Former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a two-time Michigan State University graduate, delivered the second annual Stuckman Lecture in Food Economics and Policy, drawing on five decades of public service to explore the forces shaping American agriculture and the challenges ahead.
“Sen. Stabenow has done so much for Michigan and the agricultural community through her leadership of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and we’re honored that she shared her insights on good food and good governance with us,” said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. “We appreciate her ongoing partnership with MSU also as a member of our Green and White Council, lending her insight and helping us better prepare today’s students for high-impact careers.”
Hosted by the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the lecture, “The Future of Food and Farm Policy,” explored how public policy, funding, research and markets can work together to strengthen the nation’s food economy and build a more resilient future for producers, consumers and rural communities.
“Few people have shaped how this country grows, buys and eats its food more than Sen. Stabenow,” said David Ortega, who holds the Stuckman Chair in Food Economics and Policy. “She has seen the Farm Bill from every angle, and she understands both the economics and the human stakes. Hearing that perspective at MSU, where so much of the research behind these policies happens, was a rare opportunity for our students and our community.”
Stabenow served 50 years in public office as a county commissioner, state legislator, congresswoman and U.S. senator, and was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Michigan. As chair or ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry from 2011 until her retirement in 2025, she led the passage of more Farm Bills than any other member of Congress serving at the time.
In 2008, she authored the Farm Bill’s first specialty crop title, extending federal support to growers of fruits, vegetables, hops and nursery plants — a shift especially meaningful for Michigan, which ranks second in the nation for crop diversity. She also championed historic investments in land and water conservation and strengthened nutrition programs that serve millions of families.
During her lecture, Stabenow outlined three goals she believes should guide every Farm Bill: keeping farmers farming, keeping families fed and keeping rural communities strong.
In introducing Stabenow, Ortega recalled that his connection with her office began in 2013, his first year on the MSU faculty, when her staff sought out his research on China. A decade later, she invited him to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee.
“I remember thinking they must have called the wrong person — I was a brand-new assistant professor,” Ortega said. “But it told me how seriously she and her team took the issues facing Michigan agriculture. They went looking for the evidence, wherever it was.”
He also described her official portrait in the committee’s hearing room. Unlike the formal portraits of past chairs, Stabenow’s shows her at an autumn farm stand surrounded by apples, pumpkins, fresh produce and two dairy cows.
“When she chose how she wanted to be remembered as chair, she chose Michigan agriculture,” Ortega said.
The lecture series and the Stuckman Chair are made possible by Noel Stuckman, an MSU alumnus who spent 30 years with the Michigan Farm Bureau working alongside farmers and agricultural leaders across the state. Stuckman and his wife, Sandy, attended the event.
“Sen. Stabenow knows Michigan agriculture as few others do: both the challenges of this moment, and the opportunities that lie before us,” said Matt Daum, associate provost and dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Thanks to the generous support of Noel and Sandy Stuckman, this series brings that kind of hard-earned wisdom to our campus and our community — and it’s on offer to all of us.”
In a world where information arrives in sound bites and “snackable content,” Daum challenged attendees to set that aside and spend the evening focused on something substantial.
Following her remarks, Stabenow joined Ortega for a moderated conversation drawing on questions submitted by audience members. Ortega asked her to reflect on her distinguished career before turning to the impacts of cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, how to navigate reductions in research funding and the challenges facing the Farm Bill. When MSU students asked what advice she had for those hoping to pursue careers in food and agricultural policy, her answer was simple: "Do it!"
Looking ahead, Ortega said the series will continue to bring leading voices to campus to help the public understand the economic and policy forces behind the food on their tables.
“Food prices, trade, farm incomes, nutrition programs — these issues are in the headlines constantly, but the connections between them aren’t always clear,” he said. “As a land-grant university, MSU has a responsibility to create spaces where research, policy and the public meet. This event showed how much appetite there is for that conversation.”
For those in attendance, the message of the evening was clear: The decisions made in Washington reach every farm field, grocery aisle and kitchen table — and Michigan State will keep helping shape them.
