SUCCESS STORY: Michigan agriculture continues to grow

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the latest in our continuing series of stories about what’s working well in Michigan and its economy.

As a boy growing up on an Isabella County farm, Randy Recker knew he wanted the same life for himself as an adult.

“It gets in your blood,” said Recker, 57, talking on his cell phone as he tended to his cattle on his own 500-acre farm in Mount Pleasant.

Recker and other Michigan farmers are a vital link in the state’s economy. Michigan’s $71.3 billion agriculture industry is second only to the auto industry.

And only California has a more diverse agricultural industry.

“A lot of people are amazed we have such a great diversity of commodities,” said Bob Craig, speaking recently on his last day as the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Development Division director. “We have 200 commodities we grow in this state. A lot of people think it’s just corn and soybeans, and maybe cattle and hogs. But we’re very diverse. We have a lot of fruits and vegetables, Christmas trees, ornamentals, landscape, nursery. It’s very diverse.”

The state’s food and agriculture industry – which includes farming, agri-business, retail groceries, farm markets, and all related services and sectors — employs nearly a million Michigan residents.

According to the Michigan State University Product Center, Michigan’s agriculture economy expanded more than five times faster than the general economy between 2006 and 2007.

The MDA’s “Select Michigan” has been a big success, with a number of grocers and farm markets participating, Craig said. Others have started their own “Buy Michigan” or “Michigan-Grown,” different names for the same goal of promoting local foods.

‘If people bought just $10 a week of Michigan-grown products in their family’s groceries, that would equal $37 million going into our state economy every week,” said Craig. “So that’s quite a nice impact. As you buy more and more local products, the impact is even greater.”

The interest in buying local has soared in recent months.

“People know it’s fresher because it’s closer,” he said. “But I think they’re also trying to help each other, and help their state.”

Agriculture is especially important in Isabella County, with its bountiful livestock and cash crops. It ranks in Michigan’s top 10 in four areas: number of pheasants; revenue from cattle and calves; total crop land in organic production; and revenue from dairy farms.

Recker said farming – like any business – has its ups and downs. Right now, the dairy industry is hurting. Two years ago, the cattle business fell flat on its face, he said, with corn prices shooting up from $2 to $4 a bushel, and the value of calves falling from $400 to $200 a head.

“When you have a large investment in it, it gets pretty rough,” he said. “But we’ve been able to keep going.”

Last year was better but not great, considering the high cost of fuel, fertilizer and expenses. This year is looking better.

“Inputs are a lot lower and commodity prices are reasonable where everybody can make some money at it,” he said. “You have to be optimistic when you’re in business.”

He said farmers “get kicked around a lot,” especially by animal rights activists and environmentalists often criticize them for one thing or another.

Still, he has no regrets about his chosen profession. He said he likes the good people of Mt. Pleasant, and the work he’s done for decades. Asked where he’d farm if he could go anywhere in the world, Recker didn’t hesitate.

“Obviously there’s better ground to be farmed, for a better yield,” he said. “But I’d stay right here.”

The ag industry, which ebbs and flows with fuel prices, is very close to being as important to Michigan as the auto industry, Isabella County Extension Director Paul Gross said.

And more importantly, he believes agriculture is not just stable – but has room to grow. Just as the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Mackinac Bridge will never be exported, but will always be tourist attractions, he said, “We know the farms of Saginaw County or Monroe County or Isabella County are always going to be productive.”

“There are opportunities to grow the ag economy in Michigan. There are opportunities to grow our tourism. And forestry. Those natural-resource-based industries can provide an awful lot of economic activity that I don’t think we’ve really committed to yet and explored. Those jobs are not going to be exported.”

He said Michigan grows a lot of commodities, but could do much more processing here, for instance. And he’d like to see more greenhouses here.

“We continue to see (agriculture) grow while some of the other sectors have leveled off or declined,” he said. “We can be competitive in the ag sector.”