LANSING, Mich. – Legislators have passed and the governor was expected to sign a large appropriations bill that funds Michigan’s state government, including the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).

The 1,000-page plus bill passed 61-47 in the House, and 26-10 in the Senate.

The 2023-24 general fund budget amounts to $15.2 billion, while the general fund portion of the budget for MDARD amounts to $92.7 million. The MDARD budget is a decrease from last year, due to the fact there were a lot of one-time COVID dollars from the federal government last year, explained Rebecca Park, the Michigan Farm Bureau’s legislative counsel. There was still COVID money available for this year’s budget as well. In January, there was still a $9 billion surplus in state coffers. Tax changes reduced that to $7 billion. With this year’s appropriations, the surplus has been reduced to $300 million.

“Overall, the MDARD budget is pretty big even compared to 10 years ago,” Park said. She added the budget for MDARD is one of the largest she’s ever seen. There is a 5 percent increase in the budget for Michigan State University’s Extension and AgBio Research departments as well, which Park described as an impressive boost. The additional money for that amounts to $3.4 million.

An Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program has been established under MDARD with $7 million in funding initially. Also, $6 million and five new full-time positions have been created that are dedicated to soil health, encouraging MDARD to work with partner organizations to build farmer to farmer networks to disseminate best practices and information to improve adoption of soil health and regenerative agriculture practices, according to MDARD spokeswoman Jennifer Holton.

“The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is committed to working to support our farming community, expand our markets, help support climate smart agriculture practices as well as crop diversity to ensure the long-term viability of Michigan agriculture and specialty crops,” Holton said. “This commitment is demonstrated in the budget the legislature has sent to the governor for her signature.”

Other programs, some new, will receive funding for the upcoming fiscal year. These include: $3 million to establish a grant program to expand minority businesses in food and agriculture; a new animal welfare program that will receive $500,000 to help find homes for animals that are used in research; $100,000 for MiFarmLink, a program and website designed to help farmers network with each other. This new money will be used to establish an MiFarmLink pilot project in the Washtenaw Conservation District. Park said MiFarmLink originated in Ottawa County.

Also, $4.1 million has been appropriated to continue MDARD’s work to identify, respond to, and mitigate emerging contaminants, including PFAS, that affect agriculture and related food industries; $3 million for the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture, which is based out of Michigan State University; $3 million for local conservation districts; $2 million for the Fair Food Network’s Double Up Food Bucks program; $2.5 million for county fairs;  and $1.8 million for food and agriculture supply chain investment to support accessibility of cold storage and distribution and processing facilities.

“I would like to highlight the $1.8 million line item,” Park said. “I think that item for supply chain investment can really help our farmers move food through the supply chain. If people see new opportunities to expand their operations, for example, by becoming a food processor, this grant program is really targeted at them. I really encourage our farmers to get involved in the processing side of things. The supply chain investment program is underutilized here in Michigan and I encourage Michigan farmers to consider how they might diversify their operations.”

Michigan State received $60,000 was its farm stress program. Health and farm stress educator Remington Rice said he expects the money will be used to extend support for the program overall, including teletherapy. “We’ve been concerned that funding for this part of the program might run out,” Rice said. There has been a significant amount of attention paid over the past few years to how much stress farmers are often under. “Farmers are twice as likely as the general population to commit suicide,” Rice stated. “That’s why the federal government started this program. MSU has really been a trailblazer around this issue compared to other colleges and universities.”