Governor announces support for ‘restructuring’ of MSU’s ag programs

In a joint release with Michigan State University, Governor Granholm has announced that she supports “continued funding” for the “restructuring” of the university’s Agriculture Research Stations and Extension Service.

These university agriculture programs receive most of their annual budget from the state, and were thrown into uncertainty earlier this month when they discovered that the governor had removed their funding from the state’s interim budget.

“The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and Michigan State University Cooperative Extension have historically provided relevant, responsive services that were tailored to our rural communities,” Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm said in the statement. “As Michigan moves from rust to green, these programs will be focused on enhancing our local communities’ efforts to collaborate and innovate in the new clean energy economy. I support continued funding for this restructuring, with its emphasis on growing Michigan’s new green economy.”

Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for the governor, explained that the University’s funding was withheld in October “to keep our options open given the uncertainty with the budget.”