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2008 Policy Book
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In 1855, the Michigan Legislature passed Act 130 which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. Michigan Agricultural College was the first college in the world to offer agriculture courses for credit. Today, Michigan State University (MSU) is recognized as a leader in higher learning, agricultural research, extension and youth development. To maintain this status, we support state funding for MSU that places it in a comparable academic and financial status with other research universities.
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) and College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM):
We support the CANR and the CVM at MSU and their strong commitment to education, research, extension and international programs. We are concerned about the lack of large animal practitioners in the area of veterinary medicine. We encourage county Farm Bureaus to develop a scholarship fund for students enrolled in their last year of study in veterinary medicine for large animal care. We encourage the development of state and/or federal incentives such as, but not limited to, forgiving of all or part of student loans for large animal veterinary graduates who agree to work in Michigan for a specified period of time (e.g., 5-10 years) in areas where there is a lack of practicing agricultural large animal veterinarians.
We applaud MSU for the development of the Food Production Medicine Scholars program and urge them to ensure the program is carefully managed. We strongly encourage Michigan Farm Bureau to continue working with the CVM at MSU to address the many challenges facing the livestock industry in Michigan as it relates to veterinary medicine.
We believe the two-year agricultural technology program provides a valuable service to Michigan agriculture. We support improvements to the MSU ag-tech program that better serve the needs of students, employers, businesses, industry and consumers. We encourage MSU to expand credit transfer opportunities from community colleges, junior colleges and two-year programs to promote interest in programs in the CANR.
In November 2003, MSU officially integrated the Agriculture and Natural Resources Education and Communications System Department into the Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resources Studies (CARRS) Department. We recommend the MFB Board of Directors continue to meet annually with the CARRS Department Chairperson and the CANR Dean to receive an update on the progress of the integration, student enrollment, staffing levels and curriculum development.
Currently MSU requires a full year of student teaching experience while many other Michigan institutions only require one semester of student teaching. Teacher education programs requiring only one semester of student teaching have an advantage because of less tuition costs associated with student teaching. This has a direct impact on recruiting future agriscience instructors because MSU is the only institution in Michigan offering an agriscience teacher education program.
We encourage MSU to adjust the student teaching requirement from one full year to one semester to fairly compete with other teacher education programs in Michigan.
Recruitment and Admission:
Many universities, both in and outside of Michigan, allow students to apply directly to the college of their choice. MSU does not. We believe students should be able to apply directly to CANR and CVM receiving consideration for academic, leadership (4-H, FFA, etc.), community service and work experience related to the course of study.
We urge CANR and CVM to contact potential students through existing organizations/groups to promote educational and career opportunities. MSU recommends potential students apply in the spring of their junior year.
Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) and Agricultural Experiment Station (AES):
AES must work closely with production agriculture, agribusiness and other research entities so research efforts are focused on the most appropriate agricultural needs.
Research, in conjunction with the plant and animal initiatives, should be a priority.
Special attention must be given to the dissemination of research information from AES to the farm. We support a funding level that maintains an appropriate balance between research and dissemination of that research to MSUE field staff and to the farm.
The current condition of the State budget requires that MSUE make necessary adjustments to function in a changing economic environment.
The purpose of MSUE is to provide a linkage between University researchers and producers in the field. Over the years the dynamics of this relationship have changed. Administration should be streamlined to achieve maximum efficiencies with an emphasis on field services.
MSUE should develop its structure in recognition of new technologies, and use these technologies to enhance the efficient and effective delivery of services from MSU field specialists to producers.
MFB supports MSUE funding for production agriculture and forestry programs. We believe:
- Field staff positions should be a priority and vacancies filled as soon as possible.
- MSUE must keep its work with farmers, processors, marketers and agribusiness as a high priority.
- Field staff must facilitate exchange of information between researchers and producers.
- There should be prompt filling of agriculture-related positions at MSU, such as breeder, plant pathologist and other positions crucial to maintaining industry competitiveness.
- County Farm Bureaus should be involved in Extension Advisory Councils. Farmers need to provide aggressive input to ensure agriculture's needs are being met.
- MFB should continue to communicate with MSUE administration to evaluate content and delivery of these services, which are critical to agriculture.
- We support adequate funding for programs critical to production agriculture.
4-H:
We strongly support Michigan 4-H youth programs. They provide valuable educational opportunities for rural and urban youth.
MFB and county Farm Bureaus have embarked on a fundraising drive to raise $100,000 to fund an endowment for volunteer 4-H leaders called the "4-H Excellence in Agriculture" award. The endowment aims to annually reward 4-H leaders who exceptionally advance youth learning and leadership in agriculture. MFB encourages all county Farm Bureaus to participate in the fundraising drive.
Beef Cattle Endowment Fund:
MFB encourages its members and all cattle producers in the State to support funding the endowment. The purpose of the fund is to supply a sustained source of funding for MSU research and teaching facilities. It will also focus on providing support for the educational opportunities offered to students in the MSU beef cattle program.
Responding to Industry Needs:
We urge MSU to expedite the process to fill vacant positions and reinstate research and teaching activities. MFB requests a response from CANR to the MFB Board as to why crucial vacant positions have not yet been filled. We also urge the members of the Animal Industry Initiative Advisory Committee be reconvened to provide ongoing industry input on the needs of animal agriculture in regard to research and educational partnering with MSU.
The construction of the meats lab was a result of the Animal Industry Initiative. Currently the meats lab is underutilized. Partnering with the Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources and exploring "custom processing contracts" will provide expanded research and teaching opportunities while strengthening the agriculture economy.
The agriculture industry realizes the need to support MSU, MSUE, AES and the CVM to ensure continued leadership in the areas of teaching, research and extension. Over the years agriculture has come to the forefront and led efforts to encourage the funding of projects like the Animal Industry Initiative and Project GREEEN. It is due to the successful funding, building, curriculum development and workings of these efforts that agriculture, the University and associated partners are positioned for the future.
MSU has been a key partner for production agriculture which is recognized as contributing $60 billion and supplying one in four jobs in the Michigan economy. The original land grant mission remains an important element to seek solutions and, with a recommitment to production agriculture, develop new opportunities for the future.
