By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s budget problems could have been the end to a service that has been supporting the state’s agricultural industry for 150 years.

But, last Friday, one month into the new fiscal year, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the state’s 2009-10 budget, which left intact funding for Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Stations (MAES).

MSU officials fought for funding for several days, facing the possibility of a line-item veto that would have closed both the MSUE and the MAES.

When the university received its October state payment – its first for the new fiscal year – funding for MSUE and MAES was not included. Withholding of October’s payment for extension and experiment station research and education raised concerns that funding for these critical MSU programs was on the chopping block.
MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dean Jeffrey Armstrong said if the governor had blocked state appropriations from reaching the university, 82 county extension offices and 15 agricultural and biological research stations and other bioeconomy-based research and extension programs would have shut down immediately. Michigan would have become the only state in the nation not to have a university with comprehensive land-grant programs.

“We are very pleased that the budget was signed and that it reflects the governor and the legislature’s support for our programs,” Armstrong said. “We look forward to mobilizing and even more tightly focusing our already strong research and education programs to help move Michigan’s economy forward, support our communities and build on our strengths in agriculture and natural resources to support the burgeoning ‘green’ industries.
“The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station system and MSU extension are providing the research, development and education for Michigan’s emerging ‘green’ economy. If funding is eliminated or withheld, we destroy our ability to build the one economic sector in which Michigan has an advantage.”

On Oct. 28, MSU released a statement announcing extension’s realignment as part of the university-wide “Shaping the Future” initiative, a plan that has been several months in the making. It highlighted the results of a strategic planning process that the organization undertook to maintain its responsiveness to meeting the state’s needs during challenging economic times.

MSUE will focus its resources across Michigan around initiatives that will help build a ‘green’ economy. It will continue to offer valuable support for the agriculture sector and develop community practices for energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. It also will support urban centers to revitalize businesses and communities, as well as build urban farming and regional food systems.

“This is an exciting new chapter in our work, and I’m looking forward to the great things that will come as we engage with new and existing partners and create new initiatives with our existing network,” said MSUE Director Thomas Coon.

MAES Director Steven Pueppke said the university looks forward to continuing its partnerships with the state to help grow ‘green’ industries in Michigan, especially related to the emerging bioeconomy.

“The MAES has one goal: To work with all of its partners to make Michigan’s economy as viable, environmentally sound and as sustainable as possible,” Pueppke said.

Agriculture contributes an estimated $71.3 billion to the state’s economy annually. The MSUE and MAES budgets combined from the state is $64 million, but the cumulative effects, including grant money, federal funding and other sources, are estimated at $1.1 billion.