Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[naglady]

set 24 eggs in the incubator at 1:30pm today..

 

[Scifisarah]

Hi Sarah, the FFH on Plainfield had pine bedding on Sunday. Maybe give them a call to see if there's any left? Nice to "see" you here.

Well dang it, when I checked on Friday I think they acted like they would not be getting any soon. I really don't like the stuff from Meijer, it isn't dried very well and doesn't feel like it would be nice to sit in with the cold moisture.

 

[RaZ]

Well I'm not really sure how the Ag meeting went today. There were many, many people there. It was standing-room only.
I'm not sure how many people spoke but there were only 2 who were in favour of the proposed changes. They were both zoning board members from the same city.

Three employees from MDARD were on hand to present the history of the RTFA and the need for the GAMMPs but I think some of the information was mis-leading and inaccurate. It was like listening to a career politician speaking.

Since the meeting at Eastern Market last spring, the MDARD director has been overtly hostile against small farmers and especially disdainful towards chicken keepers. That sentiment is being parroted by the new Chairperson.

I can't say if the commissioners were impressed with the turn out or not. Or if they were swayed by the statements and the over 800 pages of written comments.

All of the GAAMPs go back to their respective committees on the 19th for finalization of the wording. So there could be further changes that may or may not be published prior to the commissioner's vote in March.

Keep those e-mails going to the commissioners and start sending them to your elected officials in Lansing. We might be looking at legislative action to protect the small farmer. It is clear that MDARD only supports the big money mega-farms.

 

[snowflake]

Well dang it, when I checked on Friday I think they acted like they would not be getting any soon. I really don't like the stuff from Meijer, it isn't dried very well and doesn't feel like it would be nice to sit in with the cold moisture.

have you checked with CN sawdust? They are on the north end of Rockford on M57

Well I'm not really sure how the Ag meeting went today. There were many, many people there. It was standing-room only.
I'm not sure how many people spoke but there were only 2 who were in favour of the proposed changes. They were both zoning board members from the same city.

Thank you for the update

glad so many were able to make it

 

[RaZ]

On a side note, during the drive to Lansing I saw dozens of hawks in the trees along the highway.
Same thing on the way home. They sure are magnificent birds to see. (Except over your chicken run.)

 

[iamfivewire]

Wish i couldve gone to the meeting - usually have wednesdays as day off work, but of course this week i had to be scheduled to work today - maybe next time . . . .

 

[taprock]

I'm glad the meeting was packed. I think they should offer other locations for us northern people, especially in winter.

I saw the forecast for next week, three days above freezing. Is it truly possible? I'm not holding my breath.

Fuzzybutt - if you want to drool over some GREEN eggs check out my pet chicken under green egg layers. I am in love with their olive eggs. I however am not sure I can justify buying some.

 

[RaZ]

Just posted on http://www.mirsnews.com/ (copied in case you don't have access to the website) RaZ

Small-Scale Farmers Call Livestock Rule Changes Baaaaaaaaad

State agriculture officials sought today to alleviate concerns over proposed state rules that would ban livestock from areas zoned by a local unit of government as exclusively residential.

A stream of small farm advocates voiced their objections directly to the Agriculture and Rural Development Commission today, and some were not satisfied by Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's (MDARD) explanation.

Before MDARD's presentation, 22 people addressed the commission during the first public comment session, most of them in opposition. Many of them also were at the public input hearing on the GAAMPs in January and appeared in the more than 600 public comments submitted to MDARD (See "91% Of Record 606 Comments Oppose Changes To Farming Practices," 2/10/14).

Two of the public comments today were in support of the changes, including one from a local official who said the village she works for is embroiled in litigation with a landowner who claims protections under the Right to Farm Act.

But Gordon WENK, MDARD chief deputy director who handled most of the presentation on the GAAMPs changes, attempted to address some concerns that had surfaced repeatedly in the public comments.

Wenk said from what he knows from experience, that if an established operation is re-zoned from agriculture to residential, that operation's designation is generally grandfathered through the zoning change. That information came in response to a question posed by Ag Commissioner Dru MONTRI.

Small farmers had lashed out against the changes, worried it would undermine urban farming operations already in place by tossing the decision of agriculture activities to local zoning officials, among other concerns.

Wenk also provided some explanations previously offered by MDARD and the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB), which supports the changes.

Wenk pointed to the fact that the language applies to areas zoned exclusively residential, so mixed-used residential zoning allowing livestock wouldn't be affected. Not to mention municipalities that already allow urban agriculture via an enacted ordinance wouldn't be affected either.

But some of the small farmers were not satisfied with MDARD's defense of the changes.

"They have said now a couple times that zoning has always been a part of the Site Selection GAAMPs," said Wendy BANKA, director of the Michigan Small Farm Council (MSFC). "And that's true, but even in those cases, there was always actions for those farmers, even under the zoning restrictions, to have a farm . . . in the current change, we're being completely boxed out of participating in agriculture in any way."

Montri referenced submitted comments that suggested developing an urban or residential agriculture GAAMP. Wenk said that concept has been discussed before and that MDARD would like to study how it can develop more support for urban agriculture.

But Banka was skeptical because it had been mentioned before and had gone nowhere.

Commissioner Bob KENNEDY after the meeting he wasn't ready to offer his opinion on the proposed changes, as he is still wading through all of the comments.

"That's why we're doing this, to get information from the public, from the department, and then we'll make that decision in March," he said, referring to the next Ag Commission meeting.

But Kennedy praised the public participation in the process. The people who spoke were often passionate and emotions ran high, stretching the meeting to four hours, but the commissioners and MDARD Director Jamie CLOVER ADAMS all listened intently and took notes.

All public comments collected will go back to the committee that drafted the language for more consideration. The committee is comprised of government and industry officials and other stakeholders and is chaired by an official from Michigan State University.

If the committee revises the GAAMPs language it's expected to be posted on the MDARD website prior to the next Ag Commission meeting in March.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Thanks for the update on the meeting, RaZ! I just found out about the meeting yesterday, and had no time to make plans to go, plus had to work. ARRGGHH!

 

[BigHope888]

While the minus four degrees is a little discouraging, the predicted high of 20 for this afternoon with sunshine should improve everyone's mood. This winter can't last forever folks. I'm actually hoping that the temperatures rise slowly so that the snow also melts slow. I recently read that the accumulated snow contains about six inches of water. Should that melt quickly we will have massive flooding along our rivers and streams.

Picture=accurate.