</bigger></bigger></bigger></bigger> =09
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE =20
July 27, 1998
=09
Press contact: Christine Lietzau (517) 373-9800
=09
<bold>MIFFS Names Guthrie as New Executive Director</bold>=20
=20
EAST LANSING, MI -- Michigan Integrated Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS)
today announced the hiring of Michigan farmer Tom Guthrie as full-time
executive director. Guthrie was the top candidate after a nationwide
search.
=09
"We are delighted to hire a director with so much rich Michigan history
and so many connections to agriculture in our state," said MIFFS Council
member David Crumbaugh. "Tom has a profound understanding of both the
agricultural community and the agricultural industry. On his own farm,
Tom was one of the earliest adopters of sustainable agriculture in our
state =96 really a pioneer of environmentally aware farming. That kind of
forward thinking is just what we were looking for in a director,"
Crumbaugh added.=20
=09
A high-profile cash grain and livestock farmer from Barry County,
Michigan, Guthrie has served as vice president of Michigan Farm Bureau,
President and Treasurer of Michigan Agricultural Stewardship Association,
and Chair of the USDA's North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education Program. Guthrie has served on various other notable state
and national agriculture task forces and is widely recognized as a
spokesperson for sustainable agriculture. He received Michigan State
University's Agriculture and Natural Resources Distinguished Service
Award in 1995.=20
The son of a Kentucky sharecropper, Guthrie moved to Michigan in the
early 1960s to attend Michigan State University. He and his family
operated a dairy farm until the mid 1980s, when they switched to beef
and cash grains. Son Tom III will take over the family farm operation as
Guthrie assumes leadership of MIFFS on August 3, 1998.
MIFFS is a nonprofit organization working to improve the economic and
social well-being of Michiganders who grow and eat food, and the
environmental well-being of Michigan's natural resources. The
organization helps grassroots groups explore new opportunities related to
food and agriculture in by providing education, assistance, resources,
and networking opportunities. Past efforts have included rotational
grazing, livestock manure composting, urban agriculture, marketing
cooperative development, and protecting farmland from urban sprawl.=20
After operating as a W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded project for more than
three years, MIFFS incorporated as a nonprofit membership organization in
April 1998. =09
"Not only are the producers and of food vital to Michigan agriculture,
but processors, distributors, handlers, and ultimate eaters of food are
essential components," said Guthrie. "I hope I can share some of the
diverse experiences I've encountered across the food and farming systems,
and that they become ideas on which we can build. My utmost desire is to
help MIFFS continue to promote diverse community efforts that foster and
sustain food and agriculture systems that improve the economic,
ecological, and social well-being of Michigan."
Guthrie will work under the direction of a diverse 11- member Council
that includes:
=09
=95 Apple orchardist and Farmer's Egg Co-op manager Jane Bush (President);=
=20
=95 Beef producer and former agriculture commissioner David Crumbaugh
(Treasurer),=20
=95 Michigan Dept. of Agriculture Liaison to Food, Farms and Families
Christine Lietzau (Secretary);
=95 Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Jane
Hardisty;=20
=95 C.S. Mott Chair of Sustainable Agriculture Richard Harwood;=20
=95 Shiawassee County beef producer Chuck Cornillie;=20
=95 Food Bank Council of Michigan Executive Director Jane Marshall;=20
=95 Detroit Agriculture Network Coordinator David Hacker;=20
=95 East Michigan Environmental Action Council member Carol Osborne;=20
=95 Osceola County MSU Extension Director Jerry Lindquist;=20
=95 Monsanto Michigan State Scientist John Kaufmann.
For more information about the MIFFS organization, contact the office at
(517) 353-3209.
-30-
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".