LANSING — Michigan House Republicans are proposing more than $50 million in cuts to Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, including investments in agricultural climate resilience, animal disease prevention, plant pest management and more.

The state House’s funding proposal would cut MDARD’s budget by more than a third, a change that advocates say could upend the agriculture industry.

MDARD director Tim Boring says in a statement that the House proposal would threaten the functions of the more than $120 billion Michigan agriculture industry.

“This includes significant cuts to food safety work, emergency response and preparedness, and customer service operations,” he said. “At a time when our federal partners are pushing for state governments to pick up the load, the H

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