Granholm plan will hurt area farm interests

Lapeer County is home to more than 1,300 active farms, most located on the eastern and northern section of the county, and are part of the diverse agricultural community in the Thumb and Michigan.

Approximately 3,600 jobs are directly tied to farming and agriculture in Lapeer County. With a population of nearly 90,000 people, agriculture in Lapeer County translates to approximately 3,600 jobs directly tied to farming. That number nearly doubles when food processing, farm implement sales and fuel and fertilizer sales positions are added to the mix.

In total, said Phil Kaatz, director of the Lapeer County MSU Extension office, farming and agriculture related interests contribute between $80 million and $100 million annually to the local economy. This is no small sum, and echoes the importance of agriculture — the state’s second largest industry, contributing more than $71 billion in economic activity and employing more than a quarter of the state’s workforce in the food and fiber industry.

The current budget crisis in Lansing has resulted in a host of disturbing legislative and executive orders from Gov. Jennifer Granholm that have the potential to do great harm to the agriculture industry, which is one of a few bright spots in an otherwise beleaguered state economy.

We commend the Lapeer County Board of Commissioners who on Thursday recommended adoption of a resolution denouncing a recent executive order by Granholm and calls on state Rep. Kevin Daley (R-Lum) and the legislature to overturn her proposal to eliminate the current authority of the Commission of Agriculture to oversee the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and select and manage the director of the department.

The county board resolution, which will likely be adopted next week, calls on the legislature to maintain the transparency, accountability and citizen involvement of the MDA.

Under the governor’s executive order, the MDA director would gain sole oversight of the department and become an appointee of the governor. However, the executive order does not provide any real cost savings. Instead, all it does is further centralize power within the executive office without providing any government efficiency.

We join the county board and the Michigan Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, who support the present bipartisan commission system, including authority for the Agriculture Commission to employ the MDA director. This system has allowed for continuity and consistency of programs affecting more than 53,000 Michigan farmers.

Under Granholm’s approach, ultimate decisions, including revisions to generally accepted agriculture and management practices for Michigan’s Right to Farm Act would be made solely by the director, and the Commission of Agriculture’s role would be limited to simply providing a forum for gathering information.

Replacing the open style of the commission with a closed, behind-doors approach denies Lapeer County residents and the media the transparency and accountability we deserve. The move strips agricultural stakeholders of their ability to be directly involved in the management of the state’s diverse and complex agriculture.

Functional oversight of the MDA, its director and decisions on vital programs affecting the state’s agricultural interests best belong to a citizen-based commission — not a bureaucracy.

— Jeff Hogan