Farm Bureau gears up for Membership Day blitz Feb. 7

Contact: Mike Wenkel, 800-292-2680, ext. 3232

LANSING, Feb. 3, 2012 - For a third straight year, Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) is marshalling some heavy hitters to help launch its annual membership campaign and spotlight the benefits of belonging to the state's largest general farm organization. Tuesday, Feb. 7 marks MFB's third annual Statewide Membership Day, and will feature a trio of farm industry superstars visiting five county Farm Bureau membership kickoff events.

The trio of special guest speakers include Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ); Don Parrish, director of regulatory relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation; and Wayne H. Wood, MFB president.
The day's itinerary is as follows:

8 a.m. - Hillsdale County Farm Bureau; Warner's Restaurant, 3380 Beck Road, Hillsdale; Dan Wyant and Wayne H. Wood, speakers
11 a.m. - Ionia County Farm Bureau; Carbon Green Bioenergy, 7795 Saddlebag Lake Road, Lake Odessa; Dan Wyant, speaker
6 p.m. - Allegan County Farm Bureau; Trestle Stop, 3366 Lincoln Road, Hamilton; Don Parrish, speaker
6:30 p.m. - Benzie-Manistee County Farm Bureau; Blaine Christian Church, 7018 Putney Road, Arcadia; Wayne H. Wood, speaker
8 p.m. - Cass County Farm Bureau; Farmhouse Bakery, 59573 White Temple, Vandalia; Dan Wyant, speaker

At his stops, Wyant will testify briefly to Farm Bureau's influence among government agencies before taking questions from attendees. Wyant has extensive experience in Michigan agriculture, from growing up on a hog farm in Cass County to the nine years he spent heading up the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Between then and his current appointment, Wyant served as president and chief operating officer of the Edward Lowe Foundation and took an active role in his county Farm Bureau, serving on its board of directors and chairing its policy development committee.

Based in Washington, D.C., Parrish's work focuses on the Clean Water Act and the many ways it relates to agriculture, including federal authority over waters of the U.S., wetlands, concentrated animal feeding operations, water quality standards and conservation issues related to the farm bill.

Twelve county Farm Bureaus across the state will hold local membership kickoff events that day, with many more following over the coming weeks.

MFB currently has more than 195,000 members, including more than 48,000 farm families. Learn more about MFB at http://www.michfb.com/mfb and the organization's additional member benefits at http://www.michfb.com/benefits.

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Note: Media is encouraged to attend any Statewide Membership Day events. For more information about membership kickoffs in your local area, contact MFB Media Relations Specialist Jeremy C. Nagel at 800-292-2680, ext. 6585.

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