Over the weekend...

Every Monday my kids report to their class about what they did "Over the Weekend."  Here is a Farm Mom's report after a busy weekend...


Friday, March 22, 2013
4:00PM:  Get the kids off the bus.  Finish packing up a few last items and head into Lowell to setup our first-ever Expo booth!
6:00PM:  Head to the St. Mary's for the Fish Fry  (Yay!  I don't have to cook!)
7:00PM:  Hubby drops me and my daughter off at my friend's house.  She did a presentation on her mission trip to Kenya.
9:00PM:  Answer phone calls, texts, gather a few more items for the booth, get kids to bed
10:00PM:  Bedtime














Saturday, March 23, 2013
3:57AM:  My alarm goes off (but I don't get up because I like to push Snooze 2 times)
4:11AM:  Eat a bowl of cereal and put on 3 layers of clothes- Spring has not sprung here yet. BRRR!
4:20AM:  Arrive at the farm.  (I have a 1 mile commute.)  Mostly, I feed grain/milk/hay and care for new or sick babies.  A few highlights from Saturday morning chores:

A few days ago our vet put a cast on this calf because her momma stepped on her  right after she was born.  He is giving her a painkiller and perscribed me to do it for 3 days.  So, I had to tend to her.

I got to see Pepper giving birth to a new litter of kitties!

She had them in the rooster's hideout!  He was so freaked out he didn't even crow once  all morning!

This guy here was born around 5AM.  After his momma licked him clean , I fed him colostrum, gave him his vaccinations, and tucked him into his pen. (That's just the flash from the phone camera. His eyes really aren't scary at all.)
7:51AM:  Speed home to take a light-speed shower and grab a few more items for the booth

8:30AM:  The Dairy Discovery/SwissLane Farms booth at the Lowell EXPO!  We had 500 cartons of TruMoo (donated by DFA- Thank you!), SwissLane Specialty Cheese samples, and Farm Fresh Maple Syrup.  It was a great day!  We sold out of 2 kinds of cheese and all of our Quarts of syrup and gave away all the milk!
1:10PM:  Do a radio interview about Dairy Discovery/SwissLane Farms being a first-time vendor at the EXPO

3:00PM:  Tear down EXPO booth
4:30PM:  Head to the mall with Mom, Sis and the girls for our annual Easter dress shopping trip!
8:00PM:  Home.  Throw some left-overs and frozen goods together for a Not-So-Impressivve dinner
8:30PM:  Head to the gas station for a Red Box movie.  We watched Brave.  (Pretty cute movie but I will not be accepting any "peace- offering" baked goods from any of my children.)
10:00PM:  Bedtime


Sunday, March 24, 2013
5:37AM:   My alarm goes off (but I don't get up because I like to push Snooze 2 times)
5:50AM:  Wake up my daughter(the farm kids will work 1 or 2 mornings a month feeding calves).  She can't drive so that means I get to help too
6:12AM:  Arrive (fashionably late) to feed the bull calves

8:30AM:  Come home to a Pancake Breakfast!  Dad and the boys even made us some bacon to go along with :)  Get the kids/me/hubby in our Easter-best for the Sunday School program at church

10:30AM:  Church. (Got all teary-eyed as I listened to my kids sing At the Cross and He Arose.  PTL!)

12:00PM:  Me and daughter leave straight from church with my Mom and Dad to go to my niece's graduation from Michigan State in Lansing (its about an hour drive).  I am a proud "Auntie."  (I did hesitate to post this pic- I couldn't for the life of me, find an Easter dress for me.  Just look at my beautiful niece and daughter OK?)
3:30PM:  Grab a snack at Old Chicago to celebrate!  Me and daughter leave the party early to go to another party
5:45PM:  Arrive at my God-daughter's 9th birthday celebration
8:50PM:  Home.  Put kids to bed.  Crash on the couch.
9:15PM:  Blog post on a busy weekend.
11:59PM:  Bedtime *Please note this is only an estimate as I am deeply upset at the format of this post!!  I will probably try for way too long to fix the margins.  I added all the pics through the Blogger App on my phone because I thought it would be easier.  I know...TMI.  But sometimes a rant can make a lady feel better.

A Dairy Healthy Heart

Hearts, flowers, chocolate, and...cheese!
My kids school does Valentine's a little different.
They celebrate Healthy Heart Day instead of the traditional Valentine exchange party.  The entire day is devoted to healthy living education and activities.  The kids rotate through 9 different stations during the day.  They hit a little of everything- a hygienist came to talk about dental health, they learned a little Zumba, and even a lesson on CPR.
I was asked to bring in String Cheese as part of the healthy snack.  (As you can see from the picture, it was accompanied by a fruit cabob and a piece of dark chocolate.).
Luckily, I live and farm in the great state of Michigan so I was able to apply for a grant through the UDIM.  The program is designed to provide dairy farmers with funds to promote dairy products in their communities. 
Have a big community event coming up that needs a little dairy touch?  Well there's an app (as in application) for that!  Any dairy farmer in Michigan can apply.
The best part of the day...my boys told me they didn't have to ANYthing at school today.  Love it when learning is disguised as fun:)
Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet! Potatoes

Hot, baked, sweet? No. Just regular white potatoes are coming into SwissLane by the truck load.  And the cows are loving it!  They are sorting through their Total Mixed Ration just to find the potato to nibble on, much the way I would eat an apple.  We are loving them too!  They are bringing our feed costs down. 
We made it through the physical heat of the 2012 Drought.  But the ramifications of this summer are going to make an impact for many months to come. 
Corn is an important part of a cow's diet because it provides energy.  The drought has brought the cost of corn from $4.50 to $7.50 or more.  And the price we are being paid for our milk is staying the same.  That means we need to be very creative if we want to stay in business.
 So bring on the potatoes!
Apparently, hot and dry conditions are primo for potato farmers and they are experiencing a bumper crop.  They have already fulfilled all of their contracts so the leftovers are going for a great price.  These are some pretty good quality veggies here- we actually ate some in our Breakfast Burritos this morning too!!




Cottonseed, Gluten, distillers- are among some of the other commodities that we have added to try to reduce costs too.
 

Say Cheese!

It's official...SwissLane Farms is now a place to buy cheese! 
A friend of the family is an award winning Cheese-maker from Wisconsin.  Our family is what you would call Cheese Snobs and big fans of Decatur Cheese.  For years, we have been talking with him about making/selling cheese and one day he showed up with a whole cooler full of cheese- and that settled it. 
No more talking its time to start doing.  
So its not "our" cheese made with our milk- but its a start!  
We've got big plans and one small step at a time we will get there.
Stop in to get your Specialty Cheese- no shipping and lots of flavor!

(The New sign)

Don't Mess With Milk

I love Sunday's.  The Lord's Day.  A day of Rest.  The beginning of a new week.  And the only day you can take a Sunday afternoon nap.  I love Sunday's.
Just to give you some background...
  We have been a little lighter on the labor force this week(end) due to some much needed vacations.  It was our(Jerry and I) weekend "on"  (we are dairy farmers so really almost all weekends- unless we are on vacation- we are working.... but just not- well.... lets just say it's complicated and pretty much if you're a dairy farmer you don't get a day-off very often.  Even when it's not your "weekend-on")  So anyway, busy weekend.  But it went very well.  Even though it was the hottest, record breaking, sweltering heat I have ever endured- my calves all look great!  Very satisfying.  I have been looking forward to my Sunday nap since 4:30am Saturday. 
After church, I decided to check Twitter "real quick" before I snuggled up, and came across this article:
Got-milk? You Don't Need It

And that is what killed my Sunday nap:(
Here is the comment I posted (that took me way to long to write):

Mark,
I am not too familiar with your work but reading your bio above it says you wrote “Food Matters,” which explored the crucial connections among food, health and the environment."
Food, health and the environment are some values very important to me too. That is why I find satisfaction in being a dairy farmer.
I am a mom of 3 and listening to my kids pour and mix chocolate milk for their snack as I type. I am glad they don't have an allergy so it is very easy for them to get 9 essential nutrients from 1 little glass.
I have been a runner for about 20 years and completed a couple of marathons. I have found my recovery to be much quicker when I started using chocolate milk as a post-run drink.
I love, love being outside with my animals and am so humbled to be responsible for the land that my great-grandfather passed on to other generations. I know that my job is to leave it in better condition for my kids.
As you were posting this article, my family was working 10-16 hour days during the hottest week in history trying to care for our animals. I am on my way back to the farm now trying "to make a living producing and selling milk." This article makes that just a little more challenging today.


Yes, and then I can't just leave it at that- I go and take even more of my precious Sunday-Afternoon-Nap-Time to tell all you fine folks about my frustrations.  Post/Rant Completed:) 
And now, back to the barn!  Have a great Sunday!

Maple Syrup Making 2012

Maple Syrup Season is something we always look forward to every year around the farm.

The steam coming off the evaporating sap smells so so good! Its my favorite.

This year was a good year for those of us who are impatient because the season started about 2 weeks earlier than normal due to the warm temperatures.
For 3 weeks, our family and friends tapped, gathered, boiled, and canned almost 300 gallons of Maple Syrup!


Some of the future Syrup makers in front of the Shanty!

A friend of mine, who is a great blogger, came out to visit the end of February and documented her experience at the Sugar Shack. Click here to see photos, video and lots of details about the Syrup Making process.

Some older posts on Maple Syrup making at SwissLane:
Family Bonding...So Sappy!
The Sugar Shanty (behind the scenes)

Dinner in the Shanty! We cook on Old Cookstoves with wood(no gas/electric and believe me it's tricky!) and there's nothing like it! This is Blueberry Pancakes with syrup straight from the pan and to top it all off...a glass of MILK.

Planting Alfalfa (and its still winter?!)

I know that as farmers the weather being strange or changing patterns is supposed to be normal.  That's just part of our job.  The risk we take.  And one of the big reasons why so many of us realize how we need to rely more on God than our own understanding of "Mother Nature."
As the old saying tells us: The only thing that stays the same is everything changes.
So why do we continue to worry and make a huge deal when we see record highs, lows, rainfall, etc...?
Well, I don't know why. But we do.
80 degrees and sunny for a whole week in the middle of March is just CRAZY!
We are not really sure if we are making the right decision but one of the Core Values of our business/farm is Make Hay While the Sun is Shining. And boy is it ever!
So here you have it...planting alfalfa before the calendar even says Spring.
Another fun fact for you:
This feild shown here is right behind our house and for the past 5 years it has been corn. This is what we call Crop Rotation. Changing things up to replenish the soil. When you plant alfalfa the seed usually lasts for 4-5 years- not like corn or soybeans that we have to plant every year.

pink Slime

I just spent most of my night reading through several reports and many comments on the Pink Slime stories from ABC and Huffington Post.
Why do I do this I ask myself? Well...
1) I am passionate about my work. Producing food for people is my family's responsibility and our livelihood- not a J-O-B.
2) I didn't have time (or any fresh fruit in the house) today to pack my kids a lunch. They all had hot lunch and I never gave it a second thought.
Enter in the facebook and twitter posts that force me to view pictures of raw (and gasp! PINK?!?) meat. Now I am guilted into believing I have put my children's health in jeopardy.
No... I am tired of the media using a couple of gross buzz words and close-up shots of raw meat to make me doubt both my parenting and livelihood all in a 2 minute timeframe.
Just 3 points that I came up with tonight so I can sleep and once again, not think twice when kids walk out the door in the morning with no lunch sack.
1. This is a comment that I really appreciated from "pjcamp"

" Have you seen what is in a chicken nugget?

Connective tissue gelatinizes under heat. That is what makes pot roast and barbecue so lip smacking good.

Ammonium hydroxide is chemically related to sodium hydroxide which is an essential ingredient in making hominy, lutefisk, green olives, canned mandarin oranges, pretzels, Cantonese moon cakes, zongzi dumplings, Chinese noodles and ramen noodles. So it isn't intrinsically hazardous, and is used in some pretty tasty things. The FDA classifies both as "generally recognized as safe."

None of that means this stuff is nutritious. But it doesn't mean it is bad for you either and so it shouldn't be used in scare stories. "

When we hear terms we are not familiar with it can be scary. Do a little bit of digging before you freak out! What if they started spraying everything with Di-Hydrogen Oxide?!? (AKA H2O)

2. Pretty much this "slime" is fat that is cooked and cleaned and added back in. Not artificial or substitute. When we send our deer to be processed I ask for beef fat to be added in to the burger! The venison will be too chewy for my high class taste buds- texture is important when it comes to my chili.

3. So this 7 million pounds of pink slime that are going to schools should now go where, Jamie Oliver? In the dumpster? To the dogs? I don't want to be the one to tell the starving children of Africa.

Robot Dairy- Month One

--An update on the first 5 weeks at the Robot Dairy--
I can't believe it has been 5 weeks already! It has been quite a ride! While it has been challenging both physically and mentally for our team- but nothing beats walking into the barn at the new dairy! You can just sense that the cows love it there.
The cows have been averaging right around 97lbs of milk per day and milk quality is excellent (SCC under 100,0000)!
I do need to mention here that we hand-picked these cows from our herd. They are all younger (1st or 2nd lactation) cows too because the older ones are more set in their ways and may take longer to train. After the first week we did end up taking about 10 cows back to the parlor because their udder was just not the right shape for the robot or they were just weren't getting it.
At start-up we had 360 cows to train and since we have been adding 10-20 cows every week. In a few more weeks we will finally be at capacity- 500 cows. What this means is that there are 10-20 cows every week that have needed to be trained. This will be the case too after a cow has her first calf she will need to be trained. It takes about 1 week for the cows to "get it" so until then they need to be ushered to the robots 3 times per day.
Some other firsts this week:
-The first cow to go into the "sick" pen:(
We have a separate pen for cows who need extra attention located right next to the vet office. The vet came to check her out and she's on the road to recovery. Until she is 100% the robot will be dumping her milk.


-We were able to move cows into the heifer and dry (the ones that don't give milk)cow barns at the Robot Dairy today!

This means that the biggest project in the history of SwissLane Farms is wrapping up!
It has been great to work with such good people from our community to bring this dream together.
We want to express true appreciation for:
Kaeb Sales
High Tech Dairy
RA Holmes Construction
Steadfast Construction
Huderman and Son's Redi-Mix Inc
Skyline Electric
Sikkema Equipment
GEA Norb-Co Equipment
Bakker Welding & Mechanics LLC
Timpson Transport
Kyle's Computer Solutions
Huisman Construction
Great Lakes Concrete Pumping
Brink Consulting

It was quite a challenge making sure things stayed on schedule but we couldn't be more thrilled with the focus and professionsalism that each of these businesses brought to the project. And guess what.... we are already talking about Phase 2 of the Robot Dairy!!

Robot Dairy- Week One!

We made it!
Yes, I know its only been one week but you need to celebrate small victories, right?
Actually, the week went amazingly well!
"Better than expected" is what I would like to say but honestly, we had NO idea what to expect!
All we know is that the cows are loving it!
The best indicator is their milk production. If you want to know if a cow is happy, stressed, comfortable, sick, healthy, if she's eating right- you look at how much milk she makes that day. Our cows have been averaging around 85 lbs of milk every day for the last few years.
The average pounds of milk for today at SwissLane 2 (Robot Dairy) was 102 lbs!!

It took about 8 hours to haul all 350 cows from SwissLane 1- only 8 at a time.


This was the first cow milked last Tuesday.


Cows are creatures of habit to the tenth degree. Anything new is such a big deal for them! So, a new barn AND being milked by a ROBOT was a lot for them to take in. We had a crew of 16 people (4 at each robot) for the first day to help usher the cows into the robot to be milked. They were so hesitant!

For the first milking, the Robot had to be trained too!

We had to sanitize the udder

enter the cows ear tag number and steer it so it could find the teats.


The robots scan the cows ear tags so each time she comes in it will remember the shape of her udder and teat placement then it will automatically sanitize and place the milker on the udder. (If you look closely at the picture above you can see the laser on the udder.)
One of the incentives to get the cows into the robot- besides having a full udder- is they get a little treat to eat while being milked. There is a little trough in the robot and it will dump a certain amount of grain in there depending on how much milk she gives and how many times she is milked that day.
Some of them have to be limited on how many times they get milked because they will just come in to have a snack so the robot just kicks them out!


It is just amazing how much information we have access to! We can tell which quarter of the cows udder produces the most or how much she weighs at each milking. We can even track how often a cow is chewing her cud!



High quality milk is the most important thing on our dairy farm. The robot uses a laser to scan the milk to check for inconsistencies and color. If it senses bad quality milk it will dump the milk and alert the herd manager.

It is so fun to watch the cows enjoying their new back rub brushes! Merry Christmas girls!


The most amazing thing that I've seen this week had nothing to do with the robots though....
Over this past week there were 52 people who came to help us with this monumental endeavor. I was overwhelmed by the support from the farming community, our family, and friends. We are so blessed.

Birthday on the Farm!

We are so thankful for all the kids who have come this year to celebrate their special day in a farm-tastic way!
These are a few of the images from those events. 
Included in every party is: use of the barn, picnic area, barnyard friends, corn box, straw maze, bottle feed calves, hayride, and dairy snack.
Most people bring cake and ice cream and sometimes food for their guests.
It's a fun, easy, and unique way to make memories for a lifetime!

Neighbor Night 2011

Once again we are completely amazed by the support and encouragement from our community. There were over 700 visitors at SwissLane tonight from 6-9pm. Everyone enjoyed a delicious pork sandwich dinner, milk, ice cream, Hayride tours, and a Robotic Milking Demonstration.







When we were thinking about what we should say (besides "Thank you for coming" of course) to our visitors/neighbors. We decided on 3 things:
1) Praising God for our blessings
2) Honoring the anniversary of 9/11 and
3) Why are we doing this(in regards to our business plan)? I was the lucky one who got to address our crowd with this task:)

Number 1 and 2 were easy.
1) I read a verse out of 1 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul reminds us that it is not us that makes the plants grow. We are God's workers. Basically, this is not just about us. We are called to be stewards of His creation.

2) I read a quote from Pres. George W Bush from 11/11/2001. "Time is passing. Yet for the USA there will be no forgetting Sept. 11. We will remember every rescuer who died in horror. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls. We will remember the funerals of the children."

#3 though... why? hmmm... well
3) Our farm was started just shy of 100 years ago. My great-grandpa had a storybook farm with chickens, rabbits, and a couple cows. When my grandpa decided to stay on and take ownership- they expanded to milking 22 cows in the 1930's. When my dad and his 2 brothers decided to stay on and take ownership- they expanded to milking 150 cows. Now we have come to the next generation and we pray that we can continue this tradition! There are several family members from the 4th generation that are ready for the challenge. We are building a whole new farm on a whole new site about 1 mile north of the original farm. The new farm will house 500 cows that will be milked by 8 robotic milkers!

We are very excited for next year's Neighbor Night to be held at the new site!
This year was the 6th annual event. The entertainment/location may change but the purpose of Neighbor Night won't: To educate/update the community about SwissLane Farms practices and goals through open dialouge while enjoying good food in a family-fun atmosphere.

Farm Fresh Food Blog

Two months ago I was asked by the Michigan Ag Council to participate in their new Farm Fresh Food Blog! This blog is a collaboration of Michigan farmers who share stories and recipes right from their own farm! Very exciting! My first thought was "No problem- I already blog so this should be easy." Well here we are 2 months later...I think I was suffering from Blogophobia or something! Finally submitted my first post! We have lots to get caught up on and first up- Maple Syrup Season 2011! Better check it out...I even give out our 6th generation Swiss Pancake recipe!

Team BEEF at the Boston Marathon!

We all know that physical activity is more effective in conjuction with a protein-rich diet becuase it maintains muscle while burning fat. I have been a runner since 7th grade track and believe that it is always important to "protein up" to provide the fuel to finish!
On Monday April 18, 2011. A dream came true. A goal was accomplished. A check off the Bucket List. I ran in the 115th Boston Marathon!

I knew that there was a reason that I was able to qualify, register, and scrape up enough money to go to the Boston Marathon. Seriously, if I told you all the little things that had to work just right for this to happen...it can only be explained as Devine intervention (Hebrews 12:1-2)! It was such an awsome experience.
One of the highlights was being a member of Team BEEF/ZIP!

(Me at the Team BEEF booth at the Fitness EXPO)

I enjoy promoting my farm, Dairy Discovery, the dairy industry, agricluture, etc... through Facebook and Twitter. A few weeks before the race I asked a some "friends" and "followers" how I could promote beef or dairy at the Boston Marathon and was directed right to Team BEEF/ZIP(Zinc Iron Protein)! There were 18 team members that recieved a jersey and $75 off the registration fee for Boston 2011.
The back of the jersey read: Running powered by BEEF!
My family usually ends up eating some sort of beef (its whats) for dinner at least 4 times/week (steak, tacos, meatloaf, roast,etc..). It works well for us because it is readily available, fills my kids bottomless pits, and provides protein that is essential for runners in training.
While I did enjoy some exquisit seafood, the here are a 2 of the Boston beef dinners that you need to see to believe! YUMMY!

Veal Parmagiana

And my post-race reward (and nutrients you need to start the recovery process)... Tenderloin carved tableside!

A few days after the race I was asked to be a guest on a radio program Rural Route with Trent Loos. The most intersting part of the conversation was on the subject of changing the name Team ZIP to Team BEEF.
Trent's view: Team ZIP forces people to think about the nutritional benefits we get from eating beef.
Beef Council: Team BEEF is more recognizable.
Me: I ran for 26.2miles wearing a shirt that read Team ZIP. Several spectators cheered out "Go ZIP!" but did they really have a chance to grasp the concept? I feel running for Team BEEF would mean more to me personally. I know that in the end, the purpose of beef is to provide essential nutrients but, for me, its about more than that. Not only does beef mean zinc, iron, and protein to me- it means my livelihood, heritage, future, and more.

RESULTS
My finish: 3:36:38
Overall Place: 9566 of 23879
Gender Place: 2235 of 10073



Weeknights are crazy. Here is a quick and easy go-to recipe of mine. For some classier fare check out www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com

Monday Night Meatloaf
2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 box Stove Top Stuffing
3/4cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350. Mix beef, eggs, stuffing, and 1/2cup ketchup in bowl. Shape into 2 loaves and place in 2qt casserole dish. Top with remaining ketchup. Bake 45-50min or until cooked through. Makes 6 servings.

State of the State- Michigan's Big Comeback!

I totally missed the State of the State tonight. I honestly don't even know if was aired on one of our 12 stations that we get but I was too busy with Spelling and Book Reports at that point anyway but oh well....
What reports I have seen so far are really really exciting!
Our new Governor Snyder not only mentioned AGRICULTURE but actually praised, promoted, supported, encouraged- you get the idea- he recognized that agriculture has been a bright spot in Michigan's economy and one of the few industries that has grown throughout these tough times.
Just to remind you of the kind of reports Michigan Agriculture was used to hearing out of the Governor's office feel free to check out a blog post I wrote last March about Michigan Meatout Day. Needless to say, there really wasn't an ag-friendly feeling coming from Lansing then. And that is why it is so refreshing and exciting to hear this kind of stuff in the State of the State address tonight:

- Michigan residents will have access to a new website that will provide us with both transparency and accountability.

- and my favorite part, an excerpt from Michigan Farm Bureau's Press Release (I pasted the entire thing below too)-
Snyder backed up his respect for agriculture by vowing in his address to work with the state Legislature on making the nationally acclaimed Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) part of state statute, a longtime policy goal of MFB.

SwissLane Dairy completed our MAEAP in 2007. We are big fans of this program because it is voluntary and incentive based. Rather than more regulation and over-reaching authority this actually creates a partnership between farmers and government. We actually worked together and came up with solutions!

Michigan is not just a place to live for our family. This is our heritage and our legacy. We can't wait to be a part of the Comeback!




Michigan Farm Bureau Press Release:
Snyder's emphasis on agriculture, proactive environmental stewardship puts Michigan on right course

LANSING, Jan. 19, 2011 - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder did not disappoint in his first state of the state address Wednesday evening. The Governor clearly demonstrated that he is a leader who "gets it" when it comes to reforming government and building on the state's agricultural strengths to help revitalize Michigan.

"Gov. Rick Snyder once again validated why he earned the AgriPac Friend of Agriculture endorsement and the support of thousands of Farm Bureau families in his election campaign," said Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) President Wayne H. Wood. "As he expressed in his address, the Governor is sincere in his passion for agriculture's role in Michigan's economic recovery and he is fully committed to reforming government and revitalizing our state."

MFB, the state's largest general farm organization, was particularly pleased that Snyder recognized agriculture as an integral component to growing jobs and furthering economic development in Michigan.

The agri-food and agri-energy industry, encompassing conventional agriculture and the many supporting industries ranging from food processing and trucking to grocery store sales, is a $71.3 billion - and growing - industry in Michigan which employs about 1 million people, roughly a quarter of the state's work force. Studies indicate that agriculture has been expanding at a rate five times faster than the growth rate of the general economy in recent years.

"Agriculture is as relevant to Michigan today as it was at the turn of the century and Governor Snyder not only recognizes this fact but embraces it," said Wood.

"For instance, Snyder recently made rural development a function of the Michigan Department of Agriculture," said Wood. "This is a progressive step, as agriculture is one of the largest contributors to economic growth in Michigan's rural communities."

Snyder backed up his respect for agriculture by vowing in his address to work with the state Legislature on making the nationally acclaimed Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) part of state statute, a longtime policy goal of MFB.

"Throughout his campaign Snyder talked about 'outcomes- and results-based government,' so to have the Governor formally acknowledge that MAEAP meets his high standards for a streamlined, effective and performance-based program is a crowning achievement for MAEAP and one that the Michigan Farm Bureau looks forward to working with the state Legislature to implement," said Wood.

Currently housed within the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, MAEAP is a voluntary, incentive-driven program which helps farmers of all sizes and commodities proactively minimize and/or eliminate agricultural pollution risks on their farms by teaching them how to identify and address those risks in compliance with state and federal environmental regulations.

"Giving MAEAP statutory teeth will help the program appeal to more farmers by providing some of the regulatory stability they are seeking to effectively operate their farms and grow jobs for Michigan families," said Wood.