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Farm groups and university researchers urge boosts to farmland preservation grants and applied-ag research funding
Summary
Michigan Farm Bureau representatives and AgBioResearch officials told lawmakers that farmland protection and applied research need larger, steady funding—asking to raise local preservation grants from $1.9 million to $2.5 million and urging continued support for the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture and university research that presenters said generated substantial economic returns.
Rebecca Park of the Michigan Farm Bureau told the subcommittee that MDARD programs including animal disease prevention, milk safety inspections and pesticide and plant-pest management are essential for market access and public health, and she recommended raising the farmland-preservation local grants line from $1.9 million to $2.5 million to meet documented demand.
A second presenter (identified in testimony as Beth) told members that Michigan has lost about 6,600 farms over the past 13 years and that national trends show substantial farm losses. She said the Ag Preservation Fund currently holds roughly $8 million but the annual local-grants cycle has remained essentially flat at $1.9 million since 2019; applications exceed available funding, she said, and a temporary increase to $2.5 million would better match demand.
Speakers from the animal-ag and university research community described how applied research produces measurable returns. Dr. Nancy Barr and Dr. George Smith said programs such as the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture (MAAA) and AgBioResearch fund projects that directly help producers transition practices (including cage-free poultry) and adopt efficiency improvements. Dr. Smith said AgBioResearch has generated an estimated $960 million in economic activity since the program began and described a project on feeding roasted high-oleic soybeans to dairy cows that presenters estimated could save about $1.80 per cow per day in feed costs and, if adopted widely, produce substantial additional revenue for producers.
Representative Green and others asked what tangible steps state government could take to reduce farmer dependence on subsidies; witnesses pointed to extension, guidebooks for permit navigation and investments in research and technology that help producers reduce costs and open new markets.
The presenters asked the committee to restore or sustain funding for MAAA and to increase MDARD preservation grant funding to reflect demand. Committee members did not take a formal vote on those requests during the hearing.
