LANSING, Mich. (April 21, 2022) – Michigan Agri-Business Association President Chuck Lippstreu today issued the following statement regarding a decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to indefinitely extend its vaccination requirement for essential workers crossing the U.S.-Canada border:
“This decision is bad news for Michigan farmers and rural businesses facing historic supply chain disruption as we enter the critical spring planting season. The failure by DHS to provide common-sense exemptions to this policy for agricultural truck drivers flies in the face of reality on the ground here in Michigan, where our agriculture sector continues facing supply disruptions, increases in cross-border trucking costs and an ongoing driver shortage. We urge the administration to reconsider this decision, and we continue to call on the Canadian government to offer a common-sense exemption to its border vaccination requirement for employees facilitating trade between the U.S. and Canada.”
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We look forward to welcoming the next class of our MABA Leadership Program! Now in its 15th year, this program is designed to help emerging leaders in Michigan’s agribusiness community learn more about policy, legislation and regulatory matters, and get hands-on experiences in these areas. The program is well-suited for anyone desiring to broaden their skills and expertise, and who is interested in helping MABA advance Michigan agriculture in the years ahead. The program is led by MABA President Chuck Lippstreu and Association staff, with the participation of a wide range of community and agriculture industry leaders.
Applications
The application is here in PDF format and here in Word format.
Applications are due to MABA staff no later than May 31, 2022. They will be reviewed and selections made by the Association. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance on or before June 15, 2022. The application is linked above. Applications may be submitted by mail at 2500 Kerry Street, Suite 102, Lansing, MI 48912, or by email to maba@miagbiz.org.
2022-23 Program Dates
Beginning with the most recent Leadership Program group, the Agri-Business Leadership Program is now a four-session activity. This includes three sessions in Michigan – each of which will be two days and one night – and a Sunday-Wednesday visit to Washington, DC. Here are the 2022-23 dates and locations:
Session 1: July 20-21, 2022, Detroit, MI* Session 2: November 8-9, 2022, Lansing, MISession 3: February 5-8, 2023, Washington, DCSession 4: July 25-26, 2023, Grand Rapids, MI**
*Joint session with 2021-22 Leadership Group
**Joint session with 2023-24 Leadership Group
Program Requirements
Participants selected for the program:
If you have questions, contact the MABA office at maba@miagbiz.org. We look forward to your participation!
Up to half of Michigan truck drivers remain barred from crossing into Canada
LANSING, Mich. (April 4, 2022) – Following today’s announcement from President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg aimed at alleviating America’s truck driver shortage, the Michigan Agri-Business Association (MABA) called on the Biden Administration to push for open access to the U.S.-Canada border for truck drivers not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Industry estimates show vaccine requirements to enter the U.S. and Canada have taken 30-50% of Michigan truck drivers out of international service.
“The truck driver shortage in Michigan and across America has reached crisis levels, and while the administration is right to focus on solving this problem, let’s start by making sure truck drivers already employed can perform their essential work,” said Chuck Lippstreu, president of MABA. “Our agriculture industry relies on truck drivers who routinely cross the Ontario-Michigan border – often several times daily – facilitating exports to our number-one trading partner and bringing everything from fertilizer to feed ingredients into our state. Today, up to half of Michigan truck drivers are barred from international service due to vaccine requirements to enter both the U.S. and Canada, harming our state’s agriculture industry as we approach the heart of the spring planting season. We continue to call on the Biden Administration and the Canadian government to implement common-sense exemptions to these policies for truck drivers engaged in essential commerce.”
In a letter last month to the White House and Congressional leaders, MABA echoed a call from national agricultural organizations for the U.S. and Canada to exempt essential truck drivers from the requirements.
The following opinion piece was authored by MABA President Chuck Lippstreu in the March 31, 2022 edition of the Detroit News. You can view the original story here.
Opinion: Michigan should invest in homegrown biofuels to ease pain at the pump
As gas prices hit record highs with little hope of reprieve on the horizon, now is the perfect time to use more affordable biofuels made right here in Michigan. Replacing foreign oil with plant-based biofuels in our cars, trucks and SUVs will grow Michigan’s economy and put more money in the hands of consumers and family farmers.
The average U.S. household spent more than $2,000 on gasoline before Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring even higher, spotlighting our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. With the price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Michigan hovering around $4.20 — about 85 cents more than its cost just a month ago — it’s time to take a serious look at homegrown alternatives.
One substitute is shifting from standard E10 gasoline to E15, a renewable fuel blend made with 15% homegrown biofuel. E15 is EPA-approved for all cars, trucks and SUVs made since 2001. The other alternative is E85, which is approved for use in all Flex-Fuel vehicles. Both cost drivers less.
E15 is already offered at more than 2,300 locations across 30 states. Other Midwest biofuel-producing states like Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin are making the most of E15 and E85. Unfortunately, access to both renewable fuel blends in Michigan lags far behind. Only 10 stations in Michigan offer E15 today.
To make this fuel more readily available to all drivers across Michigan, we need to incentivize more gas stations to offer it — a lot more. That’s where Senate Bill 814 comes into play. Introduced by state Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, this common-sense proposal would create a 5-cent-per-gallon tax credit for E15 and a 0.085-cent-per-gallon tax credit for E85. These credits would help provide greater access to less expensive fuels across the state.
SB 814 would also complement important efforts underway at the federal level to ensure E15 is available to more American drivers, year-round.
If stations across Michigan made a full shift to E15, it would add nearly $530 million in Gross Domestic Product to Michigan’s economy and save millions of dollars in fuel costs, according to an ABF Economics study. That uptick in demand for the agricultural industry would generate $166 million of income for Michigan households and nearly $47 million in state and local tax revenue, the study said.
Our nation continues to rely on foreign energy supplies that too often come from nations hostile to the United States. It has to stop — and there’s an alternative that starts with Michigan farmers and businesses.
By expanding access to Michigan-made biofuels, we can ease pain at the pump and secure energy security for our nation. SB 814 will help deliver lower-cost E15 and E85 across the state — just when we need it most.
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