MDARD Director Continues to Champion Michigan Food and Agriculture During D.C. Visit

By Jennifer Holton

 Michigan is a food and agricultural powerhouse ripe for investment and is committed to implementing climate smart agriculture solutions to build more climate resiliency cropping systems, strengthening the resiliency of the state's supply chains, and supporting the diversity of crops grown in Michigan to ensure the long-term growth and success of Michigan's farming and agriculture communities.

That was the message Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring championed when he attended the United States Department of Agriculture's Crop Production Outlook briefing in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Boring met with USDA's Farm Production and Conservation Business Center to outline the pressing needs around building a more climate resilient food and farming system.

"The Whitmer Administration and MDARD are committed to big, bold actions to deliver the outcomes ensuring the long-term viability of Michigan agriculture. Our farmers have been deeply impacted by unpredictable weather patterns, uncertain markets, and other challenges because of climate change,"  said Director Boring. "Creatively and assertively strengthening our agricultural system through resiliency and crop diversity is a common theme for what Michigan s farmers are hoping to see in the U.S. Farm Bill and from our partners at USDA. These conversations at the federal level are fundamental supporting our farmers while simultaneously making substantiative improvements for our environmental outcomes."

Boring participated in USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the August Crop Production lock-up and data release. Prior to the data briefing, the director walked thru NASS's lock-up procedures which ensure market-sensitive data remain secure until the time it is released to the public. 

NASS interviewed approximately 14,700 producers across the country in preparation for this report. NASS is now gearing up to conduct its September Agricultural Survey, which will collect final acreage, yield, and production information for wheat, barley, oats, and rye as well as grains and oilseeds stored on farms across the country. That survey will take place during the first two weeks of September.