AgBioResearch

2026-2027 Agronomy Priorities

Growing U.P. Agricultural Association
P.O. Box 168
Chatham, MI  49816
906-439-5114; Fax 906-439-5698
Submitter:  Ben Bartlett, President

The Growing U.P. Agricultural Association strives to provide direction and support collaborative efforts to share resources through the agriculture industry in the Upper Peninsula. 

Top Priorities

• Promote agricultural education to increase agricultural literacy among youth and the general public to enhance their understanding of production agriculture.
• Investigate and demonstrate new technologies, including tools provided by Artificial Intelligence, that impact UP agriculture (e.g. precision farming).
• Investigate, develop, demonstrate and communicate methods to improve soil health and soil biology as it pertains to regenerative agriculture.
  • Evaluate the new methods, including regenerative agriculture, available to assess soil health and their management implications and understand the interpretations of these methodologies
  • Practices to maximize nutrient efficiency including composting, soil testing, manure analysis and winter livestock feeding strategies.
  • Crop rotation and cover crops in U.P. cropping and perennial forage systems, in particular, renovation without tillage
• Investigate programs that add value to U.P. produced crops and products.
  • Investigate and develop other potential cash crop production and marketing strategies including industrial hemp, soybeans, specialty crops (organic vegetables), and seed production
  • Evaluate season extension and storage crop production practices
  • Evaluate aggregated marketing, food hub, and value-added processing possibilities
• Evaluate cost-effective methods to maintain or increase the economic viability of forage production and utilization in the U.P. on various soil types.
  • Continue varietal evaluations
  • Evaluate methods to improve and renovate pastures, including Silvopasture
  • Investigate challenges associated with producing high quality forage and yield
    • Improve longevity of alfalfa stands and evaluate harvesting techniques
    • Explore other legume and grass forage options
  • Explore methods to mitigate wildlife damage