On February 17, MABA President Chuck Lippstreu joined Michigan Radio’s Stateside to discuss topics in the agriculture industry. The following are some portions of the interview, lightly edited. The interview covered a wide additional range of issues and you can listen to the entire interview here, beginning at the 12:00 mark of the program. We appreciate April Baer and Stateside for the opportunity to discuss Michigan’s agriculture industry. Stateside airs each day on Michigan Radio at 3:00 and 8:00 PM. On the U.S.-Canada relationship: “Canada in particular is our number one trading partner. Michigan is in a unique spot because of our geographic position and our close relationships, especially across the border with Ontario.” “Products move back and forth often across the border multiple times as part of the agricultural manufacturing process. The bigger thing to take away here is the interconnected nature of our economies. It’s even more profound when you think about where we’re at here in Michigan, the strong partnerships we have in Canada, and also just simple geography. We have multiple points of entry between Michigan and Ontario. We are on the cusp of the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is going to revolutionize truck transportation from a freight perspective between Michigan and Ontario, and Canada and the U.S. So certainly we’re focused on keeping the Canadian market open and continuing to grow export opportunities with Canada and Mexico, not diminish them.” On potential USMCA tariff implementation: “Once tariffs are implemented, if they are, the details of how they’re implemented are going to matter greatly, and that’s one of the things that’s contributed to the overall uncertainty in the business community. It’s also possible that tariffs won’t be enacted.” “We saw here a few weeks ago, tariffs were slated to go into effect and ultimately there was a pause and negotiations between the U.S. and Mexico and Canada. Notably, with regard to Mexico, the administration was able to achieve some concessions that worked toward its policy goals, including 10,000 Mexican National Guard personnel dispatched to the U.S.-Mexico border. So again, time will tell how this all plays out.” “I think people should understand that there is a level of uncertainty in the agricultural industry and even without tariffs enacted, there’s work that goes in on the business side to making sure that we’re prepared.” On ag labor and the AEWR: “Our specialty crop growers across West Michigan and other parts of Michigan are reliant on farm labor to be successful. Think about crops like asparagus. Over the last few years, the Adverse Effect Wage Rate has skyrocketed due to the way the federal government calculates wage rates, and it’s gotten to a place where it’s just economically not sustainable for farms to be able to hire. And I want to be very clear, these are visa workers, April, that are working on these farms.” “There was last year in Congress, there was a bipartisan effort, Democrats and Republicans both, to freeze that rate to make sure that farmers didn’t end up underwater in terms of their labor cost. And we’re hopeful that that will happen again, this Congress.” “These farmers are reliant on visa workers, the ability to bring workers legally in the United States and employ them.” “And if they do, when they do, they’re required to pay a very high wage rate in addition to all the requirements that come along with hiring labor, in terms of providing housing and a number of other expenses. So that’s the number one thing that our specialty crop farmers are thinking about, and they’re going to be the segment that’s hiring the most immigrant workers. So I would encourage folks to read up on that. I do think it’s going to be one that impacts our industry over the next few years.” On the incoming Administration and trade association work in 2025: “The fact is this administration has moved extremely rapidly across many areas…if you go look at the speed with which the Trump administration named cabinet officers, it was if not the quickest in recent history, very close to it. We also have seen, again, it’s no secret, an unprecedented number of major policy actions.” “So we see our role as first, one of information sharing, ensuring that our members know what’s happening, know how different actions could impact them.” “From a trade association perspective, it’s really about the policies that are being put in front of us today, evaluating things like tariffs and workforce actions and federal spending. Just like any administration, of any party, state or federal…as a trade group, we evaluate those [policies] on their merits and we either support them or oppose them. And sometimes we do both at the same time, where a policy will come forward and we’ll say, hey, listen, we see some benefit here, but here are some caution flags we have as well.” # # # Go here to access the full interview on Michigan Radio’s Stateside.
