ECOFA newsletter

ECOFA was founded to provide information to the members and the general public about multiple use management of forestland

FEBRUARY 3^rd BOARD MEETING:

Attendance:  Kathy Meyers, Koral Clum, Alan Water, Patsy Schmuki, Mike Schmuki, Chuck Frink, Rob, John Quimby, Jeremy Scherf, Dave Myers

OLD BUSINESS:

Alan reported that the projector is ordered and will be installed by the March meeting.

The Annual Banquet will be held April 6th at the same church as last year; Mike made the motion to charge $15 for the banquet meal, seconded by John. Motion passed.  Registration deadline is March 25^th. Set up time will be 5 PM,  members should be there by 5:30, and the meal will be served at 6:30PM.  Discussion of the length of the live auction led to the decision to limit the live auction to 35 items, with the other donations being in the silent auction.  Jeremy graciously agreed to be our “auctioneer” again this year. We have yet to secure a speaker  for the banquet.  Koral suggested the topic of the ‘’ONX” app available, that shows boundary lines, your position on the property and the landowners names.  Their employee is very proficient with it. She will check with him to see if he is willing to brief us on it at the Annual Meeting. 

The Ohio Tree Farm System Phone Survey was discussed. 600 of the 700 surveys sent out have responded.  Alan has 170 follow-ups for ECOFA.  Last month’s signup sheet had 12 persons that volunteered to do phone calls.  Alan gave the volunteers a cover letter explaining the telephone process and a script to follow.  Copies of the surveys were handed out also.  The survey information can be written on the survey sheet or input into the computer survey.  The main purpose of the survey is to contact people to see if they want to stay in the OTFS database or even participate.  If they do, then request the landowner fill the survey out with you, the volunteer.  Alan “tested” the phone survey with 10 landowners on the list. He made contact with all but 2, who never got back to him.  The 8 he did contact wanted to remain in the database.  Other regional forestry groups are helping out as well.

The Tree Farm System is reaching out to the regional forestry groups for volunteers for their Mentor Program.  Mentors would be available to answer questions of other tree owners. Each regional forestry group will send the individuals to be trained as mentors.  We will ask for 6 to 8 individuals who would be willing to mentor.  Alan will discuss this with the general session after the treasurer’s report.

NEW BUSINESS:

Treasurer’s Report:  Alan – dues are coming in well.   We received a donation from Linda Sims for the Wooding donation to the Forestry Camp. We also received $6 for refreshments at the last meeting.

Forestry Camp Donation:  OFA Camp was in the red in 2015. Rob moved to donate $1000.00 to the Camp, Chuck seconded, motion passed to send $1000 to OFA for forestry camp.

JEREMY:   has been selected as regional forester for this area of the US.  He will be attending the National Convention to see if he is selected as National Tree Farm Inspector of the Year.

The General Meeting commenced at 7:00PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. President Kathy Myers introduced the new officers and trustees for 2016.  New guests this evening were Phil from Guernsey County and Dave from Tuscarawas County.   Alan gave the treasurer’s report. 76 members are signed up for 2016. 

The Ohio Tree Farm System applied for a grant from the National Tree Farm System for a mentoring program in which current tree farmers could answer questions of new tree farmers.  They received enough funds to have regional training sessions. Anyone interested in becoming a mentor should contact Kathy .

   Sarah Kapper from Stark SWCD informed the group that they have their annual tree sales program underway.  Persimmon and pawpaw are included on their order form. 

Levi Arnold of Guernsey SWCD informed the group that this month’s  Wild Wednesday” is about Asian Carp.  The meeting starts at 6PM at the Deerassic Park, across from Salt Fork State Park. He brought order forms for their current tree sales for anyone interested in ordering them.

Jeremy Scherf was excited to see lots of familiar faces from Guernsey County at tonight’s meeting.  OFA has new OFA Camp posters out.  Kathy Myers of our forestry group had recommended to the OFA that posters are better to send to schools than just brochures, so the kids could see it.  They changed up this year’s poster so it looks different, and better catches the kid’s attention.   The forestry camp needs more campers than last year to break even. This year’s goal is to have a timber harvest during camp, so the campers can see an active harvest, see how the trees are marked, and the management during harvest.  Randy Clum will be overseeing the cut.  .  The Division of Forestry has a new Bare Root Planting Chart out.

   Jeremy introduced our speaker.   Lynn M.  Abrams-Spilker is of Cambridge, Ohio and specializes working with farm and timber bookkeeping and taxes, as well as financial advising, and starting of small businesses.  She is located in Cambridge across from Wal-Mart on SR 209.

Her goal with her clients is to help you establish and use an effective farm and record keeping system for your farm or timber operation so you can see where you are, and where you are going, so to eliminate “surprises” in your business planning. 

   Bookkeeping can be as simple as a wire bound notebook, or on computer spreadsheets or QuickBooks.  If you can write in a check register, you can handle doing QuickBooks.  These are tools to use to keep track of your expenses and income.  Your expenses can be deducted annually or at the time of your timber sale.  The main thing is that they have to be organized in some way, for your tax consultant to help you.  She recommended NOT using the “Wal-Mart bag” of organizing.  Write your time down.  Chainsaw purchase and repair. Mileage. Tractor, mower, and other equipment purchase or repair. If you go to a meeting or a tree farm tour,  to better your knowledge of your tree farm, write it down and anything else that you do to update or maintain your tree farm.  These are all expenses.  “Schedule F” is the Profit or Loss From Farming sheet on your tax form.  It lists various labels eligible for deduction. 

She also explained the Capital Gains or Losses sheet on your tax form.  If you didn’t have an appraisal done at the time of your tree farm purchase, you can have a forestry consultant “back-grow” your tree farm to determine the value of the trees at time of the purchase of the land.  If you sell 60% of the trees, you would use 60% of the purchase-date value of the timber .as a basis

Decision making is made a lot easier when you know what your profit and losses are. You should be doing your decision making in October. QuickBooks puts this at your fingertips. You can do a previous year comparison to help you see where you are heading, or where you need to go, or do.  A balance sheet shows you what you own and what you owe, and makes you see if you have a positive or negative equity. This all helps you to create a strategy and monitor your progress.  At this point you can set your goals.  Are you reaching your goals?

Thank you, Lynn, for a very informative presentation!

Another inspector award for Jeremy Scherf

Jeremy Received a National Honor .

  On Feb 11^th  2016  in Seattle WA.    Jeremy was awarded the National  Outstanding Tree Farm Inspector of the Year.   We are so lucky that he keeps our organization as a priority.  Congratulations to Jeremy and family..  

Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison, and Jefferson, Counties

    Jeremy Scherf

   2050 East Wheeling Ave.

   Cambridge, OH 43725-2159

   Phone 740-439-9079

   Toll free 1-866-274-0102

   Fax 740-432-7711

   Office day is Wednesday

Erie, Lorain, Huron, Medina, Ashland, Richland, Wayne, and Holmes counties  John Jolliff

    950 ODNR Mohican Rd. 60

    Perrysville, OH  44864

        Phone   419-938-6222

Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties

    Dan Bartlett

    3601 New Garden Road

    Salem, OH  44460-9571

    330-222-1486

    Office day is Wednesday

Coshocton, Muskingum, Noble and Monroe Counties

    Adam Komar

    6665 Cutler Lake Rd.
    Blue Rock, OH 43720-9740

    740-961-0194
    office day Wednesday

Knox, Morrow, Licking, & Perry Counties

    Andy Sabula

     8995 E. Main St

   - Plant Industry Building

     Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

     614-425-7767

Greetings from your new ECOFA Vice President. 

 If you have topic ideas for the monthly meeting, please email them to me at treesrus@roadrunner.com, or give me a call on our business line – 330-364-2386.  I would be interested in hearing what you are interested in hearing/learning about!  I would welcome a list of topics, or if you have personally heard an excellent speaker somewhere in your travels, I would love to have their contact information, or a lead that might help me track them down.  Thanks!-  Koral Clum”

Note: Lola Lewis was to be our speaker for March and her topic was tree pruning.   She has notified us that she cannot make it that night and has contacted Canton city arborist Dick Drake to fill in…

Upcoming Events or Seminars

Wild Wednesday programs will occur on the last Wednesday of month with this month’s meeting at Deerassic Park near Cambridge with a class on Asian Carp.

February 27^th , in Reynoldsburg, is a Winter Tree and Shrub ID session

Ohio Woodland, Water & Wildlife Conference

Wednesday, March 2, 2016Mid-Ohio Conference Center,890 West Fourth St Mansfield OH  44906  

Please join us for the day.  Continuing education credits for ISA and SAF will be offered where appropriate.  Registration  is $60 before 2/15/2016 and $80 after that. Call 614-688-3421 for questions

March 9^th and 10^th in Columbus the Ohio Forestry Association will conduct their annual meeting with awards.  The deadline for reservations is 3/4/2016 after that date the dinner price is increased.

Banquet Reservation Form

Our annual banquet is on April 6^th at St John’s Church basement .  The silent auction starts at 5:30 PM and the dinner will be served at 6:30 pm.  Please fill out this form and send it in by March 25^th so that we can plan for the dinner.

Name:______________________________

No of people attending ______X $15 =_______

Make your check out the ECOFA and send inwith this form completed to PO Box 486,  Carrollton,  OH.,  44615ZH

Hope to see you there and don’t forget to bring an auction item

ECOFA

PO Box 486

Carrollton, OH  44615

Our new meeting location is the Dover Public Library in the meeting room.   The address for the Dover Library is 525 North Walnut St.  Dover, Ohio

Mar 2^nd Richard Drake – Proper pruning techniques

Apr 6^th ECOFA annual banquet and auction….at St. Johns church in Dover

May 4^th John Quimby –Biological controls on the tree farm

June 1^st Bob Hart---making sure you are being treated right by Oil and Gas companies.

 The Dover Public Library can be easily found by getting off I-77 at the Dover exit No. 83 (Rts 39 and 211).  Take rt. 211 east (at the cemetery Rt. 211 turns to the right) to West 5^th ST. and Turn left on West 5^th. To Walnut St and turn left again to the Library on your right.  There should be street parking there and a gravel lot around the corner on west 6^th .st.

Have a safe and Happy Holiday season with blessings of joy to all our family foresters