Michigan Ag Blog

First the bad news there’s big rain for the east coast. A stalled front along the eastern seaboard will bring 2-4 inch rains from North Carolina to Maine. Some places may see as much as 6” which has caused flood watches and warnings to be issued.

The good news is a big push of warm air is heading our way. The warm air is set to spread from the Plains to the East as the week rolls on.  Temperatures are currently on the rise across the Plains, while warming in the East won’t happen until they get rid of all the rain.

Temperatures throughout the High Plains will rise into the 70s today. While a front brings cooling to the northern Rockies on Tuesday, the rest of the nation's midsection will continue to warm up.

Temperatures on Tuesday will soar into the 80s throughout the southern Plains and parts of the central Plains. A few places in West Texas may approach the 90-degree mark. There may be records broken this area this week.

The warm surge will reach the Midwest on Wednesday. Temperatures that day and Thursday will soar roughly 20 degrees above today's highs.

The low Wednesday night in Detroit will actually be milder than today's high. Thursday is the warm day for our part of the world with temperatures reaching the mid 70”s. It’ll cool off a few degrees for the Easter weekend but it will still be near 70. So look for Wednesday our first 70 degree day of the year.

The sunshine today will look great but it’s still not short sleeve weather.  High pressure is in control over Michigan and winds are continuing to bring in a Canadian chill.

Things improve in the outlook for Saturday as breezes shift to the south bumping us back into the middle fifties.  Then there’s another round of cooler days with a slight chance for showers before springtime warmth returns for the middle of next week.  Spring keeps cycling in and out.  This morning many places around Southwest Michigan recorded lows in the upper teens.  Even with clear skies tonight we probably won’t go much below the mid-twenties.

In the weather history books for the region this weekend we have included several tornado outbreaks.  In 1991 eighteen were injured and eight homes destroyed by a twister in Calhoun County.  And in 1928 a dozen died in Michigan during a tornado outbreak which included states from the Midwest to the Atlantic.  Hard hit by the storms that year were the communities of Maple Grove and Orangeville in Barry County.

Spring storminess isn’t in the forecast yet but when it comes it’s always important to have a safety plan in place.

Around 300 young farmers from across the state attended Michigan Farm Bureau's Young Farmer Leaders Conference, Feb. 26-28 in Grand Rapids. The annual event offers MFB members ages 18 to 35 a combination of leadership development, informative workshops and idea exchanges, all with an eye toward building a strong new generation of agricultural producers to lead Michigan's second-largest industry confidently into the future.

Centering on the theme "Achieving your goals through leadership, planning and action," the seminars and workshops at this year's conference encouraged young farmers to plan for future goals and explore leadership and service opportunities to aid in their professional development.

Specific topics included leadership styles; generating long-term farm plans; working with a management team; goal-setting; community involvement; commodity markets; and food safety. State and national-level Farm Bureau staff briefed attendees about leadership development opportunities and the importance of grassroots involvement in the legislative process.

"Our goal was to provide our young farmers with tools to manage successful farms and to serve in their community," said Lori Chamberlain, manager of the MFB Young Farmer Department. "And many of them said afterwards they found the conference motivating and educational on how they can make a positive impact in the agriculture industry."

Keynote speaker Trent Loos, a sixth-generation farmer, presented a thought-provoking presentation looking at how consumers receive information today about their food and how it's produced. Citing recent examples of how myths impact the public perception of agriculture, Loos stressed the importance of educating consumers with factual information about where food comes from. He went on to share examples of how young farmers can speak out about the agriculture industry and be leaders in their communities.

Other noteworthy speakers at this year's conference were Jack Kelly, executive vice president of customer delivery for GreenStone Farm Credit Services, and MFB Vice President Mike Fusilier.
 
In addition to its educational components, the weekend conference gives younger farmers a chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other.

"We strike a balance between professional and social activities," Chamberlain said. "We've found this helps us build strong relationships, throughout the industry and across the state."

The Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB), the state's largest general farm organization, is disappointed with the passage of H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, in the U.S. House.

While Farm Bureau favors health care reform, the organization opposes mandates for health coverage, said Ryan Findlay, MFB national legislative counsel.

"Most farmers are self-employed and buy health insurance for themselves and their workers through individual and small group markets. So mandates requiring individuals to have health insurance and employers to provide health insurance for their workers is a huge burden," said Findlay. "The threat of a penalty for noncompliance only worsens the situation for people unable to afford coverage."

MFB also believes the bill does not provide enough incentives for people to purchase insurance, especially in underserved areas.

"Our Farm Bureau members hope the legislation's promise of improving health care access for rural America is taken seriously during the implementation process and comes to fruition," said Findlay.

The production plantings report comes out Wednesday.  Will it reflect planting decisions or driving them?

Some rain fell across the area beginning before dawn and lasting though late morning as a low passed well to our south.  By shortly after sunrise MSU’s rain gauge at the Kalamazoo Nature Center had picked up seven-hundredths of an inch.  Places like Hastings and South Haven recorded slightly more while other locations remained dry.

Another cool shot of Canadian air will blow into Southwest Michigan as low pressure moves up the Ohio Valley.  Wind gusts should top out at around 25 miles per hour and our high temperatures today and Friday will remain in the forties.  They’ll rebound back to the fifties Saturday and drop down a bit Sunday into Monday as we get our next shot at rain or an evening rain-snow mixture.

In spite of the cool down everyone’s talking spring and what needs to be done prior to planting.  The freeze line this morning was as far north as Sudbury, Ontario.  Our daytime normal highs are now around 50 and lows at the freezing mark.  So, how low has it gone in the past?  On this date 36 years ago Grand Rapids recorded its latest sub-zero temperature.  It’s another milestone in the march toward spring.

Before dawn emerging wheat out on the plains was getting some much needed moisture.  High cirrus clouds, the forerunner of the system that’s causing this, will appear during the day over Michigan.  As for rainfall – the further south you are the better your chances.  The low associated with the rain will pass to the south of the Ohio River and the best guess now is I-94 and south could see some moisture tonight.

They’re seeing snow along the Rockies in Colorado.  Up to six inches could fall.  And there’s still plenty of cold air in Canada which could drop our readings some on Thursday morning and again toward the end of the weekend.  But we’re not talking about bone-chilling cold by any means as highs are still forecast to hit close to fifty tomorrow.

There are several events of note in the weather almanac on this date.  In 1901 a Kalamazoo County tornado killed one and injured four as it moved from Vicksburg to Scott.  Exactly four years later twisters struck Grand Rapids and Muskegon.  Finally on the agricultural almanac, 104 years ago today Clement Hardy received a patent for the rotary disc plow.

The ethanol industry takes note of what happened to the biodiesel tax credit.

On our list of meetings prior to planting we want you to remember that series of workshops which begin Thursday dealing with an operation’s true cost of production and how to position your dairy business for the future.  Bruce Mackellar with the MSU extension says the workshop starts at 9 and runs to 3:30 in Hillsdale at the ISD and the second, half-day session is set a week later, Thursday April first from 9 to one.  Similar meetings are set for April 8^th and 15^th in Mattawan and the ninth and 16^th in Grand Rapids.

For this afternoon and the balance of this week sunny skies along with high readings in the fifties will be common around Southwest Michigan.

The best chance for precipitation comes late Sunday into Sunday night when it could turn into a rain-snow mix.  Beyond that there’s not much in the way of storminess headed toward Michigan for most of next week as things look now.

All in all, the transition from winter to spring continues to move along with the usual couple of minor bumps along the way such as last Saturday morning.

There are still pre-planting time ag meetings underway this week. Mark Longstroth has details on two of them

LANSING, March 19, 2010 - Championing agriculture in the most urbanized, industrial corner of the state is not a thankless task for veteran teacher Robert Johnson. A fixture at Roosevelt High School (RHS) in Wyandotte for more than four decades, Johnson's accomplishments have earned him Michigan Farm Bureau's (MFB) 2010 Agriscience Educator of the Year Award.
The award recognizes an instructor who teaches agriculture and natural resources to prepare youth for a possible career in agriculture. Johnson was nominated by the Wayne County Farm Bureau and selected by the MFB Promotion and Education Committee from a pool of candidates from across the state. This year's Ag Educator awards are being announced early to commemorate National Agriculture Week, March 14-20.
Johnson's tenure in Wyandotte began in 1966 with some straightforward math and science classes. Two decades later he was tapped to enrich the school's technical education offerings, and in 1988 the school's horticulture education program was born. The program soon incorporated FFA and supervised agricultural experiences, with a strong emphasis on landscaping, floriculture and greenhouse activities-echoing the form agriculture most recognizably takes in the metro Detroit area. Coordination with local officials, the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan State University, Farm Bureau, Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority and other groups has resulted in a well-rounded urban ag education curriculum at Roosevelt-one that incorporates hands-on learning and real-world experience.
Johnson's students put in as much effort outside the classroom as they do at their desks, working on the school's natural turf athletic fields, maintaining two working greenhouses and an in-house floral shop, and marketing their own poinsettias and other holiday foliage products. Students raise and merchandise annuals and perennials for a spring sale and for use in RHS school gardens. In addition to their two working greenhouses, Roosevelt ag students also maintain city gardens containing ornamental and edible plants, process their own tomato crop as part of Campbell Soup's national gardening promotion effort, and raise their own flock of chickens to compete in the FFA broiler contest.
Along the way, they learn the importance of sound recordkeeping practices and business skills; promote proper pet care and host pet adoption days; coordinate activities with local garden clubs; and interact with public officials on the school board, Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority and city council.
Accordingly, Roosevelt's FFA program has grown into a regional powerhouse, currently boasting more than 120 students and routinely earning chapter and individual proficiency awards. RHS students have attended every state FFA convention for the past five years and gone on to the national FFA convention four times.
In nominating Johnson for the award, Wayne County Farm Bureau board member Frank Rochowiak offered detailed praise for the teacher's multidisciplinary approach to ag education. 
"Bob has worked to make sure  the RHS urban agriculture program has the same components as the rural agriculture programs in Michigan," Rochowiak said. 
Johnson also exemplifies the kind of leadership and involvement he instills in his students. Currently president elect of the Michigan Association of Agriscience Educators, he previously served the Michigan Horticulture Teachers Association in the same capacity, and has helped MSU develop curricula for ag education statewide.
"He appreciates the need for people to take leadership roles in agriculture," Rochowiak said. "He firmly believes that a strong agriculture presence in urban centers will improve these centers and improve agriculture throughout the state." 
He will formally accept the award at MFB's 2010 Annual Meeting later this year.  In recognition of the distinction, Bollinger will also receive a $500 grant from the MFB Member Services Department for classroom use. MFB is the state's largest general farm organization, representing more than 47,000 farm families.

LANSING, March 19, 2010 - Newly introduced legislation in the state House would bring forestland up to par with farmland on tax rolls and help grow Michigan's timber industry. 
House Bill 5924 introduced by Rep. Brian Calley (R-Portland) would classify privately owned forestland as agricultural property, making these parcels also eligible for an 18-mill agricultural property tax exemption. But to qualify, the land must have a forest management plan. The bill also clarifies that land enrolled in a federal conservation program is eligible for the same tax exemption.
For more than a decade, Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) policy has called for privately-owned forestland to be treated the same as cropland.
"Forestland and woodlots dot many farm landscapes in Michigan. Although the land cannot be farmed for traditional agricultural products, in many cases it can be farmed for timber, another sector of Michigan's agriculture industry," said Rebecca Park, MFB association legislative counsel. 
"So forestland and woodlots deserve to be classified as agricultural property and also made eligible for the 18-mill agricultural property tax exemption," said Park.
"It makes perfect sense but requires legislative action. So we appreciate Representative Calley's leadership on this longtime goal of Farm Bureau members."
Key to Calley's bill is the provision that the forestland have a forest management plan covering timber harvest, forest regeneration, environmental safeguards, and so forth.
"Just as farmland must meet specific criteria to qualify for the existing 18-mill agricultural property tax exemption, this bill provides a system of checks and balances for forestland," said Park. 
It's expected the tax benefit will be an incentive for more landowners to develop forest management plans which, in turn, could help spur Michigan's timber industry.
"This has the potential to open more private forestland for use in Michigan's timber, wood products and paper industries, while also providing stable sources of local resources," said Park.
The bill has been referred to the House Tax Policy Committee.