Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Report on projects in 2002-2003

Completed the Conservation Tillage CD, contains MWPS-45, plus Powerpoints, movie clips, and additional publications on the history and philosophy of conservation tillage.

Published MWPS-4SD14, Proceedings for a Four-State Dairy Conference

Published MWPS-4SD15, Proceedings for a Four-State Dairy C0nference

Published NCR-610F, Part VI of the series Business Management for Farmers, done with the NCFMEC.

Published NCFMEC-233, Planning and Managing Your Farm Business Center, done with the NCFMEC.

In the past year, MWPS mailed 9,000 catalogs to customers. The MWPS catalog also is on the Conservation Tillage CD.

Bill Koenig reported that he has spent most of the past year working to complete sections of The Structures and Environment Handbook, MWPS-1. The project was to have been completed by January 2004. This project will have a lower priority in the future so Bill can focus on projects that have broader appeal or funding to support their development. There was some discussion of making MWPS-1 into a 3-5 part series so we can start getting some income from the time that has been spent already. MWPS staff will factor this into planning for the upcoming year.

MWPS staff also spent time redrawing figures for The House Planning Handbook and working on the Farmstead Planning Handbook.

MWPS continues to be a partner in efforts to secure additional funding for the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship Curriculum Project, and MWPS is a partner in an ongoing effort to develop fact sheets to explain the 2003 CAFO rules and to secure additional funding to enhance and maintain the LPES curriculum. MWPS also participated in writing a proposal to develop a National Information Outreach Model for Animal Agricultural Water Quality Issues.

Priority projects for 2003-2004
1. Continuation of LPES Project.
2. Dairy Heifer Manual.
3. House Planning Handbook.
4. Hoop Structures for Animal Housing.
5. Comprehensive Nutrient Management Planning Materials (CNMP).
6. Horse Housing Handbook.
7. Continued Support for NCFMEC. Publish books and bulletins to support the work of the farm management specialists.
8. Continued Support for Four-State Dairy Group. Publish the proceedings from Four-State Dairy Conferences.
9. Structures and Environment Handbook. Complete as soon as time allows or monetary support becomes available.
10. Farmstead Planning Handbook. Look at ways to make this available electronically.
11. Private Water Systems. Examine sales potential and see if resources will become available to work on this book.

Conservation Tillage on CD, 2003, CD-ROM that includes MWPS-45 plus other educational materials, (MWPS-45CD)

Four-State Professional Dairy Management Seminar, 2003, 52 pages (MWPS-4SD14)

Four-State Forage Conference, 2003, 64 pages (MWPS-4SD15)

Four State Applied Nutrition and Management Conference, 2003, 182 pages (MWPS-4SD16)

Planning the Late Career, Retirement-Mode Years, 2003, 78 pages (NCR-610F)

Planning and Managing your Farm Business Center, 2003, 16 pages (NCFMEC-233)