They were scarcely on radar five years ago, but data centers and their impact on resources will be a leading topic at the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) annual meeting in December.

That and other potential issues were agreed upon at the MFB State Policy Development Committee meeting held last month. The 22-member committee representing all 12 MFB districts met in Lansing.

“There’s things farmers agree on, and then there’s different perspectives,” Andrew Vermeesch, MFB Director of Public Policy said. “That’s why I think our grass roots process is so important. It really gets us in touch with what’s happening with our members.”

From data centers and farmland preservation to water resources, wildlife, labor, and government regulation, Michigan farmers will confront an imposing range of public policy issues when MFB holds its 107th annual meeting Dec. 1-2 in Grand Rapids. 

Delegates will be asked to consider a dedicated statewide policy for data centers. That policy would consider local control, sustainable water use, developer-paid energy costs, and protecting communities, farmland, utility customers, and local government finances, committee delegates said in their report.

“Land use conversations are always being discussed by our farmers,” Vermeesch said, “trying to strike that balance between farmland preservation and private property rights, both which are important.”

Currently, Open AI and Oracle are building a data center near Ann Arbor, MI, on former farmland. State and local candidates used the project to campaign on farmland preservation, local control, and electricity costs in the recent election.

Continued overall production costs will again generate MFB discussion. While supply chain disruptions have diminished in recent years, high input costs combined with depressed commodity prices and trade uncertainty are squeezing many farmers’ profit margins according to Vermeesch.

He said that members are optimistic and hopeful that Congress will do its job, especially the Senate, and finish the Farm Bill already approved in April by the House.

“I’m an optimistic individual and I think Lame Duck is a perfect time to key up a Farm Bill discussion,” he said. “Farmers deal with a lot of variables. What we need are farm programs that are consistent and certain so that farmers can make long range planning decisions.

Vermeesch said that members are supportive of biofuels and E15 ethanol proposals to help deal with higher gas prices. Proposals for those are also waiting in the Senate for final action.

“They’re saying hey, there’s an alternative out there, its domestic, and can help reduce input costs and financial pressures from gas and diesel prices,” he said.

“We would love [Congress] to complete their work and get those [issues] over the finish line.” 

Tariffs remained a challenge for farmers in 2026. Last year, the state annual meeting delegates labeled them a major issue and called for a national study on their effects on agriculture, especially costs and potential benefits.

“I think we have to take a deep dive to take a look at the holistic approach to ask, ‘how do we use those tools and when do they apply and when do they not?’,” Vermeesch said. “I have a feeling this will be discussed and our farmers will have a say.”

Meeting this past January, the National Farm Bureau approved Michigan’s proposal to conduct a national trade and tariffs analysis. That study was still underway as 2026 drew to a close.

Labor reform remained another concern for many Michigan farmers, especially those with traditional hand-picked crops such as blueberries. 2025 state delegates endorsed changes to the federal H-2A guest-worker program and the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) paid to many H-2A workers to limit annual wage fluctuations to 3.5% and broaden H-2A eligibility to other agriculture sectors such as dairy and livestock operations.

The federal H-2A program allows U.S. agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers for seasonal farm jobs. The AEWR establishes minimum wage rates so wages paid to those foreign workers do not depress wages for American farmworkers. The AEWR or any other applicable wage rate used to calculate those rates are a significant concern for farmers facing rising labor costs. 

“All farms are dealing with labor challenges,” Vermeesch said. “H-2A program offers one option for individuals, but the program needs to be updated to work out streamlining and expand its availability to provide a viable option to labor shortages that our farmers see.”

A formula created earlier this year by the Department of Labor was ruled unlawful by a federal judge in August so the old formula has remained in effect. At its December meeting the MFB will be seeking to influence a new Department of Labor revised formula that could take effect at the end of the year.

“Agricultural workers are a very niche market and specialized skill set,” Vermeesch explained. “We need people who are qualified and want to do that job. That’s where the H-2A program comes in.”

Although Michigan is rich in both surface water and groundwater resources, Vermeesch said that farmers remain concerned that they have access to water in a water-rich state like Michigan.

“Water withdrawal is a huge issue for our members,” he said. “We have a lot of members who use irrigation and ensuring they have access so they can grow their crops is important.”

Michigan’s deer overpopulation has been a decades-old issue for Farm Bureau members, often crossing boundaries with hunter groups.

“There’s not a farmer you talk to in the state of Michigan who doesn’t have some sort of wildlife pressure, specifically deer,” Vermeesch said. “Over the last several years we have seen our state’s deer population significantly increase while the hunting population is on a downward trajectory.

“It’s a perfect storm of having too many deer causing too much crop damage, and our farmers are always looking for . . . how we can take more deer off the landscape.”

The MFB annual meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1-2 at the Amway Hotel in Grand Rapids, and as in previous gatherings Vermeesch expects extensive discussions.

“Agriculture is impacted by a variety of issues, whether that’s farm programs, transportation, taxation, [and] you name, agriculture probably touches on it,” he said. 

“There’s no shortage of issues when you’re talking about agriculture, especially in a diverse state like Michigan.”