Carroll County Agriculture Association (CCAA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(5) corporation that represents Carroll County agriculture as a unified group, including all persons involved in agriculture production and agribusiness.

Officers & directors

The 2010 officers and members of the board of directors are: Dean Scott (representing corn producers), president; Sam Moffitt (swine), vice president; Travis Flora (dairy), secretary; Maurice Robeson (soybeans), treasurer; Gary Rader (beef), George Mears (at large), and Jason Pearson (agribusiness). John Christiansen, student (Delphi FFA president), and Andrea Brown, Carroll County Extension Educator, are non-voting members of the board.

Mission & goals

The mission of CCAA is “to promote agriculture through best management practices and to enhance and sustain the Carroll County Community.” The CCAA goals are “to promote Carroll County agriculture and develop a better understanding about modern agriculture in the community. Members are encouraged to receive education, certification, and implementation of best production practices that improve the environment and well-being of the community.”

Scholarships

At the CCAA second annual meeting March 8, scholarship checks were presented to the 2009 winners, John Zook and Brock Farrell, and scholarship certificates to the 2010 winners, Michael Burke and Kara Schwarzkopf. The scholarships are co-sponsored by CCAA and TDM Farms. The TDM scholarship is in memory of Charles Yeager.

Michael Burke is the son of Tim and Julie Burke and resides south of Monticello in Carroll County. He plans to attend Purdue University next fall to study agriculture.

Kara Schwarzkopf is the daughter of Kirk and Lori Schwarzkopf. She is a senior at Delphi Community High School and plans to attend Kansas State University and major in pre-veterinary medicine. Livestock Emergency Response Team

At the annual meeting, Dean Scott gave CCAA highlights of the previous year.

He reported that the Livestock Emergency Response team has successfully handled livestock emergencies both in and out of Carroll County. The team has been trained to work with fire, police, and other emergency responders to handle livestock in a humane manner, while salvaging as much property as possible. The team has a special trailer, outfitted and housed by TDM Farms, and a call list of trained responders. Community support projects

The Ag Association joined with IPC again in 2009 to support Carroll Manor; cooked and made a donation to the Bacon Bowl host; donated more than $2,000 and 3,000 pounds of meat for Carroll County Christmas Baskets; donated financial support to the Carroll County 4-H Fair, 4-H Junior Leaders, and other 4-H programs; and supported several other community activities with financial assistance. The efforts of the CCAA are augmented by meat donations from IPC.

The CCAA hosted two Certification Training sessions in Carroll County so that area farmers can maintain their Private Applicator Certification.

The association continues to promote best management practices to all area farmers through information in the local newspaper and on the CCAA website, www.carrollcountyag.com.

Ag Hall of Fame

The complete list of Carroll County Agriculture Hall of Fame inductees, including photos and biographies, is now available on the association’s website.

The 2010 inductees to the Hall of Fame, honored at the March 8 meeting, are Janet Ayres, Dean Scott, and Jackson-Lee-Pearson Inc.

Featured speaker at the meeting was Travis Martin, 2009 Carroll graduate and Indiana FFA president. Also addressing the group was the new Extension Educator, Andrea Brown.