Via webinar 12:00 pm EDTWelcome: President, Daniel BriseboisIntroduction of 2011 Board of Directors: Daniel BriseboisActivities Review: National Director Laura Telford and Anne Macey from COG Island Natural GrowersFinancial Report: Treasurer, Sheila Hamilton and Dennis Medaglia, Partner, Collins Barrow Ottawa, LLPPresidents Report: Dan BriseboisGeneral discussion and questions from members

Acclaimed 2011Tony Marshall, ABRochelle Eisen, BC

Returning Board MembersSheila Hamilton, ABLorraine Beaudette, SKGenevive Grossenbacher, QCDaniel Brisebois, QCGavin Dandy, ONRegional RepresentativesArnold Taylor, PrairieRoxanne Beavers, AtlanticVlad Skotor, ON

PolicyOutreach to FarmersMarkets IntelligenceMarkets DevelopmentOutreach to gardeners & consumersAdvocacy

Organic Standards Maintenance & FundingStandards Interpretation Committee (Sic)AquacultureFood SafetyAAFC Organic Study Agri-subcommittee Food SafetyStakeholder Reference Group next round of Agricultural PolicyOrganic Value Chain Roundtable

Promotional Opportunities Project commissioned by the OVCRTNational Plan to Increase the Participation of Organic Farmers in Food Safety ProgrammingTaking Back the Middle (COG PWW)Regain Control of Your Food Choices: Build Your Local Organic Food Strategy (COG PWW)

Hosted Farm Conferences:COG Ottawa Eco Farm Day, Cornwall, ONConference Committee Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph, ONFarmer Cooperative Symposium, Kemptville, ON

Booths at:Western Canadian Crop Production Show, Saskatoon, SKEco Farm, Asilomar, CAToronto International Farm Show, Missassauga, ONMOSES Organic Farming Conference, LaCrosse, WIGuelph Organic Conference, Guelph, ONOrganic Connections, Saskatoon, SK

WebinarsCrop Planning x 2 episodesRecord Keeping x 2 episodesTransition to Organic Livestock ProductionTransitioning the Small Produce Farm

Prairie RegionManitoba 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 participantsCompleted 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

Ontario RegionWorkshops 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

New book in the COG Practical Skills Series published: Record Keeping for Organic Growers

Two new books in the Practical Skills Series in production:Scaling Up Organically Organic Livestock Handbook Revision

COG OFCM dozens of presentations to Winnipeg child care centres. 21 have signed up for organic foodCOG 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 IslandCOG OTT worked with retailers to increase locally grown organic food on the shelvesCOG 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

COG Organic Directory/Chapter DirectoriesCOG Toronto Annual ConferenceCOG Toronto Booth @ Consumer ShowsCOG Ottawa Feast of FieldsCOG PWW Stone Soup event

Thanks to Anne Macey of COG Island Natural Growers, COG has been collecting statistical information about Canadas organic farming and processing sectors for over 20 years

PUBPATENT lawsuit against MonsantoThe Last Straw Campaign against GMO alfalfa

*****In 2010, COG and its chapters continued to provide practical knowledge about organic production, but we also expanded to include some more business oriented training which we decided was necessary, particularly for new farmers. New more business type courses include Crop Planning and Record Keeping. In Manitoba, our Manitoba Chapter, OFCM offered courses in Quick Books. **Funding from the Ontario Market Investment Initiative to continue the farmer mentor program and to develop a price tracker and an organic seed directory*****Currently planning for Organic Week 2011 which is October 15-22nd*Currently planning for Organic Week 2011 which is October 15-22nd**