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Keith Creagh: Agriculture and economic development for Michigan
- Keith Creagh talks with Kirk Heinze on WJR and WDBM
Governor Rick Snyder recently signed an executive order officially adding rural development to the Department of Agriculture’s mission.
As director of the newly-renamed department, Creagh has been charged by the governor with integrating resources across government in order to make infrastructure improvements and expand educational opportunities that will make producers of food and other agricultural products anchors in rural communities, providing sustainable, long-term jobs.
"If you like to eat, if you have a pet, if you drive a car, we actually touch everyone every day," he says. "Economic development for Michigan will drive everything we do."
Creagh says his department focuses on fundamentals like food safety, consumer protection, and environmental aspects of farming.
"Agriculture is not just cows, plows, and sows," Creagh says. "It will play a key role in Governor Snyder's plan to reinvent Michigan and get our swagger back as a state.
"Agriculture today is a high tech industry that relies on trained professionals with knowledge of the newest methods from biology and chemistry to packing and shipping. Expanding educational opportunities will give Michigan’s agricultural producers a competitive edge and ensure jobs are available for recent graduates who want to stay in their home communities,” Creagh says.
Creagh says he will focus on rural and urban agriculture and the economic development opportunities they present.
"Our budget challenges are moving us to make sure we provide programs that have value," Creagh says. "We will retain programs that provide return on investment for the citizens of the state."
Creagh also talks about the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program, the January 27 Agriculture's Conference on the Environment, and the development of Michigan's culinary tourism program.
Click on the arrow above to hear Creagh's January 23 Greening of the Great Lakes conversation with Kirk Heinze. Greening of the Great Lakes airs Sunday evenings at 9 on News/Talk 760 WJR.
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