Report of the meeting of producer members

On Tuesday, July 9 at 8:30pm at the headquarters of the cooperative, despite the heat and everyone's commitments, a meeting was held to which all the producer members were invited. It was the first of the announced periodic meetings that will be held to update us cyclically on what is happening and to address the burning issues of the period. It has already been decided that at the next meeting we will talk about seedlings, seeds, nurseries and the spring-summer 2014 schedule.

AT THIS MEETING, WE TALKED ABOUT:

-? Update on the year of production and the status of the contributions: after the disastrous spring, we are slowly recovering. It is foreseeable, despite the fact that producers' programming is progressively improving at different times of the year, that between September and November there will be periods in which deliveries overlap, creating surpluses compared to the sales capacity of the cooperative and what the market can substantially absorb. Let's keep in mind that in the first 5 months of the year, about 15% more by weight of vegetable products were sold (so not of all products!) , and also that this positive situation could stop, and in this sense it is necessary to respect the priorities that have been given.

-? state of autumn/winter programming: with a few exceptions, all member manufacturing companies have completed the programming. It was not necessary to proceed to a meeting to conclude the activity since there are no obvious excesses or deficiencies with respect to specific products, except for the physiological lack of products under the greenhouse. This thing must definitely make us think: we cannot continue complaining about bad weather if we don't try to do something to try to limit its consequences!

It must also be said that in the meantime we have tried and are trying (almost always with productive success, sometimes less and sometimes with economic results to review) to diversify crops, thus giving answers to the need to produce without creating excesses. More work will need to be done on this front.

? - cereal project: after producing a small quantity of millet 2 years ago, the area allocated to this smaller cereal has increased more and more, which has timidly found its place on our list and is slowly but steadily increasing sales volumes, as in the case of other cereals (see spelt and barley). During this year we are working to give a simple but effective common image to our products in such a way as to make them more recognizable, together with the slight retouching to our brand, which now faithfully follows the original style of our cooperative. Paolo Zampieri's commitment in this regard will also help us to give better economic results to companies that intend to allocate part of their surfaces to these products.

? - new support and development project for the companies of the producers who are members of the cooperative: the board of directors is defining a project to support producer companies that engage in the cultivation of unusual products or that are not economically advantageous but important to be inserted or kept in our circuit. Specifically, starting this year, action will be taken to promote specific experiments according to what will be the indications that will come out of the next board of directors that will conclude the analysis of the proposal, which will then be communicated to all members. We believe that we can therefore provide adequate support to those who are committed to encouraging the presence of certain products in cooperatives.

? - new warehouse: the construction of the new warehouses in the market is being closed, leaving those currently named 33 and 34, being closed. The new warehouses will be larger, more accessible for goods and structured in such a way as to fit refrigerating structures more easily.

Given the importance of the topics covered and the impact on all member companies, attending these meetings is to be considered strongly recommended, for all types of producers and for any product supplied to the cooperative.