Granholm Budget Reduction Letter

On October 14, 2009, Governor Granholm signed MDA's budget.  The budget included a number of additional reductions from the legislature's conference committee report.  These 16 line item vetoes included the elimination of the Conservation District funding ($236,900.00) for 2010.

In total the MDA has suffered a dramatic 13% total budget reduction between 2009 and 2010.  Between 2001 and 2010 the total general fund budget reduction for MDA has been 54%.  Hard to imagine for the one industry that is the bright spot for the state.  Even less heartening is that the ESD general fund budget during this same time has been reduced by 71%.  As a result, ESD will make further changes and layoff four staff.  The Field Staff who work with conservation districts will be reduced by two and the Departmental Analyst who helps to coordinate CD deliverables, audits and grant payments will be eliminated.  We will also terminate the Turfgrass Program Coordinator position.

These staff reductions will require some adjustment in the way we serve the public and how we interact with conservation districts.  The specifics and changes are being worked at this time and we will share those with you as information becomes available.  

One of the big issues is 2010 grants.  The new budget will not allow for General Operations Grants.  We will still have Groundwater Program grants and hope to be able to release them in the next couple of weeks.  At this point we are not sure of the CTAI grants, but the clock is ticking and we should have word on those grants very soon.  It is our intention to communicate directly with the conservation districts affected by the CTAI program's budget reduction.

We encourage you to communicate the effect of the budget reductions to your constituents.

Tough times are in front of us, we will need to pull together.

Best regards,
James Johnson

Please voice your opinion to the following people:

Speaker Andy Dillion
Room 164 Capitol Building
517-373-0857
andydillon@house.mi.gov

Lt. Governor John Cherry
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
PHONE: 517-373-6800
517-373-6800
ltgovcherry@michigan.gov

Bob Emerson
Governor’s Budget Director
517-241-0183
emersonb@michigan.gov

Governor Jennifer Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
PHONE: 517-373-3400
PHONE: 517-335-7858 - Constituent Services
No email address / You can go to her Web site and post a message by clicking on the Contact Governor link right under the banner
http://www.michigan.gov/gov

WANT TO KNOW THE BEST TIME TO CONTROL WEEDS?

MSU INTRODUCES NEW TOOLS TO HELP TRACK WEED LIFE CYCLES

Ron Calhoun says that understanding the life cycles of weeds is the first and most important step in developing effective control programs. "As a rule, folks don't start to try to figure out what type of weed it is or how to control it until the weed starts to flower," Calhoun says. "But, for example, by the time an annual weed starts to flower, it's usually too far into the weed's life cycle for herbicide applications to be effective."

"Fall is far and away the best time to control broadleaf weeds in turfgrass, but for many perennial weeds, good control can also be accomplished by applying herbicide during or just after flowering," he adds.

In an effort to help guide turfgrass and landscape professionals in developing effective weed management programs, Calhoun has developed a Web-based program to predict weed flowering times. Weed life cycle predictions are calculated on the basis of the season and weather data collected from the Michigan automated weather station network located across the state and weather centers in Ohio and northern Indiana.
"The Web program bases its predictions on growing degree-days instead of an arbitrary calendar date, which may or may not be accurate for any given year in a region. This program bases its information on actual data collected from the weather stations," he says. "When you enter your zip code on the Web site, it pulls weather information from the weather station closest to your area and creates a customized report for bug activity, crabgrass emergence, disease breakout and other situations in your area. This is the first program of its kind."

Growers, golf course managers, turfgrass and landscape professionals, and those involved in other green industry-related professions can access the growing degree-day tracker Web site to learn more about available predictive models and how to calculate growing degree-days, and to sign up to receive customized updates for their area. The Web site address is www.gddtracker.net. There is no charge to access the site or to sign up for the customized reports.

Calhoun and his colleagues have designed a poster illustrating the growing degree-day calendar and relative flowering times for common turf weeds. Posters cost $5 each ($50 for a laminated poster) plus $2.95 shipping and handling. For ordering information, e-mail info@gddtracker.net or call the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation at 517-392-5003.

The poster and Web site project received funding from the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation and Project GREEEN, Michigan's plant agriculture initiative at MSU.