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Growers News
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- Forming & Growing Cooperatives
From Paula Ross, UT Urban Affairs Center Research Associate:
- Are you a farmer or a grower?
- Do you buy food or flowers for your business?
- Could being part of a Cooperative help you grow your business?
Please join us for a discussion with Tom Snyder, PhD and Program Manager, Ohio Cooperative Development Center.
The Ohio Cooperative Development Center, one of Ohio State University’s South Centers,
was established in 2001. Throughout the years, OCDC has assisted in helping groups
form cooperatives and growing existing cooperatives.
For example, if local growers/farmers worked collaboratively in such a cooperative,
they could respond to RFPs like this one.
Wednesday September 8th at 11 AM
Research and Technology Complex 1 (R1) Building
(east of Westwood on the North side; look for the solar panels)
RSVP to 419.530.3591 by Friday September 3rd
Sponsored by the University of Toledo Urban Affairs Center
This is a great opportunity for growers to learn more about co-ops and how MVGA can potentially take advantage of opportunities offered to organizations with co-op designations.
Please RSVP by Sept. 3rd. Lunches provided to those that attend.
- Growers Collaborate to Address Challenges
- Save the Date: MVGA Annual Meeting
From Serenity Carr:
The MVGA Annual Meeting will be on September 10, 2010 from 5:30pm to 9:00pm at Wildwood
MetroPark's Ward Pavilion. The speaker will be Kasey Cronquist of the California
Cut Flower Commission (click here for more information).
Watch your mail for more details!
- OSU Student Market Research: Request for assistance
From Joe Perlaky:
This message comes to us from Diane Hill, Sales Representative and Master
Gardener at Waldo's and Associates
My name is Erik Palomar and I am a student of The Ohio State University,
currently conducting a market research on clean recycled sand. This university
study is working to evaluate needs and opportunities in manufactured soils in
Ohio. The results of this study may be highly beneficial to nurseries,
landscapers, and soil blenders looking to lower costs. Companies who
participate in the study can get a copy of the results by entering an email
address at the end of the survey.
The survey has a maximum of 20 questions depending upon your answers. All
questions are in the form of multiple choice or short answer. It should take
approximately 10 minutes. All answers will remain confidential. Please click on
the link below to access the survey.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZhcEbqE5u1Ub1jZh9z_2blNQ_3d_3d
If you have any questions or other concerns, please contact me at
erikpalomar@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Erik Palomar
Fisher College of Business
The Ohio State University
- Last Chance for personalized MVG Signs
- Toledo Farmer's Market featured in the Baltimore Sun
From Joe Perlaky:
This message comes to us from Katie Bibish, Staff Assistance for Rep. Marcy Kaptur.
Please note the article below that appeared in The Baltimore Sun featuring our
very own Toledo Farmer’s Market. Locally, we appreciate this gem in our
backyard, but clearly those around the nation are noticing too! This is
national Farmer’s Market week – please continue to support our local markets
and vendors. For more information about Toledo’s visit:
www.toledofarmersmarket.org/.
Article published August 3, 2010,
The Baltimore Sun
Farmers' markets sustain Ohio communities
By CAROL GOLAND and RALPH SCHLATTER
A good dinner can satisfy more than your appetite. Farmers' markets are a
critical part of the local and sustainable food systems that nourish our
bodies, communities, local economy, and environment.
If you visit the Toledo Farmers' Market on a Saturday, you'll see streams of
families with wagons, baskets, and reusable bags brimming with local produce
and fresh baked goods. Farmers chat with customers about recipes and farming
practices. There are bouquets of brightly colored flowers and stacks of
heirloom tomatoes. Chefs hold workshops that show how to preserve the tastes of
the season.
Such markets used to be the heart and soul of our communities. Today they are
not only coming back but growing.
The Toledo Farmers' Market is among at least 213 farmers' markets in Ohio.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of farmers' markets
in the United States grew from 1,755 in 1994 to 5,274 in 2009. Farmers' markets
generated more than $1 billion in U.S. sales in 2006, the most recent year for
which data are available.
Farmers markets are helping to preserve Ohio's family farms and rural heritage.
That's vital; between 1950 and 2000, Ohio lost more than 6.9 million acres of
farmland, nearly one-third of the state's agricultural land.
For beginning farmers, farmers' markets provide low-cost entry points to
incubate their businesses. By selling directly to consumers, a new generation
may be able to make a better living from farming. Farmers markets' are integral
to creating robust local economies. Customers who support them keep their food
dollars in the community and support local businesses.
The markets are more than places to buy food, but destinations in their own
right. Nearby nonfood businesses benefit from the markets' foot traffic.
In urban areas, farmers' markets help create vibrant neighborhoods by providing
gathering places. Access to fresh, healthful food is limited in many urban
communities. Farmers markets' enhance that access. Shoppers interact
personally with producers at farmers' markets, learning how their food is
raised. Such relations and transparency aren't available at the grocery store.
Locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables are usually sold within 24 hours
of harvest. Produce from across the country can't be that fresh, and it doesn't
taste as good. By delivering fresh, delicious ingredients, farmers' markets can
make converts even of children who are skeptical of vegetables. Fresh food
also is more nutritionally complete. Nutritional value declines, often
dramatically, as time passes after harvest. Tree and vine-ripened fruits and
vegetables have more vitamins and minerals, and taste better, than those that
are picked green and ripened in transit or in warehouses.
This is National Farmers' Market Week, an opportunity to celebrate this vital
segment of the agricultural economy and an increasingly central feature of our
communities. At the height of the season, now is a great time to experience
Ohio's farmers' markets. They are helping farmers and consumers to reconnect
and act together to build a sustainable food system, one meal at a time.
Carol Goland is executive director of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm
Association in Columbus. Ralph Schlatter owns Canal Junction Natural Meats and
Farmstead Cheese in Defiance, a supplier to the Toledo Farmers' Market.
- Ohlman's Donates to Toledo Grows
From Joe Perlaky:
Many thanks to Ohlman’s Farm Market & Greenhouse who also partnered with Toledo
Grows by donating flowers for planting at several of Toledo’s community
gardens. Beautifying our city has always been important to our area growers who
many times quietly collaborate with our community organizations.
Ohlman’s Farm Market & Greenhouse is located at 3901 Hill Avenue. Their
wholesale operation distributes quality blooming plants within a 300 mile
radius of Toledo, Ohio. Their retail store is open May-June and
September-December operations. Stop in and say hello. They can be reached at
419-536-1939 or visit their web at www.ohlmangreenhouse.com
- Dearings Donates to Toledo Grows
From Joe Perlaky:
Thanks to the fine folks at Dearing’s Greenhouse who recently donated flowers
to Toledo Grows for planting at several locations within Toledo’s community
gardens. Another batch of beautiful vinka’s and begonia’s were donated to the
City of Oregon for use at their municipal faculty and their garden near their
city entrance located near St. Charles Hospital on Rt. 2.
For many years, Bill and his wife Avis built their wholesale business
regionally. Generational succession has gradually transitioned their
operations to their son Shawn and his wife Lisa.
Many thanks to the Dearing’s for their kind generosity to our NW Ohio
communities for over three generations.
- MVG Sign at Hoen's
From Joe Perlaky:
The four-year old MVG sign that was located at the corner of Summit and Cherry
at the “Greek Hill” was removed a couple of weeks ago, cleaned and repainted.
It has since been relocated to Hoen’s Greenhouse Holland-Sylvania Rd.
Bob and Theresa were the first to respond to our email request to locate our
sign at a Maumee Valley Grower facility. This is something new this year which
was prompted in part by it being taken out of service and renovated.
This opportunity is still available to all MVG members. First come first
served. We have a second location already spoken for.
If interested, give me a call at 419-356-4847 and we will schedule an
appropriate time to move the sign. Moving the sign requires 2 individuals.
- Corso's Wind Turbine Ribbon Cutting
From Joe Perlaky:
Corso's Flower & Garden Center
has a 500 kW Wind turbine installed to drive electric motor to pump water for free
irrigation from their retention pond. Both the Federal REAP Grant and State of Ohio
Energy Office Grant contributed greatly to the project.
Many thanks to Northcoast Wind and Power for their guidance and installation.
(thanks Linda Woods of Northcoast for the pictures above).
- 2010-2011 Ohio Anemometer Loan Program
From Joe Perlaky:
From Kemp Jaycox of Green Energy Ohio:
Green Energy Ohio (GEO) is pleased to announce the 2010-2011 Ohio Anemometer
Loan Program (ALP) funded by the Ohio Dept. of Development (ODOD) and
administered and managed by GEO. If you are interested in the program, please
respond via e-mail so I can keep your name and contact info on the distribution
list. For those of you who may have a client or know an organization that is
interested in applying, I would appreciate if you would forward this e-mail.
[Required documents] are the 2010-2011 ALP application, program description, application
review form, FAA Form 7460-1 instructions, and equipment inspection / data
retrieval instructions. You can download the documents at
http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=2193. If you are interested in
applying for the program, please read all 5 documents thoroughly, complete the
application and return 4 copies to me as described in the application by Friday August 20, 2010.
The Ohio ALP is designed to provide wind resource assessment studies for
organizations that plan to install one (1) or more wind turbines with a total
capacity of at least 100 kW but less than 5 MW. The ALP is NOT designed to
serve wind farm developers or landowners who are seeking to lease their land to
wind farm developers. Furthermore, the ALP is NOT intended for
individuals/organizations that wish to use power generated from a turbine to
charge batteries. To be eligible, your organization must be a non-profit
organization (e.g., school, park district, or hospital), a public entity (e.g.,
city, township, village or port authority) or a small business/industry (500 or
fewer employees).
Funding is available for three (3) sites in Ohio for 2010-11, and an additional
three (3) sites in 2011-12. Participants will be able to borrow wind
monitoring equipment from an inventory that consists of one (1) 50-meter and
two (2) 60-meter temporary meteorology (MET) tower kits. The 2010-2011 ALP
also includes a wind turbine feasibility study as part of the grant award to
address important due diligence issues necessary to move forward with a wind
turbine development project. Refer to the program description for additional
information.
To be eligible for the program, selected Participants must provide $7,500 in
matching funds Additional eligibility requirements are provided in the program
description.
As explained in the application, applications will be reviewed and scored based
on criteria outlined in the attached documents. Please read this information
carefully to ensure that you are providing all the information requested. We
made several changes from last year’s application including sections on
permitting requirements, FAA clearance for the MET tower, and data retrieval /
equipment inspection instructions.
The winning candidates will likely be selected in early September 2010. Towers
commissioning will likely occur in October.
For those who are not selected and/or not eligible, interested parties can
contract directly with GEO to perform a ‘fee-for-service’ wind resource
assessment study and/or wind turbine feasibility study through GEO’s Monitoring
Ohio Wind Program. If you are interested, please send an e-mail to
Kemp@greenenergyohio.org.
For farmers and residential land owners who are interested in small/residential
sized wind turbines (20 kW or less), we suggest you check your local wind
resource using the Interactive Ohio Wind Resource Map on the Ohio Power Siting
Board Website (refer to page 2 of the application), contact one of the
installers listed at http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageid=315, and
review the list of small scale wind turbine manufacturers
http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=2231. ODOD offers a Residential
Wind Energy Incentive Program NOFA 09-02.
Click here for additional info.
For commercial, industrial, institutional and governmental entities in Ohio,
ODOD offers their Renewable Energy Program NOFA 08-09,
http://development.ohio.gov/Energy/Incentives/AdvancedEnergyFundGrants.htm#NOFA_08-09.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for your interest in Wind Energy and supporting Ohio’s efforts to
diversify our energy portfolio!
Kemp Jaycox
Wind Program Manager
Green Energy Ohio
216-789-5248
Kemp@greenenergyohio.org
- MVG Members: Recycling Program Update
From Joe Perlaky:
As our sales season ramps up so shall our collection of recyclables. A few
small changes to the program:
Our new contact is owner Mike Burkett. He can be reached directly on his cell phone at (419) 677-3910 or via email at mburkett@purposegreen.com.
There are now 3 drop points in the Toledo Area.
- Creque’s Greenhouse, 9700 Sylvania Avenue, Sylvania, Ohio 43560, Jeff Creque at 419-829-2941
- Northbranch Nurser, 3359 Kesson Road, Pemberville, OH 43450, Brett Moyer at 419-287-4679
- Bostdorff’s Greenhouse, 18832 North Dixie Highway, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402, Dick Bostdorff at (419) 353-7858
If volume suggests more drop points, we will adjust the program again. So, at
this point in time, the procedure is to first contact one of the 3 drop point
locations (listed above), ask how many containers are available (free of
course) and arrange a time for you to pick them up. You are also responsible
for returning the containers to the drop points as they fill. When the drop
points have their semi load worth of containers filled, they contact Purpose
Green to pick up the entire inventory and exchange for empties.
Ideally, it would be nice if Purpose Green could pickup and deliver to each
grower location but until our program develops a greater volume of recyclables,
we will have to depend on the individual growers to work out the logistic with
the drop point locations. We understand this initial rollout may not be ideal
for some of our retail growers (need truck and fork lift).
Our goal is to grow the program to the point where it is profitable for Purpose
Green to schedule a route to individual growers.
Thank you for your commitment to this program. Any suggestions you have are
most welcome.
- Interesting "Combined Heat & Power" Technology
Join the MVGA
» MVG Growers: click here to indicate your interest in joining MVGA «
Would You Like to Lower Your Natural Gas Costs?
MVG members can join a program to help reduce their energy costs: the MVGA Natural Gas Program.
Click here to find out more about this program.
Growers Online Links & Resources
Check the following links to online resources for greenhouse growers:
Maumee Valley Growers Economic Cluster Project
The purpose of this research project is to assess the competitive challenges facing northwest Ohio's greenhouse nursery industry.
Click here to go to the Maumee Valley Growers economic cluster research web site.
MVGA Meeting Minutes
Click here to view meeting agendas and minutes for the Maumee Valley Growers.
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From Joe Perlaky:
