Page 115 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

73 We urge MFB to study and make recommendations
74 for amendment to the Right to Farm Act that would
75 provide additional protection to agricultural producers
76 enrolled in either PA 116 or a permanent farmland
77 preservation program.
78 GAAMPs
79 We support the continued use of GAAMPs to define
80 acceptable farm management practices in the state of
81 Michigan. We support a cooperative effort among
82 MDARD, Michigan Farm Bureau, and other
83 stakeholders to establish a definition for “commercial
84 production of farm products” within the GAAMPs
85 framework.
86 GAAMPs should be viewed as guidelines rather than
87 statutory law, as they are reviewed and updated
88 annually to reflect current agricultural practices.
89 Consideration should first be given to amending existing
90 GAAMPs to address those areas of concern, followed
91 by investigation into creating new GAAMPs if deemed
92 necessary.
93 The GAAMP for Site Selection and Odor Control for
94 new and expanding livestock facilities has specific
95 setbacks and scientific parameters. We strongly
96 recommend the Michigan Commission of Agriculture
97 and Rural Development remove the language specific
98 to local zoning from the siting GAAMP.
99 We are concerned about the exemption of GAAMP
100 applicability to municipalities with a population of
101 100,000 or more.
102 We urge greater producer participation on all
103 GAAMP Committees.
104 Complaint Process
105 The electronic complaint process should include a
106 complete description of the law, including the process
107 and implications for both verified and unverified
108 complaints. Following the official Right to Farm visit,
109 follow-up correspondence and appropriate action shall
110 be communicated to the farm owner and the
111 complainant in a timely fashion, including the ability of
112 MDARD to bring enforcement action against the farm
113 and/or the complainant.
114 We urge MDARD to notify all complainants of the law
115 which allows MDARD to levy a penalty for unverified
116 complaints. We strongly urge MDARD to recoup the
117 costs of investigating unverified complaints, as provided
118 for in the Right to Farm Act. We do not support
119 anonymous Right to Farm complaints. 
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State Policies – Page 29