the costs to the APF transition fund for certification costs accrued by members for the 2005 season.

· Members should look at the list of books from the COG website to see if there are some we should order for our library (Whitehorse Public Library). Submit requests to Joanne by mid February so the invoice can be no later than March 31.

· Joanne will look into the feasibility of a ‘lift-off’ trailer being requested for GoOfy

· Heidi has come up with a new idea instead of the Historical Agriculture Project. She is looking into the possibility of making a film about a northern farming family and the trials they go through in order to move to a sustainable Organic lifestyle. Discussion was held on numerous ways in which the project could be funded and what agencies might be interested. Members of GoOfy weren’t willing to step into the project per se until more details were available.

New Business:

· Claire Desmarias asked for a letter of support from GoOFY so she can apply for funds to take her Organic meat inspector certification. Brian will write the letter of support. It was also mentioned to Claire that we would support her if she could take her Organic processing certification.

· Joanne mentioned that in talks with Tony Hill of the Ag Dept, there was going to be some education projects on soil nutrition and fertility. Joanne suggested there should be an Organic component and Tony agreed. GoOFY suggested we try to contact Neil Kinsey or Rochelle to see if either of them would consider coming or had recommendations for a speaker.

· Joanne mentioned that Tony Hill has an oilseed project for biodiesel being developed. Concern was expressed over the possibility of the use of GMO canola and also use of land for fuel as opposed to food. Tom will write a letter to the Ag Branch regarding the concerns and forward it to Joanne for her signature on behalf of GoOFY

· The new COG chapter handbook arrived. There was discussion once again on the relationship between COG, GoOFY and the requirements for APF funding. Brian and Sheila are going to investigate how other jurisdictions handle this relationship.

· Tom reported that he had given a brief presentation to YAA about GE crops and the initiative to make the Yukon a GE crop free zone. The response was hot and cold however in general there was good support for further education on the topic. It was suggested by YAA that Tom write a brief article on this for the upcoming YAA newsletter. It was also suggested that a guest speaker would be a good idea. Tom said that he wasn’t looking for an immediate show of support but that it would be essential for the movement to know the industry is on side. Tom asked that GoOFY look into a similar memorandum of support.

Next Meeting: February 19, 2006, The Whitehorse Public Library meeting room 1-4pm

Meeting adjourned, moved by Tom