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02/04/2007Research station helps the area's farmersCherry yields have improved since founding
Nikki Rothwell is the new district horticultural coordinator for the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Bingham Township south of Suttons Bay. TRAVERSE CITY — Almost 30 years ago a local group of cherry growers and processors banded together to build a headquarters to help guide and foster the growth of northern Michigan's signature fruit. Now, the next generation of cherry growers is focused on making sure the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Leelanau County can continue fulfilling that role. "We're very proud of what those people did,” said Michael McManus, a cherry grower in Leelanau County and teacher who's part of a new foundation board set up by members of the nonprofit Horticultural Research Station, the only facility in Michigan built and owned by local growers. The group's goal is to create a $1 million endowment fund over the next five years to utilize its interest revenue to pay for research programs and capital upgrades at the station, which faces significant cutbacks in state tax support. The extension program at Michigan State University pays for personnel costs at the Bingham Township-based Hort Station, but much of the research funding has come through the state Department of Agriculture. McManus said he and other growers began to discuss plans for a research foundation after a 2004 trip to Lansing, when lawmakers and other state officials spelled out the state's ongoing fiscal problems. "We got the message then that the funds are drying up,” McManus said. "We have already felt the tightness of the budget squeezes.” Officials said around 80 percent of research done at the station revolves around cherries, although work is expanding into other northern Michigan fruits, including grape vineyards and apples. There currently are about 70 separate research projects under way, ranging from studies of the area's soil types to cross-breeding various fruits to develop new breeds that can thrive in northern Michigan. The station's research already has helped farmers in numerous ways, including production yield increases and curbing pest and disease problems. "We've got to be able to control these diseases; it's very critical to the industry,” said Jim Nugent, who recently retired as research station coordinator after more than 30 years in MSU's extension service. Some of the research extends into more general areas, such as groundwater protection and air quality. "A lot of the work that's done at the station benefits the whole community,” said Rick Sayler, a fifth-generation cherry grower from Acme who's president of the foundation board. Sayler has firsthand knowledge of the station's benefits. The yield at his cherry farm has grown to around five tons an acre, more than twice the amount it produced in his father's day. The board hired a fundraising consultant, Jeff Winegard of Petoskey, to help develop the foundation. A letter requesting financial support was mailed late last year to around 700 farms and related businesses in the five-county area that work with the station. The next step is for the growers to take their message to the general public, where they hope community support for sustainable agriculture and farmland preservation will translate into financial support for the operation. "One of the best farmland protection tools is to make sure growers have the best research available,” Winegard said. The foundation also encourages gifts of farmland; land would be sold to other regional growers to be kept in farming, with sale proceeds going to the endowment fund. McManus said the group's "wish list” for capital upgrades totals more than $200,000. It includes $15,000 for new laboratory equipment, $15,000 for weather monitoring equipment and a $100,000 "innovation fund” that officials said could be used to implement new technologies in various fields including alternative energy. They also hope to add another 20 acres of land for more experimental planting. "Farmers are some of the most innovative people I know,” McManus said. "They're always looking for a way to reduce that bottom line.” On the net: [an error occurred while processing this directive] |