LANSING, Mich. – A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – announced on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Government’s BioPreferred Program – shined a spotlight on the positive economic impact of innovative, biobased products in Michigan and across America. Biobased products include those manufactured with agricultural products, including Michigan-grown soybeans.
“Michigan’s soybean farmers are proud to contribute to a biobased products industry that generates billions of dollars in economic activity for our state and reduces America’s reliance on oil,” said Janna Fritz, CEO of the Michigan Soybean Committee. “From auto components, to cleaning supplies, to construction materials and beyond, Michigan-grown soybeans are used in thousands of products Americans use every day – providing renewable options for consumers and helping to bolster our state’s economy.”
The report noted Michigan is in the top ten states in direct value added to the biobased chemicals sector (9th), and direct value added in the biobased plastic bottles and packaging sector (6th). According to the report, the biobased products industry:
“This USDA report affirms the importance of biobased product manufacturing as a pillar of our economy here in Michigan, and across America,” said Chuck Lippstreu, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association. “When new markets are developed for Michigan’s soybean farmers, rural businesses also benefit. This new report clearly demonstrates the value delivered back to our state by the creation of innovative new biobased products, including those made with Michigan-grown soybeans.”
To see a list of biobased products created using soybeans, visit soybiobased.org/products.
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About the Michigan Soybean Committee: The Michigan Soybean Committee’s mission is to manage checkoff resources to increase return on investment for Michigan soybean farmers, while enhancing sustainable soybean production. They utilize the combined investment of Michigan’s 12,000+ soybean farmers to drive demand, address production issues and promote Michigan soybeans across a variety of audiences. Learn more about the soybean checkoff by visiting www.michigansoybean.org
About the Michigan Agri-Business Association: The Michigan Agri-Business Association serves as a strong advocate and dedicated resource for Michigan’s food and agriculture sector. The Association’s 400 members span the agricultural value chain. They include agricultural retailers that provide seed, fertilizer, crop protection and technology to farmers; businesses that handle and export grain; animal feed suppliers; food processors; logistics companies and beyond. Learn more at www.miagbiz.org.
Michigan is home to more than 300 Certified Crop Advisers who are certified through the American Society of Agronomy, and during the coming months MABA is spotlighting their contributions to Michigan agriculture! To learn more, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org.
August 12, 2021 – Jon Rush has been a Michigan Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) since 2013. In his job as a senior business representative with BASF, Rush interacts with all three lines of production agriculture: distributors, retailers, and growers. When he was first starting out with BASF, he noticed that some of his customers were CCAs. Rush wanted to have that same credibility as those he served.
“I said, ‘How can I recommend a product to a customer base full of Certified Crop Advisers if I’m not a CCA?’” he asked. “To me, it level sets knowledge and understanding of what we do every day in agronomy. That was the biggest reason why I decided to do it.”
Rush also wanted to prove something to himself. Both his undergrad and master’s degrees were in business, and agronomy quickly became a passion.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I was at an equal level with everybody else and achieved my CCA, which took me a little time. I passed the international test, but I actually failed the first time taking the Michigan test because I didn’t know there was a Michigan book you had to study,” Rush said with a chuckle. “On my second official try, I studied really hard and ended up passing it.”
The CCA program provided a way to showcase his skills. Administered by the American Society of Agronomy and local boards of expert agronomists, the CCA certification was established in 1992 to provide a benchmark for practicing agronomy professionals in the United States and Canada. Today, there are approximately 13,000 CCAs across North America and 300 in Michigan.
The Michigan Agri-Business Association offers many courses throughout the year for CCAs to earn continuing education credits in categories such as nutrient management, soil and water management, integrated pest management, crop production and beyond.
“Maintaining all of these categories and the points you get through recertification classes, annual meetings, and online self-study material, you can obtain those recertification credits pretty quickly,” said Rush.
Throughout his career, Rush has noticed a generational shift, particularly in agronomy sales. At a recent meeting, Rush observed colleagues who said they planned on retiring in a few years. That got him thinking about transferring the information network to the future of the industry.
“I think a lot of the young folks today aren’t as aware of CCAs,” he said. “The CCA helps with the next generation by getting them the baseline knowledge, so we don’t have this gap.”
At the end of the day, Rush said being a CCA means more than just a piece of paper.
“To me, a CCA is somebody that cares a lot about what they do—they’re invested in agronomy,” he said. “It provides credibility and this knowledge base that you have with other CCAs in Michigan and across the country. That makes me feel like a better, well-rounded salesperson and agronomic solutions provider to my growers and retailers.”
Michigan is home to more than 300 Certified Crop Advisers! Interested in joining them as a Michigan CCA? Visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org for more information on the benefits of the program and the certification process. You can also email the Michigan Agri-Business Association.
July 30, 2021 – We were very excited to welcome our 2021-22 Leadership Group to Grand Rapids this week, where they kicked off the program with two full days of discussion on a wide range of issues facing Michigan agriculture.
This year’s Leadership Group has persevered through a unique challenge, having originally planned to be together more a year ago before the program was delayed due to COVID-19. We are glad to have this group back together and look forward to our upcoming sessions in Lansing, Washington and Detroit!
Leadership Group participants pictured are (L to R): Cody Harris, Star of the West Milling Company; Keith Leighton, Co-Alliance; Claire Zahm, Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (ZFS); Dave Chamberlin, Vita Plus Corporation; Jason Sawatski, Nutrien; and Mackenzy Blair, Michigan Agricultural Commodities.
Thank you to our presenters! We’d also like to say “thank you” to leaders spanning our Michigan agriculture industry who joined our group for this special meeting, and lent their expertise to the discussion, listed here.
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