The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) notified the Michigan Potato Industry Commission (MPIC) that a vote to raise the assessment cap on potatoes to 9 1/2 cents per hundredweight has failed.
The assessment cap will remain at 5 1/2 cents. Per statute, this only involves growers with 20 or more acres of potatoes in production. The assessment cap for shippers will remain at 1 1/2 cents.
Last fall, MDARD verified 15 petition signatures asked for the vote on raising the assessment cap. The voting period was Feb. 3-14, 2025. MDARD received 18 ballots, with one being disqualified as incomplete. Of the 17 ballots, which represented 13,480,523 hundredweight of potato production, 10 ballots were in favor of raising the cap assessment, with seven opposed.
However, the seven opposed accounted for 58 percent of the production, and volume is the deciding factor in the vote, according to law.
"The failure of the assessment cap increase special referendum to pass is a significant setback for our industry," said Kelly Turner, executive director, MPIC. "With no other means of accounting for inflation, it means that we will continue to face financial uncertainties that hinder long-term planning and our ability to address critical research needs."
She added, "This assessment cap referendum vote may be a direct response to the economic uncertainty currently facing the industry, as stakeholders seek to mitigate financial risks, they see this as one cost they can control."
The letter from MDARD on the referendum can be found here.