LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have opened several opportunities for the public to comment on the drafts of the proposed 2024 Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMPs) as of Monday.  MDARD Communications Director Jennifer Holton, told Michigan News Source why these policies are reviewed annually. 

“Each year, the GAAMPS are scientifically based and updated annually to utilize current technology promoting sound environmental stewardship on Michigan farms,” said Holton in an email to Michigan News Source. “And, the department regularly provides an opportunity for the public, including our farming community, to provide input.”

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The origins of the Right to Farm Act came in the early 1980s with the intention of helping protect farmers. 

“The Michigan Right to Farm Act, P.A. 93, was enacted in 1981 to provide farmers with nuisance protection,” Holton said in the email. “This state law authorizes the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop and adopt GAAMPs for farms and farm operations in Michigan.”

 The GAAMPs undergo annual review by several committees before the proposed changes are reviewed and must be approved by Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

The public has the chance to comment on any and all of the eight categories of GAAMPs, which include: Care of Farm Animals, Cranberry Production, Farm Markets, Irrigation Water Use, Manure Management and Utilization, Nutrient Utilization, Pesticide Utilization and Pest Control, and Site Selection and Odor Control for New and Expanding Livestock Facilities. 

However, the RTF Act does not have the authority to determine if an operation is considered commercial, it is not regulatory and it does not have the authority to stop or allow work according to Holton. 

Previously in May, horse farm owner and trainer, Lori Brock, was the recipient of a GAAMPs violation, for the first time in two decades, and what she believed to be a response to her hosting a rally that opposed the construction of the Gotion Plant near Big Rapids. 

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“It’s retaliation. They’re mad that I’m speaking out against Gotion.” She said she was not worried about the visit and that “there’s no way that I’m in violation of anything,” Brock told Michigan News Source. 

While Brock was expecting an in-person visit to her 150-acre property after a complaint was filed stating that she was depositing horse manure in a nearby river tributary, a representative from MDARD gave her the all clear via a telephone call. 

“I had the opportunity to see your farm from the road and I was able to get a great view of the lot, and there is no evidence at this point that I am concerned about as far as you being in conformance with GAAMPs for this complaint,” said Erica Rogers with MDARD’s Right to Farm program. “There is sufficient vegetation around the lot, which is something that the GAAMPs recommend and which are again are a voluntary thing, so since you are in conformance with the GAAMPs you would be able to utilize the Right to Farm Act as a nuisance protection for your farm should you need to in the future.” 

In a breakdown of the GAAMPs limits and protections afforded by the Right to Farm Act, the Michigan State University Extension attempted to answer some common questions. 

“Many statutes and laws result in limiting local government’s ability to adopt and enforce regulations,” MSU Senior Extension Educator Brad Neumann wrote, “Most are straightforward, but the Right to Farm Act preemption is confusing, changing and only preempts local regulation of certain things.”

The MSU Extension also pointed to a Michigan Attorney General issued in 2018 which concluded that a local government ordinance cannot regulate any of the following things due to the RFTA’s such as: limit the number of livestock per acre, require a site plan be submitted and approved by the local zoning administrator, limit manure application to fields in which the farmer owns or holds a 7-year lease, specify manure application methods, and require a comprehensive nutrient management plan to be submitted to and approved by the local unit of government. 

The deadline for public review and comment are until 5 pm on Friday August 25, 2023, with several ways of participating: one can email MDARD-RTF@Michigan.gov; mail a letter to MDARD’s Environmental Stewardship Division, P.O. Box 30017, Lansing, MI 48909; or call into the public input meeting at 1 pm EST on August 25, 2023 or join the meeting here with the Conference ID: 857610684#.  

According to Holton, the only GAAMP that has proposed changes falls under the Care of Farm Animals and is related to rooster management.  For a complete list of past years GAAMPs and the current years proposed ones, visit here.