By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent LANSING, Mich. — An analysis recently published by Michigan State University’s Extension office highlights the importance of the equine industry for the state’s struggling economy.
The study, called The Economic Impact of the Michigan Equine Industry, was conducted by researchers at Extension as well as the university’s agricultural experiment station (MAES). It was done using data published last year as part of the 2007 equine survey conducted by the USDA’s statistics service in Michigan.
The study states that $4.35 billion are held in equine related assets in Michigan. These include $280 million invested in equine, $2.6 billion in land and $743 million in facilities and fences.
It also states that the equine industry has a total economic impact of $1 billion annually. The industry generated $460 million in expenses, excluding labor, in 2006; paid out $25 million in wages and benefits and generated $150 million in income.
“I think that one very important point is that while horses are perceived by some to not fall under the category of agriculture, they require hay, grain and other agricultural products and keep the agricultural machine running,” said Karen Waite, an equine specialist at MSU who helped develop the analysis.
The equine economic impact analysis comes at a time when trail horse enthusiasts are pushing to regain rights that have been taken away in recent years by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Dick Kleinhardt, a retired farmer living in northern Michigan, is president of a group of trail horse enthusiasts called Back Country Horsemen. He lives near Pigeon River Country State Forest, the largest state forest in the Lower Peninsula.
Until May of last year this area was open to trail horse riders with relatively few restrictions. A DNR decision issued last May put strict limits on trail horses and pack animals.
Kleinhardt and others are hoping that proposed legislation, House Bill 4610, will change things back again.
In an interview last week Kleinhardt talked about the economic importance of the equine industry for the state.
“We make a large contribution to the state’s economy,” Kleinhardt said. “Unlike other groups, for example snowmobilers, we don’t just put our animals away. We provide 24/7 care.”
Kleinhardt said this means horse owners create a lot of economic activity for the state, especially northern Michigan, which he described as “fragile” economically. Horse owners buy hay, straw, equipment and medications for their horses as well as veterinary services, he said.
According to the economic analysis, horse owners and managers spend about $60 million on grain and supplements, $44 million on hay, $44 million on capital improvements and pay $40 million in property taxes each year.
Kleinhardt claims that there are about 80,000 trail horse enthusiasts in Michigan. The economic analysis counts 17,300 horses used for trail riding in 2007; it places an additional 79,000 horses in the “pleasure, idle” category. In another table the analysis states that out of a total of 155,000 horses in the state in 2007, 86,000 were at private residences.
A summary of the economic analysis can be found online at www.horsescountinmichigan.com |
