Blueberry, Cherry, and Cranberry's Health Benefits Showcased in South Korea

The Michigan Department of Agriculture, along with the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (formerly MIATCO), conducted a seminar August 20-23, 2006 in South Korea, highlighting the health benefits of blueberries, cherries, and cranberries. Over 100 Korean importers, distributors, media, etc., attended the seminar to learn about the healing benefits of the three fruits.

The U.S. High Bush Blueberry Council, Cherry Marketing Institute, and the Cranberry Committee provided experts to discuss the health benefits of their respective fruits. Mark Valleta, executive director of the U.S. High Bush Blueberry Council, gave a presentation on the state of the blueberry industry. Dr. Russel Reiter, professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas presented the health benefits of tart cherries. Cranberry health benefits were highlighted by Professor Gun-Hee Kim of Duksung Women's University.

Mission attendees had the opportunity to participate in tours at some of the major retail outlets in Korea and a tour of the Lotte confectionary and candy company. During the tour, U.S. companies were able to see some product currently in the market and how it was utilized by the Korean retailers and bakeries.

Three Michigan companies, including Cherry Central, Graceland Fruit, and Honee Bear Canning, participated in the Korean Fruit Seminar and Trade Mission. The Michigan companies had the opportunity to met one-on-one with over 20 interested Korean buyers during the mission.

Korean Wine Buyers Visit Michigan

Korean wine buyers sample St. Julian's wines.

Two Korean wine buyers visited Michigan to learn more about Michigan and Midwest wines, with a particular interest in fruit wines. Michigan wineries St. Julian and Leelanau Cellars meet one-on-one with the wine buyers on August 3. The wine buyers then attended the Michigan Grape and Wine Council's gold medal reception, where they were able to taste all of the award winning wines from the state competition. Day two of the visit to Michigan included a tour to St. Julian Winery, Tabor Hill Winery, and Round Barn Winery. The Korean wine buyers were very impressed with the quality of wines coming from Michigan and the Midwest.

Wine buyers learning about Tabor Hill's vines.

Explore the Opportunities in Canada

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (formerly MIATCO) will sponsor a specialty foods trade mission to Toronto, Canada, November 1-3, 2006. Companies participating in the mission will have the opportunity to tour retail establishments and learn about the Canadian market and label regulations during a market briefing.

Enhance your international market access through Codex
This seminar will take place during the Food Product Association Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on November 13, 2006. Click here for an agenda.

Get Space Now for the 2007 FMI Show

The 2007 U.S. Food Export Showcase (USFES) held at the Food Marketing Institute's (FMI) show, will again have a prime location on the show floor. The USFES will remain in the front of the show floor right off the main concourse, offering companies better access to more domestic and international buyers. This is also the last year that the USFES show will be co-located with the FMI show, so don't miss this opportunity.

MDA will offer a special promotion for companies paying for booth space by October 27, 2006. These companies will receive a $400 discount and only be charged $2,200 for a 10'x10' booth. Booth spaces purchased after October 27 will be charged the full price of $2,600. Companies interested in exhibiting in the Michigan Pavilion at the 2007 FMI show should contact, Jamie Zmitko-Somers at (517) 241-3628 or zmitkoj@michigan.gov.

Name Change for MIATCO

For more than 30 years, Midwestern processed food and agricultural companies have counted on MIATCO's export assistance to reach foreign markets.  During that time, MIATCO has evolved into a robust export assistance organization, continually delivering value to exporters with a broad range of export knowledge and experience.

Today, as a stronger, more unified, and greatly streamlined association serving Midwestern U.S. food and agricultural companies, MIATCO is proud to announce that they are changing their name.  Effective immediately, MIATCO is changing its name to Food Export Association of the Midwest USA .

The new name, Food Export Association of the Midwest USA, makes it easier to link the organization to food exporting; more accurately describes the services provided; and enables continued growth. Food Export Association of the Midwest USA will continue to be a customer-friendly organization. 

New Wineries Win Big at Michigan Wine Competition
Judges are especially impressed by red wines

Twenty wine experts gathered August 1, 2006 in East Lansing for the 29th annual Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition. Judges included all three of Michigan's Master Sommeliers, a well-known California winemaker, several internationally known wine writers, and knowledgeable retailers and restaurateurs. "Our ability to attract such a stellar group of judges every year is testimony to the quality of wines produced here," said Competition Superintendent Christopher Cook, himself a wine writer.

MDA Director Mitch Irwin lends a hand at the 2006 Wine & Spirits Competition

Judges sniffed, sipped and discussed their way through a record 340 wines, all of which were grown and made in Michigan. At the end of the day, seven wines had received top awards from a group of 33 gold medal and 10 double gold medal winners.

Michigan's newest winery, open less than a month, won two top honors. Longview Winery in Cedar, on the Leelanau Peninsula, won Double Gold and Best of Class - Fruit Wine for their Cherry Wine and also received the optional Judges' Special Award for their 2005 Cabernet Franc. Another new winery, Mackinaw Trail in Manistique, received a gold medal for their 2005 Cabernet Franc.

The six Best of Class winners came from all of Michigan's major grape-growing areas. They were:

• Best Dry White: Peninsula Cellars - 2005 Dry Gewurztraminer - Manigold Vineyard
• Best Dry Red: Brys Estate - 2005 Pinot Noir
• Best Sparkling: Chateau Grand Traverse - 2001 Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut
• Best Semi-Dry White: Shady Lane Cellars - 2005 Semi-Dry Riesling
• Best Fruit Wine: Longview - 2005 Cherry Wine
• Best Dessert Wine: Karma Vista Vineyards - Razz M'Tazz

Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon and wine writer Eleanor Heald both were especially impressed with the red wines at the competition. "For dry reds in particular, the line-up was exemplary," said Triffon. Heald added that "Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc have really come of age."

2006-2007 Farm Market, U-pick and Agricultural Tourism Directory now available

Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm proclaimed September 10-16, 2006 as "Select Michigan" week and the Michigan Legislature designed September 14, 2006 as "Buy Local, Buy Fresh-Select Michigan Day." October is also designated as Michigan Farm Market Month.

Just in time for the celebration of Michigan's fall harvest bounty, the Michigan Department of Agriculture has released its "2006-2007 Farm Market, U-pick and Agricultural Tourism" directory. The directory includes listings of Michigan farm markets, U-pick operations, cider mills, wineries, Christmas tree farms, municipal farmers' markets and more. Using the directory, you can find locally grown and produced Michigan products in every area of the state. Many locations also offer family friendly activities, including hay rides, petting farms, craft shows and gift shops. Some also offer home baked pies, fresh donuts, jams, jellies and other tastes of Michigan autumn. The directory is available as a searchable database and as a printable PDF at www.michigan.gov/agtourism.

Governor receives agriculture grant recommendations: 267 new jobs, $43 million in capital investment

Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) director Mitch Irwin reported to the Michigan Agriculture Commission on September 12, 2006 that the department's recommendations for recipients of a competitive grant program could generate as many as 267 new jobs and over $43 million in capital investment.

The Agricultural Innovation Grants are part of an aggressive effort to spur growth in several economic sectors and is a key component of the 21st Century Jobs Fund. The 21st Century Jobs Fund is a $2 billion, ten-year initiative proposed by Governor Jennifer Granholm, approved by the Michigan Legislature, and administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to accelerate the diversification of Michigan's economy. 

"Michigan's robust agricultural industry is a critical part of our economy," said Granholm. "These projects reflect the entrepreneurial spirit and sound investment we need to create jobs and diversify our economy."

Grants from the Agricultural Innovation Fund, also known as the Julian-Stille Value-added Program, are competitive and designed to establish, retain, expand, attract or develop valued-added agricultural processing and related production operations in Michigan. MDA recommended 40 proposals covering 27 Michigan counties.

"The proposals we received reflected the diversity of Michigan agriculture," said Irwin. "From shrimp in Okemos to meat processing in Escanaba, innovation is the key to growing our state's $60.1-billion-agriculture-industry."

MDA received a total of 225 grant proposals with requests totaling more than $36 million. The proposals were evaluated and scored based upon: economic impact on the community; economic impact or enhancement to agricultural product and/or service; amount of project innovation or initiative; clarity of project proposal with specific and measurable outcomes; and management team experience and expertise.

Categories for grant awards included: Technical Assistance, Facility Improvements, Market Research/Development, Business Plan Development, and Facility/Land Purchase or Construction.

Eligible applicants for the grants included individuals, farmer-owned cooperatives, commodity boards, partnerships, limited liability companies, private or public corporations and local units of government. Applicants were also required to provide a cash match of ten percent for eligibility.

Agricultural Innovation Grants are subject to final approval by the State Administrative Board, a supervisory body for state functions, which includes the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The board is expected to review the recommendations at an October 3, 2006, meeting in Lansing.

Michigan's First Biodiesel Plant Opens in Gladstone

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Mitch Irwin joined Richard Vande Vusse, president of Ag Solutions, Inc., and Michigan soybean farmers to celebrate the grand opening of Michigan's first commercial biodiesel processing plant on August 17, 2006. The Upper Peninsula plant was built with a capital investment of $1.3 million and will initially employ six people. 

"Developing and producing alternative energy with companies like Ag Solutions, Inc., in Gladstone, is a key component of my economic plan to diversify Michigan's economy," Granholm said.  "The state that put the nation on wheels should be the state that makes those wheels independent of foreign oil."

The plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 5 million gallons per year that could be expanded in the future. Ag Solutions, Inc., will begin biodiesel fuel production with refined virgin soybean oil feedstock and then expand to other feedstocks, including recycled cooking oil and processed animal fats. 

"All of Michigan will benefit in this instance where one person's trash is another person's treasure," Irwin said.  "Instead of sending waste from packing plants and restaurants to landfills, this Gladstone company has developed an innovative process to turn this product into renewable biodiesel fuel."

A January 2006 report estimates Michigan's agricultural industry has a $60.1 billion impact on our economy annually, and that impact is only expected to grow in the coming years. In fact, a March 2006 biodiesel feasibility study found that with an investment of $7 to $12 million, a stand-alone 5 to 10-million-gallon biodiesel plant could be built in one of several Michigan locations.  The study was financed in part by a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant from USDA Rural Development, with support from Capital Area Innovative Farmers, individual farmers, CAP Cooperative, Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan/National Farmers Union, Gratiot County MSU Extension, Greater Gratiot Development and MDA.

"The opening of this plant is the culmination of more than two and a half years of persistence, hard work and the foresight of the soybean industry to recognize the value of bringing biodiesel production to Michigan," said Vande Vusse. "This plant will have an even greater impact in the U.P., where biodiesel is harder to obtain due to transport costs and where good paying, secure jobs will boost the local economy."

Michigan soybean producers expect to harvest about 2 million acres of soybeans this growing season, with a farm-gate value estimated at $385 million.

"We're excited that Michigan soybean producers can now proudly say, 'Michigan has a biodiesel plant!'" said Gail R. Frahm, executive director of the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee.  "Soybean producers nationwide have dedicated their sweat and hard-earned dollars to biodiesel promotion, research and market development and through their efforts have helped expand the market for biodiesel fuel."

In July, Granholm signed legislation that provided a number of incentives to promote the production, sale and use of alternative fuel. The package included tax incentives, providing matching grant opportunities, creating additional renaissance zones and establishing a Renewable Fuels Commission within the Michigan Department of Agriculture to recommend strategies in the promotion and research of biodiesel, ethanol and other renewable fuels. Granholm also called for the state of Michigan to install renewable fuels pumps at its motor transport facilities statewide so that state employees who drive state-owned vehicles have easy access to renewable fuels. 

Michigan's renewable fuels legislation includes:

•  Senate Bill 1074, Public Act 268
•  Senate Bill 1075, Public Act 269
•  Senate Bill 1078, Public Act 270
•  Senate Bill 1079, Public Act 271
•  House Bill 5181, Public Act 272
•  House Bill 5752, Public Act 273
•  House Bill 5754, Public Act 274

Business Ideas Development Workshop to be Offered in Michigan

Those with a business idea utilizing food, fiber, or a natural resource will learn how to take that idea to market at a half-day workshop offered by the MSU Product Center.

The "Road the Independence" workshop will be held at five locations across Michigan: Nov. 1 in Hart, at the Starting Block, from 6:00-9:30 p.m.; Nov. 3 in Clarksville, at the MSU Clarksville Horticultural Research Station, from 8:30-12:00 noon; Nov. 7 in Jackson, at the Jackson County MSU Extension office, from 1:00-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 10 in Clinton Township, at the Macomb County MSU Extension office, from 8:30-12:00 noon; and Nov. 13 in Gaylord, at the University Center, from 1:00-4:30 p.m.

Developing a winning business idea, matching it to customer wants and needs, and mapping out a plan for business success are the topics to be covered during the program. Participants will also have an opportunity to talk to others about their specific business idea and to network. Each will receive a packet of business resource materials.

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