Two state lawmakers whose work has helped support Michigan agriculture received Michigan Farm Bureau’s (MFB) Silver Plow Award at the organization’s Lansing Legislative Seminar on Tuesday.
The Silver Plow is MFB’s top recognition for a member of the Michigan Legislature or U.S. Congress, signifying farmers’ appreciation for leadership and support consistent with the organization’s member-developed policy and beneficial to the state’s farm and food sector.
The 2022 Silver Plows recognize the efforts of Dist. 30 Sen. Roger Victory and Dist. 31 Sen. Kevin Daley.
Sen. Roger Victory
Victory earned a Silver Plow for using his role as the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee chair to assist in many industry development opportunities which support MFB policies.
When funding for the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture (MAAA) was vetoed after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office, Victory’s work helped secure supplemental funding, keeping the critical program running. Thanks in part to his continued efforts, MAAA received funding last year on an ongoing basis for the first time in its history.
Last year, Victory joined a group of commodity executives for a discussion on agriculture innovation, where he was offered the challenge of securing state funds to spur innovation and development. Less than a month after the meeting, Victory delivered.
Ottawa County Farm Bureau President Mark Schoenborn said Victory is always just a phone call away, and constantly asks how he can be helpful when someone brings up an issue.
“Sen. Victory understands agriculture, and he knows where we’re coming from,” Schoenborn said. “He gets out in the field and works, and those kinds of things are really valuable for us as farmers to have those kinds of people in the House in the Senate to help us out.”
Sen. Kevin Daley
Daley earned the Silver Plow Award for his pivotal role in extending the funding for the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) — the state’s premier on-farm conservation and stewardship program — through 2025.
Daley was the primary sponsor of the legislation that created the MAEAP program in 2011, while he was a member of the House of Representatives.
As a senator, he’s been crucial again in helping to reauthorize funding for the program, extending the fees on fertilizers and pesticides that make the program work and help pay for local staff on the ground. Daley’s work helped ensure MAEAP remained voluntary, with a statewide focus and no new fees for farmers.
As a MAEAP-verified famer himself, Daley recognizes the importance of the program. Without his efforts, farmers wouldn’t have the MAEAP program, said Laura Campbell, MFB senior conservation and regulatory relations specialist.
“Sen. Daley’s support of MAEAP legislation since the very beginning, and his continued efforts to reauthorize the program makes him one of the most important allies we can have,” Campbell added. “He’s not only supporting agriculture; he’s supporting agriculture doing what it can do to be a responsible and good steward of the land.”
