Last week I attended the dedication of the new Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center. The 250-acre farm, located near Frankenmuth, replaces the former 120-acre “Bean and Beet Farm” that was purchased by growers and processors groups in 1971 and leased since then to the Michigan Agriculture Experiment Station. The entire ceremony was a celebration of the kind of partnerships that are characteristic of the land grant mission. President Simon took time out of her very busy schedule to join the celebration and then mentioned it in her interview on WJR radio when being interviewed about the Final Four Men’s Basketball event.
A long line of dignataries attended the dedication of the new farm. L to R: Joe Cramer, Michigan Bean Shippers Association; Tom Coon, MSU Extension Director; Charles Bauer, Michigan Sugar Company Grower; Steve Pueppke, MAES director; Lou Anna Simon, MSU President; Jim Byrum, Michigan Agri-Business Association president; Mark Flegenheimer, Michigan Sugar Company CEO; Bob Green, Michigan Bean Commission Director; and Jack Frank, Michigan Bean Commission.
As Jim Kelly explained in the official MSU press release, the new farm is more representative of the numerous soil types and growing conditions that Michigan farmers deal with each year. It will still be a new home for a long-standing partnership between the MAES, MSU Extension and local farmers. And I have no doubts that we will continue to see great things from the Thumb Area Agriculture Team and others who will conduct research and Extension programming there.
You may be curious about the fate of the old farm. It has been donated to MSU, and will be sold to help defray the costs of the new farm.
