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Michigan ag director warns state budget cuts threaten disease control, food safety

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director says the state’s House-passed budget would significantly limit disease mitigation and food safety efforts.

Tim Boring tells Brownfield eliminating more than a third of the department’s funding puts essential functions at risk, including the state’s Bovine Tuberculosis mitigation efforts.

“It’s really critical to maintain that split state status so that we’ve got continued trade for livestock here in Michigan,” he says.

He says other crucial work on threats like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and diseases currently not in the state could be impacted, as well as laboratory testing.

“We run here in Michigan, one of the most robust laboratories in the country, on a state level here that does a lot of work about testing for animal diseases and does work within our pesticide and plant management division,” he explains. “There are some cuts forecast over there that would mean that the Bureau would not be able to function in the way that it currently does either.”

Boring says food safety inspection duties administered on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration could also be compromised.

“If we’re going to take a lot of this work and do it at a state level, then it’s really a bit counterproductive to also be facing significant staffing and funding reductions here as well,” he says.

MDARD’s budget makes up less than two-tenths of a percent of the total state budget, while supporting Michigan’s second-largest industry.