MSU Extension Needs Our Help

A new report from Michigan State University (MSU) found there is at least one bright spot in Michigan’s battered economy - the food and agriculture business.

Michigan’s agri-food system represents almost 20 percent of the state’s overall economic engine, making it the second-largest industry in Michigan, and it employs a quarter of the state’s work force.

And it is not just the economy that benefits. We all know the buzz that local food has created recently. Healthy food that tastes good is coming from our local growers.

But if the predictions of some officials come to pass, Governor Granholm may be ready to give the industry a devastating blow.

That is because the budget for Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) and the Michigan Agriculture Experiment Stations (MAES) could be eliminated by line-item veto from the governor, perhaps as early as this week. Read this Traverse City Record-Eagle report, or this from NBC25 TV to learn more, including the importance of Extension and the stations to growers.

“The threat is real,” according to one Extension official.

And if it is acted upon, the results may be immediate. We have been told to expect the offices to close the day after funding is cut.

The governor’s office, meanwhile, was mum Tuesday about the possibility of cuts, which would be contained in the higher education budget that legislators sent to her desk last week.

“All I can say is the budget is under review and I can’t comment on how she plans to use her line item veto authority,” Megan Brown, the governor’s deputy press secretary, told the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service.

Given the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy, what would the governor’s position be about eliminating funding for MSU Extension and the agricultural research stations?

“She was asked about it in a press conference moments ago,” Ms. Brown said. “She said that certainly it is a great program, but she wasn’t going to comment on specific actions she might or might not make when it comes to her line item authority. Clearly, we have some difficult, difficult budget issues on the table.”

For the record, the Michigan Land Use Institute finds MSU Extension to be an important partner in working to build a strong local food economy. It was a partner with us early on, when we launched our Taste the Local Difference local food and farm program to grow jobs, protect land, and help create healthier communities with nutritious and fresh local food. It continues to be a partner with us in our farm-to-school efforts, training assistance for a next generation of farmers on the land (MLUI’s Get Farming! project), and our work to connect low-income families to the region’s fresh, nutritious bounty.

MLUI is working to shape a food system that strengthens communities-and we always have known that we can’t do it alone. We need our longstanding community institutions, such as MSU Extension, adding their resources to make it happen.

To let the governor know your thoughts on cutting MSU Extension and the agricultural research stations, click here. Click here to find and contact your state representative and here for your state senator.

And watch this spot for details as we learn them.

Diane Conners is MLUI’s senior policy specialist for entrepreneurial agriculture; reach her at diane@mlui.org. Jim Sluyter is MLUI’s Get Farming! program coordinator; reach him at jimsluyter@mlui.org.