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Modest increases to MSU AgBioResearch & Extension funding in Michigan budget as research needs grow
The director of Michigan State University AgBioResearch says maintaining state funding for agricultural research in the next fiscal year is a short-term win.
George Smith tells Brownfield the state’s second-largest industry needs continuous investments to remain viable.
“We deliver on addressing problems of the industries, which can change on an annual basis, but it does take time, and without that continuity, you can have projects that you’re halfway through, and they’re gone,” he says.
The Legislature approved a one percent ongoing increase for both MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension in the FY 2026-27 Higher Education budget, along with a four percent one-time operations increase that will provide nearly $4 million in additional funding for research and outreach.
Smith says incremental increases can only go so far given the state’s crop diversity and federal cutbacks.
“If we as a country aren’t willing to invest in our specialty crops, then we’re not going to have those industries,” he shares. “We’re not going to have them in Michigan if Michigan doesn’t invest. We’re not going to have them in the U.S. as a whole if there isn’t a federal investment in research also.”
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development budget cut the Animal Agriculture Initiative’s research funding by $2.5 million from the previous year’s one-time appropriation.
Smith says for every dollar of state funding invested in MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension creates about $18 in economic and social benefits.
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