LANSING, Mich. – Michigan wheat growers have overwhelmingly approved a referendum to continue the Michigan Wheat Program (MWP), according to an announcement from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).

The purpose of the checkoff program is to promote the profitable production, marketing and use of wheat on behalf of Michigan growers. The program emphasizes advancements in wheat research, education, information delivery, market development and industry-wide collaboration. Funding for MWP comes from the growers; no taxpayer dollars are used for the program.

“We had 91 percent of our production volume represented in the vote and 85 percent of those growers were in favor of the wheat checkoff,” said Bill Hunt, a wheat grower in Davison, and the current MWP chairman. “It’s just fantastic. If farmers don’t like what you’re doing, they let you know it. Usually in a checkoff vote you’re lucky to get 51 percent of the vote.”

A total of 896 valid ballots were cast in the referendum. Of those, 766 growers voted in favor of the continuation, representing 12.5 million bushels, or 91 percent of wheat production; 130 growers voted against, representing 1.2 million bushels of wheat production, or 9 percent. For the program to be renewed, more than 50 percent of the grower votes cast, representing more than 50 percent of the total number of bushels represented on the cast ballots, must approve it. The program is funded by nearly 8,000 growers who grow wheat in 50 of Michigan’s 83 counties.

“The vote is very exciting because we’ve only been around 10 years and our programs are fairly new, but we’re looking at doing a lot more,” said Jody Pollok-Newsom, executive director of the MWP. “The results felt good because you’re never really sure how the vote is going to go. It was also different this time, because we basically haven’t seen anyone for a year. It’s just nice to see that some people cared enough to actually vote.”

Hunt said that growers for whom wheat is a high priority in their business did vote in the referendum. Growers who “really care about growing wheat voted,” he said. “People who just grow acres for their cattle might not care about it.” He praised Michigan State University (MSU) wheat breeder Eric Olson and said his hiring in 2012 was one of the program’s major accomplishments. “Eric has been a real asset to this organization,” Hunt said. “He’s been with us for the past nine years. We never used to have a wheat breeder at MSU. When our organization started in 2011 we said, ‘we have to have a wheat breeder.’”

Hunt said that Olson is largely responsible for development of the Whitetail wheat variety, which he said is now one of the main white wheat varieties on the market. “We’re ecstatic with the vote and the amount of acreage represented in the vote,” Hunt added.

The wheat checkoff was originally voted in during the summer of 2011 by a margin of 54 percent – both the popular vote and amount of production voted. The first continuation vote in 2016 passed by a much wider margin of more than 80 percent of the production and popular vote. The MWP board felt its mission was broadly supported by the growers and continued to build on the success of its first five years. The program will continue for an additional five years, beginning Sept. 1 and ending on Aug. 31, 2026. The current assessment that funds the Michigan Wheat Program is one half of one percent of the value of wheat sold.