Farmers & Ag Groups Urge Restoration of MDA Funding

Representatives of Michigan's only growth industry gathered in Lansing Tuesday to appeal for the preservation of funding for the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA). Individual farmers and agricultural commodity organization representatives testified Tuesday afternoon before a three-member Senate subcommittee charged with recommending an MDA budget proposal to the chamber's full appropriations committee. 

Chaired by District 16 Senator Cameron Brown (R-Fawn River Township), the subcommittee also includes Dist. 21 Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks) and Dist. 2 Sen. Martha Scott (D-Highland Park).

Reduced by more than half over the past decade, MDA's $30 million annual budget has forced the department to pare down some of its most vital, routine services, which is already hitting some of the state's farmers squarely in the wallet.

Just last month, two apple shippers in western Michigan reported losses of $50,000 and $143,000, respectively, because required inspections were not done in time. A lack of inspectors, mainly due to budget cuts in the MDA's Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division, made it impossible for apples bound for export and the federal school lunch program to get the federally-mandated inspections they required for shipment.

MDA Director Don Koivisto opened the testimony by describing the "slow drain of people over the last three years" that has impaired the department's ability to keep up with its workload.

Full-time MDA staff since 2000 has dropped from 653 to 450 employees, with a 15 percent staff reduction over the last three years alone. Last year alone the department lost more than 80 employees. Meanwhile, key divisions and programs have been eliminated, including agriculture development, horse racing, and Select Michigan food labeling.

"I don't know how we'll maintain service without increased funding. Commerce has been negatively impacted, which is really hard for the Michigan economy to take," he added, alluding to the missed apple inspections.

"We're losing ground to overseas shipments," Koivisto warned, and endangering the viability of crucial programs like Right to Farm and the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program.

Almost 20 Michigan Farm Bureau members attended the hearing, at the expense of a clear, spring day that may've otherwise been a productive one at home on the farm. Testifying before the committee were Jackson County dairyman Hank Choate, Calhoun County greenhouse grower Jim Tuinier, and Berrien County vegetable producer Paula Wedde.

Both Choate and Tuinier described a variety of ways in which MDA inspections enable them to do the business of agriculture, particularly as it pertains to taking full advantage of out-of-state marketing opportunities for their products.

"I'm new but I'm here for the long haul-I need these programs," said Wedde, explaining how MDA services benefit young producers just getting started, like she and her husband. "The support of MDA is just incredible. It's an investment in our future and our state's future."

Several other ag organizations were also represented and testified in defense of MDA's budget.

Ray VanDriessche, community relations director for Michigan Sugar Company, cited several vital MDA services, including its pesticide container recycling program, the administration of restricted-use pesticide controls, inter-county drain oversight, and inspections of fertilizer and fuel.

"We believe MDA has a philosophy of working with the growers," VanDriessche said, lauding the department's "spirit of cooperation and resolution" and calling for the restoration of its budget to last year's levels.

As executive director of the Michigan Bean Commission, Bob Green represents 1,500 growers of one of the state's trademark crops; dry beans alone accounted for $150 million in agriculture revenues last year. His comment that bean inspections in Michigan cost far more than in competing states -- notably top-bean-producer North Dakota -- clearly piqued the committee's interest.

Dawn Drake, manager of Michigan Processing Apple Growers Division of the Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association, echoed Green's testimony, stating that Michigan apple shippers pay twice what their competitors in Washington pay for mandated inspections.

After questioning both Green and Drake about the anti-competitive discrepancies they'd described, Brown said, "We want to not just sustain [MDA funding], but grow it."

"We've heard from producers and processors and how they rely on state government to stay productive," Jelinek said. "It's state government's responsibility to meet the needs of the MDA to serve the state's economy.

"We believe in agriculture and we believe in what you're doing."

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture meets again May 4 to formulate its recommendations to the full Senate. The Senate and House-approved appropriations bills must then undergo a reconciliation process before awaiting the governor's signature.