The annual legislative seminar of the Michigan Farm Bureau in Lansing will hear from Vice President Mike Pence and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday.
The Michigan Farm Bureau expects 470 people to attend the day-long event at the Lansing Center on Tuesday. Associate Director of Public Policy Matt Smego says he expects trade to be a major focus for Vice President Pence and Secretary Perdue during the lunch hour. “We’ve had a number of trade agreements that have been moving forward and processed with Japan and China, and there’s a number of others that are being worked on," Smego explains. "All those definitely impact Michigan farmers.” He continues that “we export about a third of all of our commodities grown here in the state, outside to neighboring countries and other export markets, and so trade is a significant part that impacts their bottom line.”
Smego says other topics he expects farmers to discuss include the Trump administration’s recently announced clean water rules, along with the potential impact of the Michigan budget for the coming fiscal year.