Members of the Michigan Agri-Business Association (MABA), a trade association representing nearly 300 companies spanning the food and agriculture value chain, named John Tilt with Vita Plus Corporation as the organization’s 2025 Chairman. The Association named additional new officers and Board members at its annual business meeting January 8.
“The Michigan Agri-Business Association strengthens relationships in Michigan agriculture to advance our entire industry, and I am proud to help lead it,” said Tilt. “Working together, we can ensure MABA continues to be a dependable resource – and strong voice – for Michigan agriculture.”
“I am excited to continue our important work alongside John Tilt and our entire MABA Board in 2025,” said MABA President Chuck Lippstreu. “This is a group of professionals committed to ensuring MABA is a world-class organization. I appreciate them for stepping up to lead.”
Tilt is the General Manager of Vita Plus’s feed and grain facilities in Michigan, and is a Michigan State University graduate with degrees in Animal Science and Agricultural Economics. He also serves on his Township Planning Commission, County Economic Development Corporation Board, is a member of the advisory committee for MSU AgBioResearch, and has served for nearly eight years on the MABA Board. Tilt is a Global War on Terrorism combat veteran. He and his wife Barbie, a retired middle/high school teacher, have one daughter, Allie. She is in her 3rd year at Michigan State University, studying Animal Science.
MABA officers for 2025 will be:
In addition, the following leaders were elected to newly serve on the MABA Board:
A complete list of MABA Board members can be viewed here.
MABA Members and Michigan Agriculture Partners,
I want to take a moment to say thank you for your support and participation throughout 2024. I am proud of the results we achieved, working together:
It has been, and continues to be an interesting time for our Michigan Agri-Business Association team! Mid-fall was marked by election leadup, the November election and post-election activities. We continue working hard to prepare for the winter meeting season and the 2025 MABA Winter Conference & Trade Show. Meanwhile, in Lansing, the Michigan Legislature is back during the Lame Duck session through the end of the year. And we continue to help members navigate unique, key issues that will impact the industry in 2025.
Here are some updates from October and November 2024 at MABA:
November 5 General Election Results
In November, MABA posted a Q/A discussion on the results of the 2024 election.Please feel free to contact Chuck of the MABA staff with questions about the election. You can view this Q/A online.
2024 Membership Directories mailed
Earlier this fall, updated 2024 MABA membership directories were mailed to members. If you did not receive a directory, contact the MABA staff!
MABA leads statewide letter to Michigan Legislature on Earned Sick Time ActMABA in November led a coalition of more than 15 statewide agricultural organizations calling for common-sense changes to Earned Sick Time Act policies that are currently scheduled to go into effect in February. “It is important to understand that rural, Main Street businesses and Michigan farms will be among the many other sectors of Michigan’s economy harmed if the Legislature allows these changes to enter into force as written,” the groups wrote to Legislative leaders. More information is available here.
Educational Trust awards Spring 2025 scholarshipsThe Michigan Agri-Business Association (MABA) Educational Trust announced it will award scholarships to 20 Michigan students planning to enter the agriculture industry. These scholarships offered through the Educational Trust totaled more than $25,000 for the Spring 2025 collegiate semester. From 2020-2024 alone, the MABA Educational Trust has awarded more than 125 scholarships to deserving young people pursuing higher education. Go here to learn more about the scholarship awardees for spring.
MABA hosts Ag Club breakfasts alongside Consumers Energy, Michigan State University; planning for 2025
We appreciate the hosts of our Ag Club Breakfast events in October and November! On October 9, we were joined by leaders of Consumers Energy. Greg Salisbury, VP of Electric Distribution Engineering, provided an update from the company. And on November 6, we were joined by leaders of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, MSU Extension and MSU AgBioResearch for an update from the university.
This week, we conclude the Ag Club Breakfast series with an update from Farmers for Soil Health, a partnership of Michigan Corn, Michigan Pork and the Michigan Soybean Association. We appreciate all those who supported Ag Club Breakfast events this year!
We are soliciting Ag Club Breakfast hosts for the following 2025 dates!
To sign up, contact Kara or Chuck of the MABA staff.
MABA Leadership Group joins second program session in Lansing
The MABA Leadership Group for the 2024-25 class held its second session in Lansing on November 5-6, 2024.
During the two-day session, Leadership Program members visited the Michigan Capitol, met with state government leaders from MDARD; leaders of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; state affairs leaders from partner organizations and many others. They also learned about how MABA delivers value for our members during election season and working in the Michigan Legislature. We appreciate all those who joined us for meetings this week.
This year’s group members include Nate Greeley with Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (ZFS); Joseph Bolle with Quality Roasting; Gary Fritz with Cooperative Elevator Co.; Matthew Naeyaert with GreenStone Farm Credit Services; Scott Krout with CF Industries; and Rex Thayer with Nutrien Ag Solutions Michigan.
Rex Thayer with Nutrien Ag Solutions speaks with MDARD Director, Dr. Tim Boring, during the second session of the MABA Leadership Program in Lansing.
Be thinking about who from your organization could be a future participant in the MABA Leadership Program! Applications for the 2025-26 class will open this month and be accepted until March 2025.
Chobani hosts tour of Muskegon La Colombe Production Facility
In late October, MABA President Chuck Lippstreu joined Chobani leaders, elected officials and economic development experts for a tour of the company’s revamped Muskegon La Colombe production facility, and a roundtable discussion on food security hosted by Chobani. Since acquiring the plant in 2023 Chobani has invested more than $30 million into upgrades to it. U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten and State Representative Greg VanWoerkom played a key role in the discussion on reducing hunger, and helped spotlight the leadership of community and faith organizations to meet this challenge.
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Election Day 2024 saw substantial gains for Republicans nationally and in Michigan. In addition to the victory for President-Elect Trump, we will see new Congressional control for Republicans next year. And in Lansing, there will be a shift in how government is made up that will affect how policy is developed.
Here are some areas of interest for MABA members, especially as it relates to elections here in Michigan.
What is the national picture coming out of Election Day?
The 2024 election is widely recognized as a major victory for the Republican Party nationally. Republicans will control the White House, U.S. Senate, and highly likely the U.S. House in 2025-26.
In “down-ballot” races in the states – local and state offices – historic success by the Trump-Vance ticket led to gains for Republicans.
President-Elect Trump expanded his margins in many areas versus his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, including here in Michigan. And in blue states, Democrats’ margins of victory were far narrower than in the past.
As with any election, we will enter a period where both parties dissect election season and what went right or wrong for them. This is an interesting process you can easily read about in the press and on social media going forward.
What happened with races for Michigan’s delegation to Congress?
In a bright spot for Democrats, current U.S. Representative, and House Agriculture Committee member Elissa Slotkin will head to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat being vacated by Senator Debbie Stabenow. Senator-elect Slotkin narrowly defeated Mike Rogers on an election night that saw several Democratic incumbents in the U.S. Senate defeated. (These include Jon Tester in Montana, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania.)
In an open mid-Michigan Congressional Seat, former State Senator Tom Barrett, a Republican, defeated Curtis Hertel and will head to the U.S. House.
And in an open seat in the Bay City area, current State Senator Kristin McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, was elected to fill the seat of retiring Rep. Dan Kildee. Other incumbent federal representatives were reelected.
What happened in the Michigan Legislature?
Tuesday saw major developments in the state Legislature.
Headed into Election Day, Democrats controlled all of Michigan state government – the Governor’s office, House and Senate, albeit with narrow two-vote majorities in the House and Senate. The Michigan Senate was not up for election in 2024, but the House was.
On Tuesday, Republicans flipped a total of four House seats, which moves the House to Republican control for the 2025-26 session.
The Republican flip of State House control will usher in a period of “divided government” – in other words, GOP control of one chamber of the Legislature, and Democratic control of the other. Democrats continue to control the Governors office.
What does divided government mean for the Legislature?
Practically speaking, it becomes more difficult for legislation to pass both chambers because that will require Republicans and Democrats to be aligned on details of legislation, and it is no secret there are widespread disagreements between the parties on many topics.
Under unified control (ie. if the same party controls both chambers and the Governor’s office), the majority party only has to ensure all of its own members are on the same page, and the way is cleared to advance legislation – even if they are doing so with no votes from the minority party.
With divided control of the Legislature, we are likely to see more legislation pass the House and the Senate individually, but not be taken up by the other chamber. As a result fewer bills are likely to be sent to the Governor’s desk due to disagreements between Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate.
Does the flip in House control mean nothing will happen in Lansing the next two years?
Not necessarily. There are some areas, including development of the state budget, and some traditionally less partisan issues that for one reason or another lend themselves to work across the aisle.
Agriculture is a traditionally more bipartisan topic where we anticipate opportunities to continue work with Republicans and Democrats alike next year. Some issues already have a history the past two years of bipartisan collaboration in Lansing, including lawmakers’ work together with MDARD on the response to HPAI, and bipartisan interest in the future of agricultural and environmental programs.
Legislative leaders in the next session have knowledge of agricultural policy. While Committee chairs will be named early in 2025, the parties have already named leaders in the new House. Rep. Matt Hall will become Speaker of the House in 2025; Rep. Hall represents several MABA members in the flour milling and ag retail sectors in his district, and has taken time to visit and learn about these rural businesses alongside MABA, which we greatly appreciated. Democrats this week elected Rep. Ranjeev Puri as House Minority Leader for the next session. Since being elected, Representative Puri has served on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. Current Michigan House Agriculture Committee member Rep. John Fitzgerald was selected as House Minority Floor Leader for next session.
Additionally, administrative rulemaking processes in the departments continue and provide an opportunity for agriculture to be engaged with our state government.
Does divided government take effect immediately?
No. From now until the end of the year, we enter a period known as “lame duck,” where the current Legislature remains in control. We anticipate a number of legislative proposals will be taken up during this time, and we are working to ensure your interests are represented. MABA will share additional details regarding this end-of-year session as they become apparent.
What is MABA’s involvement in all of this?
For years, MABA has built and maintained a strong reputation for our work with members of both parties on behalf of the Michigan agricultural industry. We spend substantial time meeting with members of the Legislature and their staff, to be sure we know their priorities, and they know ours; while also informing them about issues important to you.
Our work in recent years means we are well-positioned to represent your interests before both the House and Senate, and with the Administration (the Governor’s office, MDARD, etc.), no matter which party enjoys control.
MABA President Chuck Lippstreu is the association’s lead state lobbyist and is active almost daily on these efforts. In addition, thanks to the strong support of MABA members, the association is able to retain one of the top lobbying firms in Lansing, McAlvey Merchant & Associates, which supports our efforts and helps ensure agriculture is connected with lawmakers.
During election season, MABA through our Political Action Committee supports state-level candidates of both parties who have worked together with the agricultural industry. This is one of many ways we build and strengthen relationships with legislators. We are pleased to report all House candidates who received support from the MABA PAC were successful on election night in 2024. Our PAC remains an important way headed into 2025 to help support and build connections in Lansing.
If you have more questions…
Email Chuck Lippstreu at MABA – chuck@miagbiz.org.
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