Page 123 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK
P. 123
21 promote protection of and guidelines for urban
22 agriculture.
23 Right to Farm protections for commercial agricultural
24 practices must not be compromised.
#37 USDA NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE GREAT LAKES FIELD OFFICE
1 The agricultural industry has developed many
2 mechanisms for reporting the size and progress of
3 crops and other agricultural commodities. The system
4 that has been most widely adopted by the industry is
5 the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
6 program (NASS). To ensure the accuracy of these
7 reports, farmers should give provide NASS full
8 cooperation. We will vigorously defend the
9 confidentiality of individual farm information. Michigan
10 Farm Bureau will continue to work with NASS to find
11 ways to improve and simplify the gathering of
12 information, such as exploring the use of Farm Service
13 Agency producer information already reported. We
14 encourage the use of modern technology including
15 satellite imagery, on-farm electronic data, and
16 development of a streamlined data collection system.
17 We recommend USDA and the Michigan
18 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
19 (MDARD) adequately fund their full portion of this cost-
20 share service. Accurate and timely third-party statistics
21 are essential to the further development of Michigan
22 agriculture and finding new markets, as well as
23 attracting new processing facilities. We support
24 cooperative agreements with Michigan State University,
25 MDARD and private funding to fund state-specific
26 statistical analysis.
27 We encourage producers to cooperate with the
28 NASS in conducting the U.S. Census of Agriculture. We
29 support distribution of the data in a timely and usable
30 format to producers.
31 We support development of an accurate system to
32 calculate county yields based on actual test results or
33 scientific data considering irrigated vs. dry land yields
34 and seed corn production.
#39 EDUCATIONAL REFORMS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
We believe all Michigan children should have an equal opportunity for quality education. Education at all levels must meet the constantly changing needs of society. We support legislation that would:
Create a tax credit for up to half the tuition cost of higher education.
Allow parents who choose to send their K-12 student to a private school or home school to
State Policies – Page 37
