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AGENDA COG 2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. Via webinar 12:00 pm EDT Welcome : President, Daniel Brisebois Introduction of 2011 Board of Directors : Daniel Brisebois Activities Review: National Director Laura Telford and Anne Macey from COG Island Natural Growers
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AGENDACOG 2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Via webinar 12:00 pm EDT Welcome: President, Daniel Brisebois Introduction of 2011 Board of Directors: Daniel Brisebois Activities Review: National Director Laura Telford and Anne Macey from COG Island Natural Growers Financial Report: Treasurer, Sheila Hamilton and Dennis Medaglia, Partner, Collins Barrow Ottawa, LLP President’s Report: Dan Brisebois General discussion and questions from members
2011 COG Board of Directors • Acclaimed 2011 • Tony Marshall, AB • Rochelle Eisen, BC • Returning Board Members • Sheila Hamilton, AB • Lorraine Beaudette, SK • Geneviève Grossenbacher, QC • Daniel Brisebois, QC • Gavin Dandy, ON • Regional Representatives • Arnold Taylor, Prairie • Roxanne Beavers, Atlantic • Vlad Skotor, ON
Our Work • Policy • Outreach to Farmers • Markets Intelligence • Markets Development • Outreach to gardeners & consumers • Advocacy
Policy • Organic Standards Maintenance & Funding • Standards Interpretation Committee (Sic) • Aquaculture • Food Safety • AAFC Organic Study • Agri-subcommittee Food Safety • Stakeholder Reference Group next round of Agricultural Policy • Organic Value Chain Roundtable
Policy: Reports • Promotional Opportunities Project commissioned by the OVCRT • National Plan to Increase the Participation of Organic Farmers in Food Safety Programming • Taking Back the Middle (COG PWW) • Regain Control of Your Food Choices: Build Your Local Organic Food Strategy (COG PWW)
Farmers: Outreach • Hosted Farm Conferences: • COG Ottawa Eco Farm Day, Cornwall, ON • Conference Committee Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph, ON • Farmer Cooperative Symposium, Kemptville, ON Booths at: • Western Canadian Crop Production Show, Saskatoon, SK • Eco Farm, Asilomar, CA • Toronto International Farm Show, Missassauga, ON • MOSES Organic Farming Conference, LaCrosse, WI • Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph, ON • Organic Connections, Saskatoon, SK
Farmers: Building the Knowledgebase • Webinars • Crop Planning x 2 episodes • Record Keeping x 2 episodes • Transition to Organic Livestock Production • Transitioning the Small Produce Farm
Farmers: Building the Knowledgebase • Prairie Region • Manitoba Farm Mentorship Program (COG OFCM) • 6 interns in 2009 and 2010, 20 participating “mentor farms”, 32 training events since 2009, 5 farm tours in 2010, networking and social opportunities for participants • Completed 3-year farmer training project funded by the CWB (COG NAT) • 27 workshops over 3 years in Prairies reaching close to 400 farmers Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development Saskatchewan Agriculture
Farmers: Building the Knowledgebase • Ontario Region • Workshops and farm tours in south western and eastern Ontario (COG PWW and COG OTT) • Piloted transition advisor program in south-western Ontario (COG PWW) • Developed farmer support groups to transfer information. Two legal cooperatives have resulted from some of these farmer clusters
Farmers: Building the Knowledgebase • New book in the COG Practical Skills Series published: Record Keeping for Organic Growers
Farmers: Building the Knowledgebase • Two new books in the Practical Skills Series in production: • Scaling Up Organically • Organic Livestock Handbook Revision
Markets Development • COG OFCM dozens of presentations to Winnipeg child care centres. 21 have signed up for organic food • COG ING has built its GUO project into a food distribution service that delivers organic food to an elder care facility and to schools. ING is now creating the necessary infrastructure to build food self-sufficiency on Salt Spring Island • COG OTT – worked with retailers to increase locally grown organic food on the shelves • COG NAT has been working with entrepreneurs in eastern ON to map the food value chain and raise funds needed to build ‘Organic Central’- a cluster of organic processing and distribution businesses
Consumers: Outreach • COG Organic Directory/Chapter Directories • COG Toronto Annual Conference • COG Toronto Booth @ Consumer Shows • COG Ottawa Feast of Fields • COG PWW Stone Soup event
Market Intelligence • Thanks to Anne Macey of COG Island Natural Growers, COG has been collecting statistical information about Canada’s organic farming and processing sectors for over 20 years
Advocacy • PUBPATENT lawsuit against Monsanto • The Last Straw Campaign against GMO alfalfa