“The view here of agriculture as a continued driver of rural economies and healthier people across the state, a path by which we lower costs and we continue to provide greater quality of life for the people of Michigan.”
MDARD Director Dr. Tim Boring says he’s excited for some of the new state programs his department will be funding this year, including $4 million for what they’re calling Farm to Family.
“Specifically working on building capacity and processing and distribution of food across the state and comprehensively getting that on the plates of families across Michigan.”
Boring says West Michigan has an important role to play when it comes to making that happen.
“There’s a discernable cultural and social value to food production across Michigan. It’s no more true than in West Michigan.”
Boring says the health of Michigan’s economy is reliant on its agriculture and rural industries and he sees the coming year as an opportunity to really stand out from the rest of the country.
“I believe we’re seen as a proactive organization and that it’s really working to better that kind of three-part importance of what farms mean to our economy, to our environment, to our social fabric of the state.”
