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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>Dear GREN,</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I'm passing on a request from my colleague from COG
(Canadian Organic Growers), Tegan Renner...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><STRONG></STRONG></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Kind regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Jane Snyder</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Greening Sacred Spaces
Waterloo/Wellington/Dufferin</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><A
href="http://www.greeningsacredspaces.net/waterloo">www.greeningsacredspaces.net/waterloo</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><STRONG>COG PWW Update: Looking for
Volunteers!</STRONG> <BR> <BR></FONT></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><FONT face=Arial>Do you care
about supporting your local organic farmers? <BR> Want to get involved to
make a difference? <BR> <BR> If so, becoming a data collector for our
project might be for you! </FONT><A href="" target=_blank><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT face=Arial>Canadian Organic Growers
Perth-Waterloo-Wellington</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT face=Arial> <A href=""
target=_blank><FONT size=2 face=Arial>www.cogwaterloo.ca</FONT></A><FONT
size=2><FONT face=Arial> </FONT></FONT>(COG PWW) is developing a price tracker
for certified organic produce in Ontario. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"
verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" lang=EN-US verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><FONT
face=Arial>This tool will allow farmers and consumers to search online for
market and wholesale prices of certified organic vegetables and small fruits in
their region and across the province. The weekly updates we hope to provide will
aid farmers (especially new farmers) in setting prices and generally lead to
better-informed business decisions for organic farms in
Ontario. <BR> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-US
verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" lang=EN-US verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><FONT
face=Arial>In order to build such a useful tool, we</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><FONT face=Arial> are seeking
to build a network of volunteer data collectors across the province. Join
farmers, farm apprentices and fellow organic advocates in this network dedicated
to building systems in support of the organic farming sector in
Ontario. <BR> <BR> Tasks involved in being a data collector:
</FONT></SPAN></DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"
verdana?,?sans-serif?;?=""><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV><BR>-Gathering price information for certified organic produce weekly
through the relevant season (May-Oct or year-round). You can collect this data
in different ways: visiting the farmers' markets directly or receiving price
information from a farmer by email <BR></DIV>
<DIV>-Following guidelines on data collection set out by COG PWW to ensure
consistency in measurement units, etc <BR></DIV>
<DIV> -Input prices into the price tracker database, which will be set up
to minimize your efforts (e.g., only new prices have to be entered each week).
This task may only be the responsibility of one or two
volunteer(s). <BR> <BR> We will facilitate your connections to farmers
insofar as necessary/possible and then you can enjoy the season getting to know
them yourself! We are also looking for farmers who are willing to share their
pricing information (farms will not be identified), so if you are a farmer,
please get in touch with us. <BR> <BR>We are piloting the price
tracker starting in July, so please express your interest by contacting the
project manager: Tegan Renner 226-251-3012 or </FONT><A href=""><FONT
face=Arial>outreach@cogwaterloo.ca</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial>. <BR> </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial> This project is
funded in part through the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI). The AMI is
part of the Best Practices Suite of programs for Growing Forward, a
federal-provincial-territorial initiative. </FONT></SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial> <BR> Tegan Renner <BR> Outreach and Events
Coordinator <BR> Canadian Organic Growers, <BR>
Perth-Waterloo-Wellington Chapter <BR> 226-251-3012 <BR> </FONT><A
href="" target=_blank><FONT size=2 face=Arial>www.cogwaterloo.ca</FONT></A><FONT
size=2><FONT face=Arial> </FONT><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>