House Agriculture Committee adopts rules, sets regular meeting time; hears Michigan Farm Bureau overview

The House Agriculture Committee adopted its proposed committee rules and set a regular meeting time, then heard a presentation from Michigan Farm Bureau on literacy and labor programs and industry trends at an organizational meeting.

The committee, chaired by Chair Nyar, voted to adopt the uniform committee rules as set out in chapter 4 of the House rules and to hold regular meetings Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. in Room 308 of the House Office Building. Both motions passed by voice vote with the clerk recording 11 yeas, 0 nays.

Michigan Farm Bureau representative Rebecca Park gave a 25-minute overview of the bureau's programs and services, including K-12 outreach, farm-science trailers, monthly "farm crates" for classrooms, and a labor-service company that helps farmers use the federal H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. Park said the Farm Bureau "was founded in 1919" and called the organization "a family of companies." She told the committee that "Michigan agriculture…