Page 126 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

State Policies – Page
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the shortage of large animal veterinarians practicing in Michigan.
We support re-establishing the agriscience education department, including a master’s degree program, and a renewed effort to increase the number of graduates who are accredited to teach agricultural education in Michigan.
We support programs and policies that encourage increased enrollment of students in agricultural education degree programs. We encourage increased incorporation of agricultural literacy into programs preparing elementary and secondary teachers in other degree areas.
We urge Michigan Farm Bureau to continue to meet with the leadership of MSU to discuss the critical importance of the land grant mission to Michigan agriculture. MFB must continue to partner with other agriculture industry leaders to work with leadership at MSU to reevaluate their educational and outreach programs and refocus their efforts on core programs such as agronomy, animal science, agriscience education, horticulture, forestry, food industry management, new agricultural technology, and other agricultural and natural resource programs. In order to work in partnership with stakeholders and the Legislature, we urge MSU to continue sharing financial information regarding investments in agricultural programming at the University and within AgBioResearch and Extension.
We support students’ ability to apply directly to the CANR and CVM, versus the University as a whole. We urge CANR and CVM to expand their recruitment efforts within the state, including efforts to work through existing organizations to promote educational and career opportunities, and encouraging students to apply in the spring of their junior year of high school.
We believe the two-year agricultural technology program provides a valuable service to Michigan agriculture and ought to be recognized as a highlight of the CANR. We support improvements to the MSU ag- tech program to better serve the needs of students, employers, businesses, industry and consumers. We are encouraged by the changes that allow ag-tech credits to fully transfer into four-year programs at MSU. We support continued expansion of partnerships with community colleges and other four-year institutions in the state to increase interest in career tracks offered by the CANR.
Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) and
AgBioResearch (ABR):