Governor Gretchen Whitmer was in Zeeland Tuesday spotlighting Michigan agriculture and the struggles that farmers have faced this year.
The event started by with a discussion about the damage and hardship that so many Michigan farmers have experienced caused by the unprecedented and extremely cool, wet weather this spring. From there, the conversation moved to another major burden to farmers: their struggle to get commodities to market because of the severe deterioration of our infrastructure.
"We've gone from droughts to incredible amounts of rain this cycle that are really hurting a lot of farmers across Michigan. That's why I signed the supplemental bill and that created some funding to help farmers," said Whitmer.
Major roadways are under construction across the state, and many bridges have closed. Whitmer took the opportunity to make the case for the proposed gas tax bill again as a solution to fix Michigan roads. The vote on this tax is still pending.
Members of the Zeeland Farm Services community asked Gov. Whitmer to not only level the roads but to level the playing field too, as it's becoming harder and harder to not only compete with neighboring states to sell Michigan products but to compete with other countries as well.
"There are things we can't control, like weather, and there are things we can," Whitmer said.
On the topic of the trade war, Whitmer says she is absolutely concerned about Michigan's economy and she is specifically concerned about soybean production. China is a major consumer of soybeans and Michigan has struggled to produce soybeans due to the extremely wet weather. Now, with the newly added political rhetoric that is coming out of Washington, the stress continues to build as Michigan farmers get hit from all directions.
"When we see trade changes via tweet, it's really concerning," said Whitmer, alluding to the president's trade war with China. "Trade changes, it could be very devastating."
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