Celebrating 100 Years of Michigan Agriculture
In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
In 1921, the core functions of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) included inspection and regulation of agricultural sites, testing seeds and fertilizers, as well as “investigating and improving marketing conditions” for agricultural producers.
One hundred years later, these same goals drive the work of MDARD, but the years have brought major changes as the department fulfills the inspiring mission from the Public Act that created it: “to foster and promote in every possible way the agricultural interests of the State of Michigan.”
The department has adapted and grown in the face of a rapidly evolving food and agriculture industry. Here are just a few of those major developments.
Harnessing Technology
The arrival of personal computers, email and cell phones over the past few decades has made it possible for MDARD inspectors to do their jobs quicker and with easier-to-access records.
Advances in genetics technology also had a major impact. Scientific breakthroughs occurred when MDARD’s lab was able to use whole genome sequencing. In the past, gel electrophoresis could reveal some information about plant and animal samples to trace things like foodborne illnesses to their sources.
However, comparing whole genome sequencing of samples with the information stored in databases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives clearer ideas of where different illnesses and contaminations come from, helping the department identify and stop outbreaks faster and with better information.
See more: MDARD Employees Work in Agriculture On and Off the Clock
Protection and Inspection
The department has diversified its work through the decades, from becoming a leader in good manufacturing practices for food products to careful pesticide management to help protect the environment, to the monitoring of zoonotic diseases and invasive pests to stop their spread. These experiences over the years have helped Michigan’s food and agriculture industry move to the forefront in these areas, with a growing emphasis on environmental protection.
“We initiated programs where we would pick up and dispose of hazardous waste from farms,” says Keith Creagh, former director of MDARD. “We worked with the EPA and those applying pesticides to be part of solutions to protect the environment.”
The department, working with partners from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state’s Conservation Districts, also achieved an ambitious soil mapping project, sampling and analyzing Michigan soils in all 83 counties. The results of this soil survey are still guiding land use decisions today.
A Stronger, More Nimble Workforce
MDARD employees also received extensive training in emergency response, allowing them to address a major blackout in Detroit by getting water and food to those who needed it while also keeping food safety in mind.
“Michigan was one of the first states in the nation to have a rapid response team,” says Jeanne Hausler of MDARD’s Communications team. “Every MDARD employee takes emergency management and response training, giving us a great depth of experience and knowledge so we can respond to emergencies at a moment’s notice.”
MDARD has had a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workgroup for years to help make the department a welcoming place to work for people of all backgrounds. Recently, the workgroup has emphasized attracting and retaining a wider diversity of employees.
A Global Impact
Global trade has grown extensively in the past 100 years. With Michigan currently exporting a third of its crops, the department works to promote global trade relationships to export Michigan agricultural products worldwide.
Creagh sees the “compliance assistance” mindset of the department as the key to adaptability, efficiency and program growth within MDARD, enabling the department to assist with growth and technological advances in the food and agriculture industry.
“MDARD works under the framework that most people want to do the right thing,” he says. “Providing information as an engaged regulatory agency and working through partnerships with industry ensures good practices that protect the environment and the safety of our food products, which is in everyone’s best interest.”
Public Act
“It shall be the duty of the State Department of Agriculture to foster and promote in every possible way the agricultural interests of the State of Michigan; to cooperate with agricultural agencies in the different counties of the State and of the federal government; to foster direct trading between the producer and consumer; and to prevent, and assist in preventing, by all available means authorized by law, the sale of unimproved lands and lands not suitable for agricultural development within the State by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit and the publication of false or misleading statements or advertising matter designed to effect such sales.”