President Barack Obama plans to sign the Agriculture Act of 2014, often referred to as the farm bill, at the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center Friday afternoon.
Students hoping to catch a glimpse of Obama when he visits MSU’s campus Friday will be sorely disappointed, however, as the event is closed to the public.
The farm bill legislation was passed by both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.
White House officials waited until the latest farm bill had been passed by Congress to release details about the event.
MSU has a number of ties to the farm bill.
The Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee is MSU alumna Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
The university was founded as the nation’s first agricultural college under the name Agricultural College of the State of Michigan.
Agriculture stayed in the university’s name until 1964, when Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science became Michigan State University.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon referenced MSU’s heritage as the pioneer land-grant university in a university statement released about Obama’s visit.
“This is an important piece of legislation for the country,” Simon said. “It not only provides strong support for new research enterprises, but it also strengthens and grows Michigan’s agriculture economy and helps sustain America’s global competitiveness.”
College of Veterinary Medicine Chair Raymond Geor declined to comment on Obama’s visit.
The bill is expected to cost more than $956 billion throughout the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The legislation covers a number of different issues from crop insurance to the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The first farm bill was enacted during the Great Depression in order to provide assistance to struggling farmers.
Michigan Farm Bureau’s national legislative counsel Ryan Findlay said the bill still serves as a crucial safety net against both natural and economic disasters.
Findlay said the bill will be very beneficial to Michigan farmers and “marks a paradigm shift in farm policy.”
He said some of the bill’s funding has the chance to make its way to MSU in the form of research funding.
“There are some phenomenal researchers at Michigan State University,” Findlay said. “I think they’ve proven in previous farm bills that they’ve been able to access that money for the benefit of Michigan farmers.”
Findlay said the bill will serve as a driving force of innovation for the agricultural industry.
“If we can take the intellectual power that’s at MSU and combine that with the right tools in the farm bill, then we’re gonna be pretty darn unstoppable in agriculture,” Findlay said.
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Friday will be the first time Obama has visited campus since his first campaign for the presidency in 2008.
The president last visited Michigan in 2012, when he came to Redford Township to take a tour of the Detroit Diesel plant.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been changed to reflect the correct name of the university prior to its change in 1964.
