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Darling reflects on 30+ years of service

A longtime Michigan Farm Bureau board member says it’s time for a new generation of leadership. 

Doug Darling has served the state’s largest farmer organization for more than two decades.  This year he’s retiring as an At-Large Director and tells Brownfield he looks at the decision as succession planning for younger farmer leadership.

“We need to get the new generation, some of the sharp, bright minds, get them in there, get them the chance to ask questions and learn,” he shares.

Darling says successes over the years have included creating the state’s voluntary environmental assurance program and maturing Michigan’s Right to Farm Program, but he regrets efforts to control bovine tuberculosis (TB) have been ongoing for more than 20 years.

“Here we are all these years later, we’re still talking about TB, that’s the one thing I look back, should we have been more aggressive?” he shares.

He says he remains optimistic about the future direction of the organization and its work supporting farmers in Michigan.