From Brownfield:The head of the Michigan Agri-Business Association says standing up for agriculture is making a difference in Lansing. Chuck Lippstreu tells Brownfield the past year focused on educating new lawmakers about the state’s second-largest industry and finding bipartisan solutions on several issues.
Go here for the full interview from Brownfield Ag News.
Michigan’s Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program provides resources, continuing education and networking opportunities for professional agronomists spanning our state’s agricultural industry. More than 300 Michigan professional agronomists are CCAs, and they bring a wide range of experience and skills to our state’s agricultural industry.
Jeff Martus at Star of the West Milling Company has been part of Michigan agriculture in some way his entire life, and a Certified Crop Adviser since 2009. Jeff has worked at Star of the West since 2002, and currently works out of the Richville location.
During the past several weeks, MABA entered one of our busier times of the year with winter meetings kicking into gear for key industry groups, as well as preparation for our own 2024 Winter Conference and Trade Show.
In addition, a unique factor this year was an early adjournment of the Michigan Legislature which resulted in several high-profile issues raised in Lansing that demanded our attention.
Here is a brief update from MABA on our work throughout the Fall:
Legislative Engagement
Ag Club Breakfast Events
The MABA Ag Club continues going strong, and we appreciated industry leaders, NGO partners and lawmkaers from both parties for taking time to be part of the conversation.
In October, the Ag Club was hosted by AT&T Michigan. It was a great opportunity to learn more about AT&T’s efforts to serve Michiganders statewide. We appreciated AT&T’s Brian Norman for a presentation on efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural communities, and the company’s overall focus on access and affordability of high-speed internet service.
Last month, the Ag Club Breakfast was hosted by Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch and MSU Extension. The CANR, AgBioResearch and Extension teams continue to deliver for and partner with Michigan agriculture in so many ways – and we appreciated the entire leadership team joining breakfast. Following breakfast, university leaders also took time to meet with the MABA Leadership Group!
Partnership with Regulators
At the end of November we had a unique opportunity to meet with more than 100 Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development field inspectors. These inspectors help ensure Michigan Agriculture’s right to operate on a level playing field, with predictable rules and overall certainty. We appreciate the strong and growing collaborative relationship between our regulated industry and MDARD.
MABA President Chuck Lippstreu thanked the MDARD inspectors for their focus on education and proactive information sharing to help ensure compliance with rules and laws. We also discussed the heavy focus MABA member companies place on safety and proper product use, and highlighted the many shared goals of inspectors and agribusinesses to grow the industry.
MABA Leadership Group Meets in Lansing
The MABA Leadership Group was in Lansing in November for the second of four sessions in our 2023-24 program! Attendees met with state government and NGO leaders, visited the Capitol and joined our November Ag Club Breakfast. The group will be together again in February when we head to Washington, DC, and wrap up the program next summer in Detroit. These sessions are a unique opportunity to bring our agriculture industry, government leaders and colleagues from other sectors together, while helping build up public policy knowledge and skills among rising stars in Michigan agriculture.
CFTC Commissioners Visits Michigan, Meets with MABA and Member Companies
MABA, along with leaders from Star Of The West Milling Company, Michigan Agricultural Commodities, Inc and Cooperative Elevator Co. met in October with Commissioner Kristin Johnson of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Commissioner Johnson and CFTC Senior Counsel Tamika Bent joined industry representatives for a discussion of current issues impacting agriculture, and toured the Star of the West Mill in Frankenmuth.
The CFTC plays a central role in ensuring the functioning of ag markets. We appreciate Commissioner Johnson and CFTC staff for making this visit and continuing the strong collaboration with Michigan agriculture! Thanks as well to Star of the West for hosting!
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Don’t Forget! Looking ahead to January, MABA is excited for the 2024 Winter Conference and Trade Show, being held January 9-10, 2024 in Lansing. Go here to learn more and register. Early registration closes December 12.
Scholarship fund supported by Michigan agribusinesses has awarded more than 40 scholarships this year
December 5, 2023 —The 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 2024 collegiate semester.
“This year, thanks to the generosity and support of Michigan Agri-Business Association members, our educational trust was proud to deliver more than 40 scholarships to leaders preparing for a career in agriculture,” said MABA Educational Trust Chair Ward Forquer. “Michigan’s rural business leaders recognize the importance of investing in the next generation. We congratulate these scholarship recipients and wish them the best success in the future.”
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