A fresh look for a new decade of Project GREEEN!
More than 10 million acres of Michigan’s rolling hills, picturesque shoreline and fertile farm fields are devoted to agriculture. It is very likely that the results of Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), Michigan’s plant agriculture initiative based at Michigan State University (MSU), research and outreach efforts have somehow affected many of the farmers nurturing that land.
Project GREEEN is unique – no other university has structured its plant research and Extension programs this way. The partnership Project GREEEN has forged between producers, industry, state government and MSU sets the standard for integrated research and information delivery to swiftly and efficiently solve grower and processor problems.
Producers are the ultimate recipients of Project GREEEN contributions to Michigan’s plant agriculture-related industries. The initiative fosters a strong partnership between MSU and the state’s plant commodity groups by working together to respond to grower needs and encourage integration and multidisciplinary programming in production management research, market research and value-added projects that would otherwise be impossible.
Project GREEEN celebrates a major milestone - its 10th anniversary - in 2007. Originally known as the Plant Initiative, Project GREEEN is a collaborative effort by plant-based commodities and businesses in cooperation with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES), MSU Extension, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) to advance Michigan's economy through its plant-based agriculture. Its mission is to develop research and educational programs, ensure and improve food safety, and protect and preserve the quality of the environment.
How it all started….
Flashback to the early 1990’s: growers and processors were facing a critical juncture in production agriculture. From reducing pesticide residues in food to developing sustainable crop production practices to being faced with pesticide-resistant bugs to reducing pollution in surface and groundwater, it was going to take a lot more than a simple production practice adjustment to solve many of the items appearing on Michigan’s burgeoning list of agricultural problems. Comprehensively addressing all of the biological, environmental, social, political, economic, regulatory and operational challenges facing the state’s agriculture industries was going to take a full-fledged systems approach to pinpoint the major critical control areas in production and develop reliable and cost-effective methods to monitor and manage them across the entire system. Similarly, environmental and economic issues demanded new approaches to growing and protecting crops. A program was needed to merge the best technologies available to develop productive, economical and environmentally sound crop production systems.
It was in 1995 when a group of Michigan agricultural leaders sat down together at the Ag Summit meeting to discuss how Michigan plant agriculture could become more competitive. At the table were Ben Kudwa, executive director of the Michigan Potato Commission (MPC); Harry Foster, then executive director of the Michigan Plum and Asparagus advisory boards; Mark Arney, then executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee; Fred Poston, then dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Phil Korson, president of the Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI). Though Michigan has one of the most diverse agricultural industries in the country -- second only to California in number of crops produced – the state’s producers were having difficulty keeping up with growers in other states in quantity and cost of products.
Project GREEEN, then called the Plant Initiative, was a combination of a number of ideas that people had. Michigan's plant industry was seeking a plan to help them tackle the economic and environmental hurdles of the 21st century and invigorate their businesses. These groups needed a reliable source of timely and science-based information to help them operate sustainable and profitable businesses and remain competitive in a continually evolving global marketplace. Plant agriculture was viewed as underserved, especially with regard to emerging and emergency issues. The idea was to find a source of funding for research to address these issues.
Soon after the Ag Summit meeting, and with the support of a broad plant industry coalition and the MDA, Project GREEEN became a reality. Modeled after the Michigan Animal Industry Initiative which had received $70 million in funding from the legislature in 1993 to support and promote animal industry research, Project GREEEN would generate new research and educational programs to meet a wide range of plant industry-identified needs. Its purpose was to help bolster the state's economy by helping producers and processors expand and increase their profitability while at the same time protecting the quality of the environment and the safety of the food supply.
Now that we have a plan….
Public Act 480 of 1996 appropriated $500,000 to MSU as a grant for the integrated plant management project called Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs, and referred to by the acronym GREEEN. Six multi-year research projects were funded in 1996 and another 18 projects received funding in 1997. Funding was also awarded to 11 value-added processing initiatives that same year.
A focal point of GREEEN activities during the first few years was value-added enhancement of the state’s plant industries, including developing new products, addressing problems that could jeopardize the long-term growth of plant food industries, and developing new plant-related industries in rural and urban areas. The initiative was not created to salvage dying industries; in fact, it was created for quite the opposite reason – agricultural industries were steadily growing and GREEEN would target industry-driven needs to enhance and maximize this growth.
The foundation has been built….
In 1998, a $6.5 million request to continue and expand the Project GREEEN initiative was proposed to the state legislature by several key plant industry groups to strengthen MSU research and Extension programs. The grassroots-driven initiative, endorsed by 45 agriculture commodity groups entering the 1998 legislative process, was created to initiate rapid, interdisciplinary responses to critical and emerging issues affecting those producing, processing and marketing agricultural crops. Initial funding was received in the amount of $5 million, which enabled the directors of the MAES and MSU Extension to jumpstart the implementation process based on recommendations from the Plant Coalition, a decision-making team that sets guidelines, goals, priorities and strategic action plans for Project GREEEN.
For fiscal year 1999, 75 percent of the initial funding amount (approximately $1.825 million) was earmarked for research and Extension proposals; the remaining amount was directed to salaries and infrastructure funding. Initial priorities were to strengthen plant diagnostic services (weed science, plant pathology, entomology, nematology, and plant identification); deliver integrated crop management programs to producers; enhance the agricultural weather network; create new uses and markets for agricultural products; and develop and demonstrate alternative pest management programs to reduce reliance on pesticides in response to the Food Quality and Protection Act of 1996.
Since then, Project GREEEN continues to fund fundamental and applied research and Extension projects that address priority issues as identified by the state’s plant commodity and industry groups. The project funding cycle begins with each plant commodity group identifying industry priorities. Researchers draft their proposals in response to these industry needs. A review panel consisting of researchers, Extension specialists and commodity representatives recommends proposals for funding and presents its recommendations to the Directors’ Action Team (DAT), the group who oversees Project GREEEN. The DAT then makes final funding decisions.
The main criteria used to evaluate proposals for funding are their relationship to the Project GREEEN mission and Michigan plant agriculture priorities, scientific soundness and appropriateness of methodology and multidisciplinary linkages, leverage of funds, potential for future external funding and the feasibility of completing the objectives within the proposed time frame. Mechanisms to deliver information to Michigan’s plant agriculture industries, the multidisciplinary and integrated nature of the proposal, and the extent of partnering with and the potential impact on Michigan plant agriculture industries are also considered.
For fiscal year 2007, Project GREEEN awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants to 50 new research projects. A total of 72 new project proposals requesting approximately $4.5 million were received for consideration in this year’s selection process. Forty continuation proposals seeking $1 million in available funds were received for projects that started in 2005 or 2006.
Research projects were funded in the categories of basic research, applied research and Extension/education/demonstration. New projects were funded across the spectrum of Michigan’s plant agriculture industries, on topics ranging from combating colony collapse disorder in honeybees and developing pest and nutrient management guidelines for organic blueberry production to eradicating the plum pox virus and rescuing Michigan’s peach breeding program. Other research topics funded by Project GREEEN in 2007 include inventing new value-added materials from ethanol byproducts to minimize the amount dumped into landfills, creating safe and cost-effective solutions for renovating athletic fields for budget-strapped school districts, and developing on-site Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) demonstrations for greenhouse growers.
The next 10 years….
Project GREEEN strives to develop innovative, integrated ways to address emerging and unexpected insect, disease, weather, regulatory and economic factors to benefit everyone involved with plant agriculture, from producer to processor to consumer. It has set a standard for integrated plant agriculture research and education because it has the ability to solve grower and processor problems rapidly and allows plant agriculture and processing industries to maximize their potential.
As Project GREEEN enters its 10th year of supporting research, teaching and Extension, the question is: has Project GREEEN met its mandate? All signs point to yes. Michigan agriculture is a $60 billion industry employing more than 1 million people. With another decade of Project GREEEN impact, Michigan will be even better positioned to remain a major and competitive player in the global agricultural community.