Agricultural Commission, May 9, 2017
AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION MEETING
MINUTES
May 9, 2017
Attendance: Steve D’Aquila, Maleah Gustafson, Eileen Charbonneau
Absent: Jim Dunn
Others Present: Ryan MacKay (Lilac Hedge Farm), Chris Hugo (Red Barn)
Meeting called to order @ 7:32 p.m.
It was decided to hold off on approving the April minutes until the June meeting.
Maleah reported that the Town claims that minutes for 2/16/17, 3/30/16, 5/16/16 and 6/21/16 are missing.
HOLDEN FARMER’S MARKET:
Ryan MacKay of Lilac Hedge Farm (LHF) has attempted to become a vendor at the Holden Farmer’s Market and been turned down due to the fact that there is already a meat vendor at the market. Knowing that this has caused some friction, the Agricultural Commission invited Ryan and Leslie Kelly, coordinator of the Holden Farmer’s Market, to attend this meeting. Leslie declined the invitation, but did send a letter detailing her reasons for not accepting Lilac Hedge as a vendor. Specifically, she stated “meat is not a big seller and to have 2 vendors selling meat would not be a good idea. There is also a waiting list with 2 other meat vendors ahead of Ryan, making him number 3 on the list.” Leslie also included at copy of “The Holden Farmer’s Market 2017 Policies and Procedures” (henceforth referred to as “Policies”.)
Ryan, who did attend the meeting, indicated that he went to the Farmer’s Market last Tuesday and noted that the meat vendor only sells 12 cuts of meat. Lilac Hedge would bring a minimum of 90 cuts. He also noted that LHF has just added Lexington to the Farmer’s Markets they attend. When they announced that on their Face Book page, 18 out of 23 response posts requested they add Holden. Since LHF sells at a slightly higher price than the meat vendor at the Holden Farmer’s Market, they would not be undercutting the other vendor. He also stated that it is a discouraging point to him that something as community based as a Farmer’s Market is not supporting the town’s farmers.
Steve noted that the Policies states that applications need to be submitted by March 30th. He noted that Lilac Hedge submitted later than that date. Ryan said that since the Policies are not public and cannot be found on any website or Face Book page as none exists for the Holden Farmer’s Market there was no way for him to know the deadline for submitting an application.
The issue of duplication of services was also addressed. As quoted above, Leslie expressed in her letter that she did not accept LHF because there is already a meat vendor. Ryan disagreed with Leslie’s view on duplication, stating that more than one vendor selling the same product or same type of product indicates a robust market. Also, LHF has a greater variety of meats including, duck, turkey, chicken, etc. and a greater variety of cuts so there are many items that would not be duplicated.
Maleah and Eileen both noted that they have seen duplication at the market many times as eggs, tomatoes, and certain vegetables are sold by more than one vendor. Maleah noted that at today’s market there were three vendors selling potted herbs even though in the recent past another vendor was told that she could not sell potted herbs because one other vendor sold them.
Under the “Acceptable Product” section of the Policies it is stated: “Product lists will be reviewed by the Market Manager as applications are submitted. Please be specific with your product line. Any duplicates that the market cannot bear will be rejected and the vendor will be notified. All similar items or duplicate items should have similar pricing in order to ensure success. We want all vendors to do well.”
It was noted that the wording is vague regarding duplicates and that in practice it seems to be quite arbitrary. Also, Ryan noted that his prices are the same no matter where he sells so he does not want to change his prices for one market.
Both Maleah and Eileen stated that several Farmer’s Market vendors have reported to them that they are unhappy with the way the market is run and that they have concerns because attendance has been down making them unable to sell enough of their products. In large part, this seems to be due to lack of promotion and advertising. Ryan noted that Lilac Hedge has a large Face Book following and if he could post on Face Book that LHF is a vendor at the Holden Farmer’s Market it would greatly increase the customer base at the market, thus benefitting all vendors.
The Holden Farmer’s Market is held on Town property. Maleah reported that she contacted the Town Manager and Planning and Growth and found that there is no permit or contract on record. She was told “they’ve just always done it.” This seems to be a liability concern for the Town. According to the Policies the Farmer’s Market charges a $35.00 fee from each vendor. This does not seem like a reasonable amount to cover possible liability costs.
It was noted by Steve that the Agricultural Commission does not control the market, but rather takes an advisory role. However, we feel we should make a recommendation to improve the market. It is part of our mandate to list grievances, discrepancies in bylaws, and possible discrimination.
POULTRY TALK:
The Poultry Talk featuring poultry expert Andrea Martin that was held at the Red Barn on Saturday, April 22, 2017 was deemed a success. Thirty-seven (37) people attended. Andrea went beyond the ABC’s of raising poultry and got into the behavioral aspects which seemed to be much appreciated by those who attended particularly those who already have backyard chickens. Many people commented that they were happy to know that the Town’s poultry regulations are on the AgComm’s webpage. Maleah collected many email addresses from attendees who want to be added to our email list.
Maleah will research Mailchimp as a possible free email database to be used by the AgComm for blast emails regarding upcoming events. She will present her findings at the next meeting.
Given the success of this presentation, the AgComm would like to sponsor similar events in the future. Chris Hugo of the Red Barn stated that the Red Barn would be happy to continue hosting such events.
Possible future topics include talks on equines, goats and other agriculture-related subjects.
Eileen will speak with Jennifer Poirier of Shepherd’s Gate Dairy Goat Farm about presenting a talk on raising goats.
Ryan said that Meg Jennings of Lilac Hedge would likely be interested in presenting on various aspects of agriculture and farming.
The committee decided to save discussion on when to schedule the next presentation for a future date.
CENTRAL MASS GROWN:
Maleah reported that Product Guides have been printed and are ready for distribution. Upcoming events are posted on the Central Mass Grown Face Book page.
TOWN WARRANT:
There has been a proposed language change regarding Chapter 40 which would change the bylaws of the Agricultural Commission reducing the number of alternate spots on the committee. It was reported that Jim has been looking into this. The committee is opposed to such a change.
We would like to put information on our Face Book site supporting the warrant that the Agricultural Commission retain control over public lands in light of the recent state changes.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Ryan MacKay indicated that now that he is changing his permanent residence to Holden, he is interested in becoming a member of the Holden Agricultural Commission. He was instructed to complete the “Do Something” form on the Town’s website.
The next meeting will be June 20, 2017.
On a motion by Maleah, seconded by Eileen, the meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen Charbonneau