With most of the country concerned about state energy blackouts, air pollution, the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies, domestic locales for oil drilling and gasoline pump prices hovering at around $2 a gallon, those supporting the proposed facility say the plant could help solve such problems by producing a fuel that is renewable, environmentally friendly and generally about a quarter less per gallon to buy at the pumps.

Supporters add the plant could only help the purse strings of local and state economies and struggling farmers.

Michigan Ethanol LLC expects to use more than 14 million bushels of corn a year to annually produce 40 million gallons of ethanol. The facility would generate about 33 jobs for an approximate $1.2-million payroll, pay farmers supplying corn an approximate 10-cent per-bushel premium for their commodity, pump thousands of tax revenue dollars into local schools, add about $2 million to Tuscola County's farm economy and be a $91-million economic stimulus for the state.

But supporters warn that a small group of Vassar Township citizens opposed to the idea could jeopardize the plant's construction if they convince residents to vote against the rezoning.

Tuscola County Farm Bureau, Citizens for Clean Air - a group of corn producers supporting the facility's construction - and Michigan Corn Growers Association will convey why voters should support the estimated $50-million project during a June 8 press conference to be held at the Vassar Township farm of Bill Gray, a third-generation farmer.

The press conference starts at 10 a.m. Gray's homestead is located at 6297 Utter Road, about a quarter mile west of Vassar Road.

Confirmed speakers now include representatives from Tuscola County Farm Bureau, Citizens for Clean Air and the Michigan Corn Growers Association. Several others have been invited and are expected to speak and/or be in attendance, including officials with Broin and Associates Inc., the South Dakota company proposing to build the plant, and Tuscola County Michigan State University Extension, which is now leading a get-out-the-vote campaign.

The press conference is in response to opposition from residents who argue an ethanol plant will hurt the township's "rural character." Increased truck traffic, odor, and reduced property values are among their claims.

These opponents led a petition drive in May to force the rezoning issue to a referendum. In April, the Vassar Township Board of Trustees voted to rezone the land, located on Hanes Road east of M-15, from medium density residential to light industrial. Referendum voters will be asked whether they approve that zoning ordinance amendment.

Voter rejection would prevent the rezoning, forcing ethanol plant supporters to challenge the rejection in court.

Gray, who recently applied for state Centennial Farm status, understands that misinformed citizens might be leery of the venture. But those naysayers, he said, must be reminded that Broin has the chance to build an ethanol facility from scratch. That means there's the opportunity for state-of-the-art technology to cut down on possible nuisances from the get-go and strict federal regulations for air quality and the like that will have to be met before opening, he said.

"Why would Broin spend $50 million and take a chance on being fined or shut down for air pollution?" he said. "I think we're just going to have to trust Broin that it'll be a clean and efficiently operating plant."

With corn markets now depressed, receiving a premium for the crop could be considered a "cost of living bonus," but Gray said his interest in the plant goes beyond strictly finances.

"The first thing I thought of when I heard about the project was the possibility to produce the energy of the future," he said. "Everybody is focused on ethanol for the automotive industry but what about ethanol as a heating fuel or an energy source to generate plants.

"With technology down the road, maybe we could even get more gallons of ethanol out of a bushel of corn and maybe the Vassar Township site could someday be home to a research center."

Hear more of Gray's thoughts and those of others at the June 8 press conference!
Media Contacts:

• Dave Milligan, Information Chair, Tuscola County Farm Bureau, (989) 872-2937
• Citizens for Clean Air, Wayne Bierlein (989) 868-3340 or Ed Opperman, (989) 823-3935
• Jody Pollok, Executive Director, Michigan Corn Growers Association, (517) 323-6600
• Jim Zook, Extension Director, Tuscola County MSU Extension, (989) 672-3870
• Bob Boehm, Commodity & Marketing Dept. Manager, Michigan Farm Bureau,(800) 292-2680, ext. 2023

The approximately two-day itinerary not only is customized to suit legislators' hectic schedules, but the agenda also targets farmland preservation tools and land use issues that are beginning to show up on Michigan's political radar.

The Key Leader Land Use Bullet Tour makes stops in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey from June 14-16. Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) and MFB affiliate, Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance (MFCA), along with county Farm Bureaus and other partnering organizations, are hosting the event, which has participants flying into Maryland late Thursday afternoon and leaving New Jersey Saturday morning.

Confirmed tour participants are six state House legislators, including Speaker of the House Rick Johnson and five members of the new House Land Use and Environment Committee, and three political staffers; four state officials, including Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Dan Wyant; other distinguished leaders, including Jeffrey Armstrong, Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dean; and select MFB and MFCA board members and staff.

"As a northern Michigan farmer, I have a deep appreciation for everyone involved in agriculture," said Rep. Johnson. "Sensible land use and farmland preservation is vital to our prosperity. I am determined to protect our natural resources so they can be available for our future generations."

The tour's target areas are:

• State and local commitment to Purchase of Development Rights programs that permanently protect farmland and long-term funding sources for these programs.
• The development of successful Transfer of Development Rights programs that provide long-term benefits to farmland owners, developers and communities.
• Incentive options for participating in Agricultural Security Areas or Districts that protect farmland in large blocks for the duration of a contract.

"Now we've got a core group of people, many of whom are local community leaders, county Farm Bureau leaders, township officials and so forth, who are ready to start moving forward with some land-use initiatives," said Anderson. "But one of the things we would like to see is more elected legislative officials doing the same.

"The Bullet Tour concept was something our board of directors decided should be sponsored to help legislators with that education in a timeframe that is more conducive to their schedules."

Added Jim Fuerstenau, MFCA executive director: "The Bullet Tour complements the work of UFP tours by providing for change from a group of individuals who can affect state policy. The education that citizen leaders, local officials and the public have received through other events will be leveraged from future actions of Bullet Tour participants."

Currently in Michigan's legislative arena, there is pending legislation regarding agricultural districts; an introduced Development Rights Marketing Act that proposes implementing a Transfer of Development Rights program; and talk of ways to finance Purchase of Development Rights programs.

"The experience of people in these three states will give a front-seat view of how similar programs enacted in Michigan would look and operate and what kind of results they'd produce," Fuerstenau said.

"Michigan audiences often ask us, 'What's going to happen in 20 years when all of this land is preserved and protected?' Out there we can fast-forward and say, 'This is what's happening after 20 years. Here's where they are at.' And we can have a chance to talk to the development community, local officials and farmland owners to measure their acceptance of these tools and techniques and learn how the results affected their lives."

Said Anderson: "We've talked about these things here in Michigan for awhile, but you don't get the full magnitude until you really see how these programs have been put in place and how local leadership has embraced them. Hopefully by seeing this and being able to talk to these other leaders about how the climates in Michigan and on the East Coast differ, our tour-goers will get a better feeling of how we can incorporate similar programs here in Michigan and make them work."

And with more county Farm Bureau leaders actively engaged in Michigan land use and farmland protection issues, information gleaned from the tour should help state leaders feel more at ease discussing such issues with their constituents, said Fuerstenau.

"It makes county Farm Bureau Land Use Committees more effective because now they're able to facilitate meetings with these legislators and other key decision-makers and know they're going to have a two-way conversation," he said.

Michigan House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy) and staff member Chris Hackbarth Rep. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly) and staff member Kerry Krone
• Rep. Paul Gieleghem (D-Clinton Twp.)
• Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor)
• Rep. Patty Birkholz, (R-Saugatuck) and staff member Sally Durfee
• Rep. Gene DeRossett, (R-Manchester)

• Dan Wyant, Director of Michigan Department of Agriculture
• Vicki Pontz-Teachout, Director of Michigan Department of Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Division
• Rich Harlow, Michigan Department of Agriculture Farmland Preservation Administrator
• Doug Roberts, Policy Advisor with House Republican Policy Office
• Other Distinguished Leaders
• Don Brown, Macomb County Commissioner
• Jeffrey Armstrong, Dean of Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Randy L. Stec, GreenStone Farm Credit Services Regional Vice President

• Jim Fuerstenau, MFCA Executive Director
• MFCA and Michigan Farm Bureau Board Members:
• Alan Garner of Mason
• Mike Fusilier of Manchester
• Brent Hotchkin of Concord
• Brigette Leach of Climax
• Paul Koeman of Hamilton

• Wayne Wood, MFB President
• Ron Nelson, Manager of MFB State Governmental Affairs Department
• Rob Anderson, Associate Legislative Counsel.

According to Matt Smego, Michigan Farm Bureau's (MFB) Young Farmer Department Manager, the federal agricultural census only counts young or beginning farmers and ranchers who are the most senior decision-maker for an agricultural operation. As a result, information on many young and beginning farmers is not collected.

"In some cases, beginning farmers may be a farm employee, or if there's a father-son partnership, the son may not be the primary decision maker," Smego explained.

But the FCS Foundation survey seeks input from all young farmers regardless of their status in the operation. "This survey allows those voices to be heard and more young farmers to be represented," Smego said.

And since the survey is being done on a national basis, Smego said it "will allow for a better analysis of young farmer needs because anyone who has access to the Internet and falls within the young farmer category can fill it out."

The survey is targeted at beginning farmers in the United States with less than 10 years experience who are between the ages of 18 and 35. It ends July 31.

The survey can be accessed at www.surveyhost.net/barriers or through a link on the MFB web site at www.michiganfarmbureau.com. Estimated completion time is about 25 minutes.

Not only does the survey serve as a forum for young farmers to make recommendations regarding the next Farm Bill, but it also collects demographic data not otherwise available.

"By participating, young farmers could affect their ability to apply for loans," Smego said. "Farm Credit and other agencies will have more information and be able to gear loans more toward young farmers and their needs."

A report of survey results will be made available to legislators as well as others in the agricultural community. However, the FCS Foundation has pledged to keep all contact information of participants confidential.

As an incentive for completing the survey, the FCS Foundation is offering a chance to win an all-terrain vehicle of the participant's choice (valued up to $6,000) if contact information is included.

Earlier this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation conducted an informal survey to determine opinions and concerns of Farm Bureau Young Farmer program participants. Those results can be found online at www.fb.org/news/nr/nr2001/nr0320b.html.

MFB offers Young Farmer programs, open to men and women ages 18-35, through all 68 of its county Farm Bureaus. The program's primary objective is to provide leadership for a more effective Farm Bureau that preserves individual freedoms and expands agricultural opportunities for young producers.

Although the president's request has been expected, the timing of the renewal could set a positive tone for the Sino-United States talks to be held next week in Shanghai. The talks will concentrate on China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization, which has stalled in recent months.

Congress initially approved permanent normal trade relations for China last year, but it hinged on Beijing becoming a member of the WTO. While Congress is expected to approve the president's request for renewal, legislators could try to attach conditions regarding such issues as labor and environment.

Congress will have 30 days after the president certifies China's trade status to call a vote to overturn it.

Contact: Sarah Black, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2025

"The demand for U.S. livestock exports has been strengthening, perhaps helped by greater consumer confidence in U.S. food safety," according to USDA's income forecast. "In contrast, the demand for U.S. crops has been less robust due to competition and large supplies overhanging the market."

The USDA report projects the livestock sector will be helped by lower feed costs, while the crop sector will be hit by higher fuel and fertilizer costs. Fuel costs are up 7 percent. Fertilizer expenses are up 17 percent.

"If this forecast holds, the value of livestock production would reach an all-time high, while the value of crop production would be down more than $19 billion from its record high in 1996," said Susan Offutt, administrator of USDA's Economic Research Service.

Contact: Bob Boehm, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2023

AFBF and other interested parties said EPA's settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) was reached during secret back-room negotiations and has "the potential to create major disruptions to U.S. agriculture and other industries that rely on pest management tools."

The EPA-NRDC agreement settled a 1999 NRDC lawsuit that challenged the agency's FQPA implementation process, saying EPA failed to meet deadlines in regulating specific classes of chemicals.

Last week, AFBF President Bob Stallman wrote to EPA Administrator Christine Whitman, saying settlement language that would impose a court-enforceable schedule for crop protection product reviews would not allow EPA to make decisions using key data.

If the result was a complete loss of the organophosphate and carbamate classes of crop protection products and their agricultural uses, AFBF told Whitman that the economic impact on farmers and the American economy would be tremendous.

"America's overall economy would be harmed by the loss of these products, according to a (Texas A&M University) study," Stallman said. "The nation's total economic output would be decreased by $17 billion. Total value added to U.S. farm commodities by processing would decline $10 billion. Income - for employees, proprietors, and others - would fall by $9 billion. Elimination of pesticides referred to in the settlement would result in the loss of 209,000 U.S. jobs."

AFBF also sent comments to EPA on the issue as part of two coalitions, The Minor Crop Farmer Alliance and the Implementation Working Group. Farm Bureau will next file a brief with the court regarding its position in early June. A court hearing is scheduled June 14, and a court decision on whether to allow the consent decree to stand is expected after that date.

Contact: Ken Nye, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2020

According to a NCBA news release, beef demand, which is a measure accounting for both per capita consumption and consumer spending for beef, has trended upward since 1999. Since then, demand figures have increased nine out of the past 11 quarters, compared to the same quarters the previous year.

Strong demand is a good sign for the beef industry, which is gearing up for summer vacations and grilling season. Memorial Day is the single largest beef day of the year. American consumers were expected to purchase 60 million pounds of beef for the holiday weekend. NCBA expects to see similar gains for Fourth of July and Labor Day, which typically tie for the second most popular beef days of the year.

Contact: Ernie Birchmeier, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2024

In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, the average American's daily "eats" now include a fourth meal - the afternoon snack. On average, every American spends $64 a year on salty snacks, according to the Mintel Consumer Intelligence Salty Snacks Market report. Ninety percent of those surveyed had nibbled on a salty snack within the last two weeks, and 24 percent eat salty snacks on a daily basis.

There's no pork about it, nine out of 10 Americans regularly eat a sandwich. And ham is once again the sandwich of choice, according to vote results of the NPD Group's 2000 National Eating Trends report. One in six of these sandwiches is taken away from the home, while more than half are consumed "hot" in the home. White bread beat out wheat bread by 2-to-1 majority; cheese was the most popular addition; and mayonnaise coated 40 percent of the ham sandwiches. Surprisingly, lettuce was included on only one in seven sandwiches.

There are 914 different breeds of sheep in the world, with 35 breeds found in the United States. Wool is a natural fiber grown from sheep, and the following steps are taken to make some of your favorite clothes:

• Sheep are sheared in the spring. Their wool is removed in one piece called a fleece.
• Next, the fleece is washed in big tubs to remove dirt, grease and grass. This process is called scouring.
• The clean, dry wool is then carded. Carding means to comb the wool to straighten the fibers.
• The next process is called spinning. This is when the wool will be spun into yarn.
• Finally, the yarn is knitted or woven into fabric.