Michigan Potato Producers to Vote on Program Change

Jan 29, 2025

By Lynsey Mukomel

Michigan potato producers will have an opportunity to vote to decide whether to accept the proposed amendment to the Michigan Potato Industry Commission, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring announced today. The referendum will be conducted Feb. 3-14, 2025.

Petitions signed by potato producers were submitted to MDARD in October 2024, requesting the proposed amendment to the program, including an assessment cap increase up to nine and a half (currently the cap is maxed at five and a half) cents per hundredweight on potatoes grown in the state. Per the statute, this only involves growers with 20 or more acres in the production of potatoes.

MDARD will mail ballots to potato producers today, Jan. 28. Producers are eligible to vote if all assessments were fully paid by July 15, 2024 (due date of the final quarterly report for the 2023 crop).

For this referendum, each producer is entitled to one vote representing a single firm, individual proprietorship, corporation, company, association, partnership, or a husband-wife or family ownership. All ballots must be filled out completely, signed and postmarked by Feb. 14, 2025, and should be sent to:

MDARD, Executive Office
P.O. Box 30017
Lansing, MI 48909

The Michigan Potato Industry Commission was created to promote the potato industry through research, promotion, advertising, and market development and expansion of the state's potato industry.

Eligible producers with questions or those not receiving a ballot should contact MDARD toll-free at 800-292-3939.

Source : michigan.gov

Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.