A civic learning session examined farmland preservation, local ownership and value-added agriculture in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission organized the session. It is the second of three in a series. Organizers said the sessions are not decision-making forums. The first session covered data centers. The third covers housing affordability, density and zoning. publicmedianet
Two Michigan State University presenters spoke: Dr. Bill Knudson, a product market economist at the MSU Product Center, and Harmony Fierke-Gmazel, a certified planner and faculty member who specializes in planning law and ethics. Facilitator Jenan Jondy moderated audience questions.
Who owns and operates the farms
Knudson drew on the 2022 Census of Agriculture. He said farming in the three counties remains overwhelmingly family-run. Non-family corporations make up a small share of farms. He said the pressures on farmers come more from the companies that supply seed and fertilizer and from the companies that process grain and meat. He named rising input costs, the regulatory environment, labor access, trade and market access, and changing food demand as ongoing challenges.
What value-added agriculture means
Knudson described value-added agriculture as differentiating a product so it earns a premium, rather than competing only on cost. Examples included processing, specialty products, local branding and agritourism. He said each option brings tradeoffs, including more regulation, more labor and a need to keep innovating. Cooperatives came up as one way for farmers to gain bargaining power. He pointed farmers to the Michigan Small Business Development Center and the MSU Product Center for help with compliance, labeling and packaging.
Land use and zoning
Fierke-Gmazel said local master plans and zoning increasingly recognize agriculture as a diverse industry. She said communities can write in support for processing, packaging, retail and agritourism. She listed several tools for protecting farmland:
- farmland preservation ordinances
- purchase of development rights programs
- clustering residential development
- the state’s PA 116 program
- conservation easements
She also described solar projects that keep land in agricultural or ecological use. Examples were planting pollinator habitat beneath panels and grazing sheep among them. She said solar can also be sited on brownfields and other marginal land. She stressed that each project needs a conversation among the landowner, the developer and community leaders about which crops or animals fit the design.
Planning together
The presenters and several attendees discussed regional planning. Fierke-Gmazel said more neighboring communities are exploring joint master plans. She described that work as a way to document local priorities for housing, farmland and large energy uses.
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is developing an AI-powered chatbot, paired with civic learning sessions across the three counties.
Watch the full session
The video runs about an hour and 45 minutes. It includes a question-and-answer period on climate effects on crops, farm labor, the next generation of farmers and state incentives. Watch it on Public Media Network.
