Join us at the Madison SWCD Annual Meeting
Please join us to celebrate Madison SWCD's 75th Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 15th. The beautiful Procter Camp & Conference Center, 1235 SR 38, London, OH, is the perfect place to relax and appreciate the rich agricultural heritage that brings hope to the future. We highly encourage you to take a tour with Ryan Wesolowski, the farm manager, who will show how Procter Center is bringing traditional farming back to life! Two candidates are running for one open seat on the Board of Supervisors. Candidates in this year’s election are Nancy Denes-Sparks and Suellen Graumlich Radabaugh.
Agenda
Cast your vote from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Tour Procter Center Farm from 6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Conservation Awards Banquet begins at 6:30 p.m.
Dinner menu includes parmesan chicken, roasted red skin potatoes, corn casserole, salad, homemade rolls, fruit, dessert, iced tea and lemonade.
Purchase your banquet tickets for $20 for adults or $15 for children under 10 by Tuesday, September 1st at the Madison SWCD Office, from any supervisor, or on our website by clicking the button, below.
About Procter Farm
The property in which Procter Camp and Conference Center sits was originally the Procter family’s property - the same family whose products we use each and every day throughout life with Procter and Gamble. William Cooper Procter was the last of the founding families to run the company as president of Procter & Gamble between 1907 and 1930.
William Cooper Procter and his wife, Jane Elizabeth Johnson, were avid philanthropists. Surrounded by 5,000 acres, the property was one of the biggest at the time. But upon the death of William Cooper Procter, Jane, seeing no need for the large property, donated it to her church. The Diocese of Southern Ohio then allowed farmers from the area to farm the land until 1952. Seeing the need for a place for church members to retreat and congregate, the Diocese established the Procter Center.
Today Procter Center operates as a Camp and Conference Center as well as a small organic farm. The property in total is 1,200 acres, with the facilities sitting on 200.
The Procter Farm operates on 6 acres and is expanding every year. This past spring, the farm has planted over 100 various native fruit and nut producing perennials such as bur oak, pin oak, paw paw, persimmon, white dogwood, American redbud, blueberries, raspberries, and elderberries. They have also planted native pant habitats for pollinators, including black eyed Susan, wild bergamot, butterfly weed, purple coneflower and milkweed.
This season, the farm is growing several different types of produce, such as peppers, potatoes, watermelon, beans, corn, eggplant, and carrots. Alongside the crops, they are rotating pasture for chick and hog meat production and have free range hens foraging throughout the property.
As the farm looks toward the future, they look to establish a multi-purpose area for animal grazing and forest product production. Their farm is a learning lab for children, outdoors groups, families as well as other farmers to experience what permaculture, “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems,” can provide.
