Michigan's 3rd Senate District may be centered in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park, but Democratic candidate Adam Hollier said food and agriculture play a vital role in the district's economy and its connection to the rest of the state.
Hollier recently received the Michigan Farm Bureau AgriPac's "Friend of Agriculture" endorsement in a crowded 13-candidate primary for the 3rd Senate District.
"Our thriving agribusiness sector empowers residents to transform locally grown foods into consumer goods, keeping wealth directly within the community," said Hollier, who served as state senator from 2019-22 under different district lines.
Hollier said his agricultural experience includes working with GreenStone Farm Credit Services to expand urban initiatives and partnering with Eastern Market to strengthen the infrastructure that moves Michigan-grown products from farms to consumers. He also served as vice president of Hantz Woodlands, where he helped oversee one of the nation's largest urban agriculture and land-use projects.
He said resources such as Eastern Market, kitchen incubators and the Detroit People's Food Co-op help create opportunities for agribusinesses while supporting local food systems.
Hollier said the biggest challenges facing Michigan agriculture include climate instability, rising production costs and supply chain disruptions.
To address those challenges, Hollier said Michigan should focus on three priorities: augmenting supply chain resilience by creating more direct pathways from farm to table, strengthening logistics infrastructure to improve transportation and distribution while lowering costs for growers, and developing grower-led policies that prioritize food sovereignty and regional economic development.
Hollier also believes lasting solutions to environmental challenges should be developed collaboratively with farmers.
"Meaningful collaboration requires leaders who prioritize listening over lecturing and have the courage to facilitate tough, honest conversations," Hollier said. "We must move past adversarial politics to build a new framework where growers and environmentalists work as partners rather than opponents."
He said he supports strengthening incentive-based conservation efforts through programs like the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program while ensuring farmers play a leading role in developing agricultural policy and adopting conservation practices.
Hollier’s experience also includes having previously served as director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and currently serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. Additionally, he is an assistant professor of urban studies at Wayne State University.
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