MINUTES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEED FREE FORAGE COMMITTEE MEETING AUGUST 8, 2000 AT THE LIED CENTRE, NEBRASKA CITY, NE

Representatives present at the meeting are listed on attached page.

The meeting was called to order at 10:05 am by co-chairs Riley Walters and Tim Dietzler.

Reports from each state were given, highlighting their programs:

Kansas: 60 – 70 inspectors are trained to do inspections across the state. Farm and Ranch Network has been working with state inspectors to facilitate the program. A tagging system is being used to mark weed free hay, and tags are distributed by Steve Watts.

Nebraska: Nebraska too is in the pilot program with Farm and Ranch. There was some expression of concern over liability by the counties. Some discussion ensued re: various legal statements on inspection forms to provide release.

Alberta: Alberta has had a program for three years and has changed from plastic tags to Colorado’s coloured twine for marking all bales. The weed list in Alberta is now fully compliant with the North American standards. Uptake of the program this season has been negatively affected by drought (many producers plan to keep their hay rather than sell it.) Approximately 12 counties offer weed free forage programs and a training session was held in May for all inspectors involved.

Minnesota: The Minnesota Crop Insurance Agency is the certifying body as designated by law. Inspections cost between $3 and 5 per acre. This includes several visits per producer each season to check the growing hay and to insure tags are affixed to the bales. Most of the crop certified is mulch. WFF mulch is now required on all roadside construction. Most producers of mulch are Certified Seed growers. Acreage is increasing each year.

Farm & Ranch Network: Representatives Marc and John explained their pilot program with Kansas and Nebraska and the features of their interactive website www.agnet.net. They also have a publication circulated to 11 states. They have received many calls from producers requesting inspections in the states they have coverage and are meeting with counties and states to provide information on their service. Inspectors, once dispatched, will have the option of filling out North American Weed Free Forage inspection forms right on-line. They encouraged all of us to visit and use their website and service.

Forest Service: There appears to be significant opposition to WFF in California by the horse industry because of cost of the product. Rita Beard requested a speaker for a Sacramento, CA conference next fall to address their concerns about how the program is working, benefits and costs, etc. It was suggested that an evaluation of the program be initiated to ensure we are achieving our goals. There seems to be reluctance in the Northwest to the program, trying to determine whether regulations are needed first. And apparently Alaska is moving toward initiating a WWF program. Most of the awareness about weed free forage is centred in the western part of the country; little interest yet in the east.

Wyoming: Wyoming’s program began in 1988. The Wyoming Weed and Pest Council carries it out and many counties are using the coloured twine. Discussion ensued on various marking systems and some of the potential problems with various methods. We concluded that twine is probably more controllable and identifiable in the long run. Wyoming considers the program a very positive public relations approach.

Idaho: The Idaho Crop Insurance Program has recently taken over responsibility for WFF and it was not a smooth transfer. There are now standardized costs, but some concern over these charges. Generally it is felt there has been a poor marketing strategy for WFF there; extensively targeted the hunters and outfitters but additional education is needed. It would be useful to have data on prevention of weed spread and its value. Even anecdotal information from each state would be useful. Awareness is needed to promote the program. Idaho has had a surplus of hay but it is going fast now with the drought and fires in the northwest. There may be a market for WFF in Washington with all the dairy operations there.

Utah: There is keen interest in WFF because of the BLM and Forest Service requirement for its use. There are no state regulations requiring its use yet. Inspections are carried out by 12 Department of Agriculture staff at a cost of $25 plus $.10 per tag. All participants are listed on the Department of Agriculture’s website.

Other states that have WFF programs include MT,CO, IL, SD and ND.

Discussion ensued on the need to update the WFF brochure and making it more available for awareness. Riley Walters will tackle this task and will investigate the offer of the Forest Service re: support for more awareness. He will also draft a Position Paper for consideration by the Committee and BOD. We discussed the need for an evaluation of the program and whether enough time has elapsed for any meaningful assessment. Tim Dietzler will look into how we might evaluate the program. Bob Parsons agreed to work with Farm and Ranch Network to link websites and ensure information is available re: WFF. It was suggested that a Train the Trainer session might be appropriate to include in the Colorado Springs annual conference next year.

The meeting adjourned at 11:00am.

Tim Dietzler

Recording Secretary