MSU research centers to host public field days

CONTACT:  Holly Whetstone, AgBioResearch communications, 517.355.0123, whetst11@msu.edu
 
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch is inviting the public to tour several of its outlying research centers this summer. The annual field days, which run June through September, will highlight some of the current research projects benefiting the Michigan agriculture industry.

The events provide an opportunity for guests to listen to and speak with some of the MSU scientists and Extension educators affiliated with work at the centers.

 

·       The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) will host an open house on June 10. Learn about the birds of Michigan’s agricultural landscapes and talk with the pasture dairy staff about the center’s robotic milking machines and sustainable dairy practices. Wagon tours start at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and 7 p.m. The center is located at 10461 40^th St. in Hickory Corners. 

·       The Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center will host a Michigan wheat program summer event June 26. For more information on this event, please contact Jody E. Pollok-Newsom, executive director of the Michigan Wheat Program, at 517-625-9432. The center will host its annual field day Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon. Lunch will be served. For more information, please contact Paul Horny, center manager, at 989-652-8014. The center is located at 3775 S. Reese Road in Frankenmuth.

·       KBS will also host a pasture-based cheese open house on Tuesday, July 8 from 4- 8 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the cheese-making process and sample KBS dairy’s pasture-based cheese along with other cheeses from MSU Dairy Store. The center is located at 10461 40^th St. in Hickory Corners. 

·       The Clarksville Research Center will host an open house and field day July 10, an all-day event that will highlight upcoming changes at the station and ongoing high-impact specialty crop research. The center is located at 9302 Portland Road in Clarksville. For further information, please call the center at 616-693-2193.

·       The Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center Field Day will be held July 26 from noon to 5 p.m. Lunch will be served. The public is invited to tour the research plots, including multi-species variety trial plots that are part of a collaborative project with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.  MSU faculty and center staff members will be on hand to answer questions. The center is located at E3774 University Drive in Chatham.

·         The MSU Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center will host the 25^th annual MSU Viticulture Field Day July 30 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It involves a tradeshow, equipment demonstrations, viticulture workshops, a showcase of southwest Michigan wines and a steak cookout. For more information, please contact Diane Dings at dingsd@msu.edu. The center is located at 1791 Hillandale Road in Benton Harbor.

·       The Montcalm Research Center field day is scheduled for Aug. 7. Details on the event will be released at a later date. The center is located at 4629 W. McBrides Road in Lakeview.

·       The Lake City Research Center will host its field day Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Updates on the various research projects along with a beef report summary are planned. The center is located at 5401 W. Jennings Road in Lake City. Please call 231-839-4608 for further information.

·       KBS will host tours on Aug. 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. Wagon tours of the pastures will take place at 5 and 6:30 p.m. Stroll through the Michigan Agricultural Garden with a naturalist, or walk the LTER Agriculture and Ecology Activity Trail. The center is located at 10461 40^th St. in Hickory Corners. 

·       The Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center will celebrate its 35^th anniversary with an open house Aug. 21. Details and the program schedule will be available later. The event is sponsored by MSU AgBioResearch, MSU Extension, the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Foundation and the Leelanau Horticultural Society. The center is located at 6686 S. Center Highway in Traverse City.

·       The Trevor Nichols Research Center will host a research field day and Extension event Sept. 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. Results of various 2014 field research will be discussed. The field day will focus on insect and disease research and efficacy trials conducted by Larry Gut, Rufus Isaacs, Annemiek Schilder, George Sundin and John Wise.  The center is located at 6237 124th Ave. in Fennville.

MSU AgBioResearch has a network of 13 outlying research centers across the state. The centers are strategically located to allow for research with various types of soils, elevations and climates in the regions and the commodities produced there. To learn more about the centers, please visit http://agbioresearch.msu.edu/centers

 

Further information about the field day events will be posted on the events calendar on the MSU AgBioResearch website, http://agbioresearch.msu.edu

Agriculturally speaking… Fact v. Fiction and what really changed with the GAAMPs?

by Jamie Clover Adams, Director, MI Department of Agriculture & Rural Development

Recent changes to the voluntary set of guidelines used to support the state’s Right to Farm Act have created a maelstrom of misunderstanding and misinformation about what the law does and does not do, including what protections it may or may not afford Michigan’s farming community. That misunderstanding continues to be amplified by social media reports which vastly misrepresent the facts and the potential impacts, especially as it relates to small and urban farmers. Since the beginning, the Right to Farm Act has been specific to commercial agriculture, both small and large.  Raising chickens or other food for your own family’s consumption has never been within the scope of the Right to Farm Act and that has not changed. The Right to Farm Act is still in place and remains unchanged – it was not repealed as some have alleged in their reporting.  So, what has changed? The Right to Farm Act is a state law created in 1981 to address urban encroachment into rural areas because the folks moving into the country didn’t like the smells, sounds, dirt, etc. that come with agriculture and farming practices. The Act provides an affirmative defense to nuisance lawsuits if farmers are in conformance with the relevant Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practice (GAAMP) standards. It’s important to remember that the Right to Farm Act has never provided blanket permission to locate farm animals in every corner of Michigan. The Livestock Site Selection GAAMP places conditions on the location of farm animals to reduce the risk of nuisance complaints. The difference over the past few years is that individuals are bringing farm animals into existing, primarily residential areas increasing the potential for conflict and nuisance complaints. The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development made revisions to the Livestock Site Selection GAAMP adding Category 4 sites, which are locations that are primarily residential, don’t allow agricultural uses by right and are, therefore, not suitable for farm animals for purposes of the Right to Farm Act. Under the Livestock Site Selection GAAMP, primarily residential areas are sites with more than 13 non-farm homes within an eighth of a mile of the livestock facility or one non-farm home within 250 feet of the livestock facility. However, local communities can decide to allow farm animals under these circumstances.  This decision was not made in haste. The Commission took hours of public testimony, held a number of meetings and has been looking into this issue for several years.  In recent years, there has been increased interest in having a small number of livestock in non-rural areas. While more than 40 communities in Michigan have ordinances allowing for the keeping of livestock in non-rural residential areas, many do not, resulting in increased conflict between municipalities and livestock owners in these areas. MDARD continues to support the expansion of urban agriculture and livestock production across the state, but has consistently said the expansion of agriculture into urban and suburban settings must be done in a way that makes sense for community residents, as well as the overall care of farm animals and livestock. I encourage folks to contact their municipalities to encourage agriculture in their communities. MDARD is currently working with the City of Detroit as they draft a livestock ordinance that could be used as a model for other municipalities. Our staff are out every day helping livestock producers site their facilities in conformance to GAAMPs to reduce nuisance risks. Staff work hard to help resolve conflicts between neighbors over nuisance issues to help them avoid going to court. Again, the GAAMPs are voluntary – not regulatory. MDARD has no enforcement authority. Nuisance protection under the Right to Farm Act is, continues to be, and always has been something that’s determined by a judge – not the Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development or MDARD. For more information on this topic, visit www.michigan.gov/righttofarm