This is one of two Mackinaw City wind turbines that has been operational since 2001.
Trying to catch the wind
You can tell it's an election year because there's a lot of wind blowing, but no propellers are turning. And when the election winds calm, there will be nothing new in Michigan to catch the wind, nothing more to harness its energy, nothing more to replace natural gas or fuel oil or coal. Click here for full story.Wind energy legislation listed
Following is a list of current wind energy bills under consideration in the Michigan legislature. The common theme among them, according to Matt Smego, legislative counsel with Michigan Farm Bureau, is that incentives are being proposed to get wind energy systems off the ground. Click here for full story.MFB honored for exceptional employee benefits
The Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) Family of Companies has been named one of the "10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security" in a national contest that recognizes employers who excel at providing long-term financial security for their staff, particularly through employee benefits programs. As a reward, the contest sponsor, the Principal Financial Group, has made a $2,500 donation to the Michigan AgrAbility Project on behalf of Farm Bureau. Click here for full story.Farmland preservation: The fight continues
Farmland preservation continues to be a hard sell among most of Michigan's electorate, but it's not just the city folks. In many cases, rural residents remain unconvinced that there's value in spending tax dollars to preserve land. Click here for full story.USDA and EPA sign water quality credit trading agreement
An agreement was signed Oct. 13 to establish and promote water quality credit trading markets through cooperative conservation. Signed by USDA Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary Mark Rey and Benjamin Grumbles, Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water, The agreement features a pilot project within the Chesapeake Bay basin to showcase the effectiveness of environmental markets. Click here for full story.Farm Bureau adamant about defeating Proposal 5
If Proposal 06-5 were truly a direct and total benefit to the state's school children, it might be worth taking another look, according to Ron Nelson, manager of the State Governmental Affairs Department at Michigan Farm Bureau. However, even if all of the proposed $565 million spending increase were directly applied to education, it would still take money from many other publicly funded areas - including agriculture - that have suffered a disproportionate share of state budget cuts during the same time in which funding for K-16 education has increased. Click here for full story.Civics lesson leaves school windmills spinning - but when?
Kathy Dickens knew it wouldn't be easy to harness the wind when she applied for a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) grant to help pay for wind turbines at her school, but she never thought it would come to this. Click here for full story.Survey shows U.S. adults support government incentives for biofuels
Four in five U.S. adults (80 percent) strongly or somewhat agree that national and state governments are not doing enough to promote production of biofuels - fuels made from agricultural crops or plant matter - according to a new survey released today by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Click here for full story.