KCFA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
April 21, 2010 YANO HALL
4 PM call to Order
Present: C. Bondera, M. Lake, T. Butler, ML.Moss, D. Sims, Michele Joven and K. Wood.
Meeting was presided over by VP C. Bondera in the absence of Pres. B. Corker.
Introduction of M/M Kuens and Jones' as members
March, 2010 Minutes with correction to date for annual banquet as Nov. 11, 2010 and the Treasurers' Report approved by Board. Motion by M. Lake and seconded by ML.Moss
Special report on by C. Bondera,“ Know Your Farmer-- Know your Food”
Colehour attended a meeting in Honolulu on April 7th hosted by Dep. Sec. of Agric. Kathleen Marigan. Regionalism was the key issue, however farmers didn’t seem to be as well represented as big Government was. The meeting was well attended by the general public. Colehour closed the meeting with a statement on our 10% blend misrepresentation. In summary, we were told there is money available for grants in this area and this is something he intends to investigate.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
1. Web Site: A written report was received by C. Smith on web site, Public Relations and the Ad Hoc Branding Committee. Cea said we now have a fully functional, Supporting Business Member category on our site. Also, the Classified and Resources pages have been combined.
PR.- The April Newsletter was sent out . C. Sheppard will send out May’s issue and we will fill in until her next quarterly is sent.
Ad Hoc Branding- Cea is satisfied with our own printing at a great savings to KCFA. We will consider outsourcing the printing as they popularize.
She also reported on Colehour’s debut on TV. Colehour was interviewed by KITV HNL. On marketing conceptions regarding Kona blends, the supply effect on not selling a 10% blend (none), and the effects of draught in Kona.
2. Education: April Coffee Talk on taxes were attended by 31 people. Many questions were asked and answered. There were also questions concerning liability and insurance which may be a good topic for the future.
May 5 -Coffee Talk will be on SBA loans, little fire ants and twig borer.
June -to be decided
July - roasting and cupping by Hula Daddy roaster Miguel Meza
3. Legislative: A) Bruce Corker, C. Bondera and Chuck Moss met with former Ag administrator Pat Stolfar.
B.) The Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network (ORIGIN) is having a book release in Washington DC on June 3,2010
on American Origin Products (AOP) and have invited KCFA to send a representative to be included in the agenda. A motion was received by ML. Moss and seconded by T. Butler that we allot $1500 to $2000 for a to be named representative. Motion passed.
4. Events: ML. Moss announced that now that annual event dates have been set, event committees will be forming.
5. Members and Estates: Joanie Rowe reported 237 members. Farmers- 191, Associates- 35, Business- 11.
A question was asked by member N. Griffith how may farms does this represent. C.Smith said that she may be able to isolate this through our web site and will get back with the information.
OLD BUSINESS
1.Report by M.Lake on Little Fire Ants
“The fire ant is an invasive species that was first reported in 1990. It is supposed to have arrived in Kona via Plant Nurseries and very little has been done about it. There is a Farm Bureau brochure and a web site, littlefireant.com
KCFA should have a representative on the Task Force. Several names have been suggested.” ( Ray Anders)
There is a video re little fire ants on channel 53 and information given in a Farm Bureau brochure. The Hot Line is 324-6011 and web site is littlefireant.com Taz Vanderly is a D of Ag sub-contractor and his number is 923-3345 ?? There is a simple test for ants and freezing kills them. There has been a plant nursery coalition formed because of the effect of the ants on the industry. We should all be aware of these safeguards.
2. CTAHR- Dean position candidate choice is uncertain yet. The final choice has not yet been made by the University of Hawaii and it is uncertain if the choice will represent input from the KCFA representative, Melanie Bondera.
3.UH Fourier Spectroscopy-- Mary Lou Moss
This is a test that may be able to detect the origin of particular coffees. This study is being made by Dr. Soojin Jun of UH and KCFA member- representative Chuck Moss. KCFA members are donating pure Kona coffee to be included in the test.
NEW BUSINESS
1. 2. A suggestion was made by member N. Griffith that this may be a good time to form a coffee COOP to be administered by KCFA. KCFA will contact members with N. Griffith email address as a contact to follow up on any interest.
Meeting adjourned at 5:53 PM.
Minutes submitted by Sect. T. Butler
