Michigan Sen. John Cherry, 27th District, makes it clear he’s not a farmer. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t keenly aware of the challenges facing Michigan agriculture or the value the industry provides to the state.
During his first term in the Michigan Senate representing Flint and the bulk of Genesee County, which follows two terms in the state’s House of Representatives, Cherry has spoken with dozens of farmers about their experiences.
“In my district, it’s very diverse in that we have rural, suburban and urban areas, so the conversation around agriculture is very different across the district,” Cherry said. “I’m not a farmer, but the farmers I’ve talked to have spoken to the economic difficulties that exist around agriculture. Margins are very thin. Prices for commodities are not what they would hope. The equipment is very expensive. I’ve talked with orchard operators, and they’ve talked about labor challenges.
“In some of the more urban parts of my district, the conversation may be about food access and being able to get fresh foods. I’ve had a lot of discussions lately about how we can make food as healthy as possible, which turns into a public health conversation. It’s a very complex issue.”
Cherry serves as vice chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, which helps to set policy that protects Michigan’s abundant natural resources and second-leading economic driver, agriculture.
Prior to holding public office, Cherry worked for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Science and Policy. His career, coupled with his work on agriculture committees in state government, fuels the desire to preserve what he believes makes Michigan unique.
That’s where research and outreach through Michigan State University AgBioResearch and MSU Extension come into play.
“My family is very involved in what we eat,” he said. “We’re very blessed in that we cook a lot of our meals from scratch. We’ve purchased a half beef and a hog from local farms. We visit farms around the state, especially orchards. My kids love to pick blueberries. We’re so fortunate to have access to all of these types of food in Michigan. That type of life experience is only possible because of things like MSU’s research programs that allow these farmers to constantly innovate and be able to provide these products to us.”
Innovation is a vital component to any thriving industry, Cherry said, and agriculture is no different. But farmers encounter a research funding reality when it comes to moving the industry forward.
“Any industry that’s not innovating is dying,” Cherry said. “In manufacturing or technology, if you’re not innovating, you’re going the way of the dinosaur. But there’s a specific challenge for agriculture. With other sectors, you have companies big enough to spur on innovation themselves. But in agriculture, most individual producers and commodities don’t operate at the scale to invest in research on their own.
“That’s where having a public investment in a research university like MSU is important. We need to continue to innovate in agriculture, but in order to do that at the scale needed to help farmers, it needs that public investment. It doesn’t just help farmers in Michigan. The work that MSU is doing also helps farmers across the U.S. and North America.”
Cherry is a leading advocate for MSU programs such as Project GREEEN, the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture (M-AAA) and the Agricultural Resiliency Program. The initiatives are partnerships among MSU, Michigan agriculture industries, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to address problems in Michigan agriculture defined by the industries themselves.
“We’re extremely thankful for the support Sen. Cherry and his colleagues have delivered for these signature MSU programs,” MSU AgBioResearch Director George Smith said. “One of the most important things is that the research these programs fund is a direct result of industry input. It’s not research for the sake of research, which I think is a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s meant to focus on the challenges farmers are actually dealing with, and they rely on MSU to find answers. Our legislative partners have recognized the value of that.”
Through Project GREEEN, MSU scientists have developed strategies to mitigate damage from invasive insects such as spotted wing drosophila, a small fly that attacks berries, cherries and grapes. Other research has created tools to manage pervasive weeds in a variety of cropping systems and combat devastating diseases, including downy mildew in vegetables and corn tar spot. Scientists are also investigating issues around water use efficiency using more precise irrigation techniques.
Within animal agriculture, M-AAA projects have responded to emerging diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, as well as research to introduce a new feed component for dairy cattle — high oleic soybeans — that reduces feed costs and boosts milk quality.
The Agricultural Resiliency Program is a newer initiative started in 2024 aimed at long-term plant agriculture challenges surrounding water and extreme weather.
“I’m not interacting with these programs as a farmer, but I hear from farmers who value them tremendously,” Cherry said. “They’ve called and talked to me about these programs and how important they are.”
Cherry has a family connection to agriculture, however, and research has led to direct benefits. His wife is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Peru, and her family owns a coffee farm there. The threats confronting the farm are something Cherry has witnessed firsthand.
“I can only speak to my experience on the coffee farm, but there’s a clear tie to research,” he said. “We were having trouble with an issue called la roya (coffee leaf rust), and we used research papers from multiple institutions to figure out ways to deal with it effectively. That’s just one personal example. That’s the type of story that will resonate with people and generate support. My colleagues and I need to hear real-world stories where something was innovated and the result of that, not about an abstract idea of research.”
The public is more disconnected from their food than ever before, Cherry said, and that requires communication about what farmers do and why it’s important to everyone. For those in state government without agriculture experience, that education is particularly crucial.
“I have a lot of conversations with my colleagues who are farmers, like Sen. Roger Victory and Sen. Kevin Daley,” he said. “I pick up information from them. Right now, we have five or six farmers in the senate, and that number will be going down to one or two because much of the current farm caucus is term-limited. If there are fewer farmers in the legislature, there are fewer people who know what farmers do and why this research is important.
“Conversations become that much more critical to make sure we’re making proper decisions around agriculture. Oftentimes, you make mistakes when you don’t have that proper information. Having a land-grant institution like MSU that’s working every day to help deliver that information and find solutions to challenges in agriculture so farmers can have a sustainable, profitable livelihood is critically important for the future.”
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This story originally appeared on the AgBioResearch website.
