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MICHIGANAGRICULTURAL

EXPERIMENT STATION

WINTER/SPRING 2010VOL. 27 NO. 4/VOL. 28 NO.1

utures

Research to Energize Michigan’sEconomic Development

Research to Energize Michigan’s Economic Development

2 | FUTURES

According to the state Department ofEnergy, Labor and Economic Growth,Michigan’s unemployment rate in March 2010was 14.1 percent, more than 4 percentage pointshigher than the U.S. average. The state’s econ-omy shrank 1.5 percent in 2008, continuing atrend — from 2003 to 2008, the state economylost 3.5 percent of production.

Times are definitely tough, but agriculture,including energy and fuels made from plants,remains a bright spot in the gloomy outlook.MSU Product Center for Agriculture andNatural Resources scientists estimate that thetotal economic impact of Michigan’s agricul-ture, food and bioenergy system was $71.3billion in 2008, a nearly 12 percent increasefrom 2006. This is a fifth of the state’s economicoutput and represents more than 1 million jobs.

In this issue of Futures, you can read how thework of MAES researchers is aiding the stateand its businesses as everyone works together toturn the economic tide.

The MAES is a research engine that helps topower and energize the state’s food, agriculturaland natural resources industries. As they addressissues facing these industries, MAES scientistsare also creating new technologies and devicesthat can be licensed and brought to the market-place by Michigan entrepreneurs. At the sametime, MAES researchers are creating other toolsspecifically aimed at encouraging, teaching andsupporting businesses as they start or expand.

The MSU Product Center for Agricultureand Natural Resources and MSU Business-CONNECT together have worked with nearly600 entrepreneurs, established businesses andnon-profits in fields ranging from cherrytopping to economic development to biodiesel.

A diverse team of MAES scientists envisionsa fresh approach to cultivating new jobs and newmarkets and is investigating the economicpotential of a more local, seasonal and sustainablefood system. Other researchers are workingside-by-side with biofuel and distilled spiritentrepreneurs, helping them develop theexpertise and equipment they need to becomeimportant cogs in the state’s economic revital-ization. In Flint, a city that has become emblem-atic of the auto industry’s collapse, turfgrassscientists, sociologists and economists havejoined forces with city officials and the turfgrassindustry to demonstrate how well-kept greenspaces and lawns may foster social capital andeconomic recovery.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Futures andthat it helps you understand a little more aboutthe Michigan Agricultural Experiment Stationand the research it funds. If you have commentsabout this issue or would like to subscribe (it’sfree!), send a note to Futures Editor, 109Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI 48824-1039, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. You also can call517-355-0123.

For the latest information about MAESresearch and events, I invite you to subscribe tothe free MAES e-mail newsletter. Sign up byvisiting the MAES Web site at www.maes.msu.edu/news.htm. You also can view this and pastissues of Futures on the Web site by clicking onthe “research publications” link.

— Jamie DePolo

Jamie DePolo, EditorChristine Altese, Art DirectorVal Osowski, WriterSteve Pueppke, DirectorJohn Baker, Associate DirectorDoug Buhler, Associate Director

futures

www.msu.edu

www.maes.msu.edu

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WINTER/SPRING 2010 | 3

4

Futures is published twice per year by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. To receive Futures free of charge write toFutures Editor, 109 Agriculture Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824, or call (517) 355-0123.

Permission to reprint material in this issue is granted, providing the meaning is not changed. Credit given to the publication as the source of the material is appreciated. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement or criticism of the products.

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MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION | WINTER/SPRING 2010 VOL. 27 NO. 4 VOL. 28 NO. 1

4 Boosting Michigan’s Economy One Business at a TimeThe MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources offers established companies and fledgling entrepreneurs an instant network of supportservices, education and market research that help spin business dreams into gold.

8 Business-CONNECT Works to Link Business to MSU Researchand ServicesBusiness-CONNECT is business’s front door to MSU for research partnership,entrepreneur support and economic development.

11 Relocalizing the Food Supply to Feed Michigan’s EconomyAs Michigan works to nurture and diversify its economy, a team of MAESresearchers is envisioning a fresh approach to cultivating new jobs and new markets by investigating the economic potential of a local, seasonal and sustainablefood system.

14 Getting Concrete Results from Urban AgricultureMAES scientists are studying the use of vacant and abandoned land in Michigan cities to develop urban agriculture systems.

19 Turf’s UpCan lawns and parks catalyze urban revitalization? A multidisciplinary MAESresearch team is working with Flint to answer that question.

23 A Brief History of LawnsThe roots of Americans’ attachment to yards of grass can be traced back to theEnglish lawns of the 19th century.

25 The Business of BiofuelBy conducting research in partnership with companies large and small, MAES scientists are helping Michigan’s growing biofuel industry power up.

29 Setting Michigan’s Economic Spirits SoaringMAES chemical engineer Kris Berglund’s research on distilled spirits and other fermented beverages has helped create a new industry in the state.

33 Research in the News

35 Directory

All photography by Kurt Stepnitz, University Relations photographer, except where noted.

Cover illustration by Christine Altese.

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4 | FUTURES

Boosting Michigan’sEconomy

One Business at a Time

Ruben Derderdian, Chris Peterson and Tom Kalchik(left to right) of the MSU Product Center.

THE PRODUCT CENTER PRODUCES RESULTS

SERVICES PROVIDED

One-on-one client counseling sessions

Assistance with business conceptdevelopment

Venture startups (based on commencementand continuation of planning for a newbusiness or an expansion for an existingbusiness)

Specialized services (including producttesting, detailed marketing analyses andfeasibility studies)

Venture launches (commencement ofeconomic activity for new or existingbusinesses through new sales, investment oremployment)

SINCE 2009

2,799 sessions

274 clients

235 clients

162 clients

19 ventures

SINCE 2004

12,667 sessions

1,166 clients

721 clients

713 clients

145 ventures

The Product Center’s assistance in launching 145 known new businesses and businessexpansions had the following estimated direct economic impacts:

• INCREASED ANNUAL SALES: $278.5 MILLION (CUMULATIVE FIRST-YEAR SALES ONLY).

• VALUE OF INCREASED INVESTMENT: $204.6 MILLION.

• JOBS CREATED: 711; JOBS RETAINED: 351. Statistics are through Dec. 31, 2009.


according to the state Department of Energy, Labor andEconomic Growth, Michigan’s unemployment rate in March 2010was 14.1 percent, more than 4 percentage points higher than theU.S. average. The state’s economy shrank 1.5 percent in 2008, contin-uing a trend — from 2003 to 2008, the state economy lost 3.5percent of production.

Times are definitely tough, but agriculture, including energy andfuels made from plants, remains a bright spot in the gloomy outlook.MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources scientistsestimate the total economic impact of Michigan’s agriculture, foodand bioenergy system to be $71.3 billion in 2008, a nearly 12 percentincrease from 2006. And the Product Center can count itself as oneof the contributors to this increase. In 2009, the center conducted2,799 counseling sessions with 572 clients, 254 of whom went on tothe next phase of business planning or successfully started businessesinvolving agriculture or natural resources.

Since starting operations in 2004, the center has helped launch145 new businesses or business expansions that created 711 jobs whilepreserving another 351 jobs. Increased sales attributable to theProduct Center are valued at $278.5 million, and the value of in-creased investment because of its work is another $204.6 million.

“We had 39 client applications in January 2010, the most we everhad,” said Chris Peterson, MAES agricultural economics scientistand Product Center director. Peterson also holds the Homer NowlinChair for Consumer-Responsive Agriculture and was one of theauthors of the agricultural economic impact study. “We do work witha number of inventors, but I think the economy is helping drive upthese numbers. Many people are becoming what we call ‘entrepre-neurs of necessity.’”

The brainchild of Peterson, the Product Center receives fundingfrom the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extensionand the Michigan BioEconomy Network. In 2009, the center addeda bioeconomy program led by associate director Ruben Derderianbecause the markets for biofuels, bioenergy and other bioproductsare very different from other agricultural product markets. The bio -economy program receives additional support from the departments

THE MSU PRODUCT CENTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND

NATURAL RESOURCES OFFERS ESTABLISHED

COMPANIES AND FLEDGLING ENTREPRENEURS AN

INSTANT NETWORK OF SUPPORT SERVICES,

EDUCATION AND MARKET RESEARCH THAT HELP

SPIN BUSINESS DREAMS INTO GOLD.

of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and Biosystemsand Agricultural Engineering. The center aims to improveeconomic opportunities in the Michigan agriculture, food andnatural resources sectors, and its experts are available to assistfirst-time entrepreneurs and established companies. Acting as asingle point of entry to Michigan State’s vast network of knowl-edge, research and expertise, the center helps guide clients throughall phases of conceptualizing, planning, starting, maintaining andgrowing a business.

Center economists conduct research on markets and assessbusiness opportunities in major areas such as vegetables, fruit,dairy, and nursery and greenhouse plants. The Product Centeralso provides access to Michigan MarketMaker, a Web site thatmakes it easy for producers and potential customers to find oneanother. MarketMaker is loaded with demographic, business andcensus data, so, for example, a producer who wants to sell a par-ticular type of meat to Hispanic consumers can request a map ofthe densest concentration of upper-income Hispanic householdsand then ask for a complete demographic profile of those locations.Conversely, a chef at a high-end restaurant who wants to find asource of organic eggs and produce for her restaurant can searchMarketMaker for farmers who sell directly to restaurants.

“It’s a powerful tool,” said Tom Kalchik, Product Centerassociate director, who leads food, agriculture and natural resourceprograms. “You can search for customers or producers andgenerate contact data.”

At the heart of Product Center services is a network of coun-selors located around the state who help assess the developmentalphase of a business or product, identify markets, assist with businessplan creation and help entrepreneurs make critical decisions aboutgoing forward. The counselors also help link entrepreneurs toother resources at MSU, such as testing, packaging or designservices, as well as state and federal resources.

“There are a lot of ideas that should be abandoned early becausethey’re not going to be successful,” Peterson explained. “Manytimes people just aren’t aware of everything that’s involved withcreating a new product. Our counselors help clients come to gripswith the realities of product development and marketing. Thenthe client makes the decision to go forward or not.”

Peterson, Kalchik and Derderian all agreed that a decision tohalt the process is just as successful as one that goes forward be-cause it saves quite a bit of time, money and effort that wouldhave been spent on a product that wasn’t going to work. Avoidingthose losses makes good business sense.

“About 50 percent of new businesses fail,” Kalchik said. “Wehelp people do better planning so more of them are successful.”

Some recent standout Product Center clients who count them-selves as successful include three sisters who started their firstbusiness when most of their friends were retiring. Othersare a Warren-based biodiesel company and a whitefish marketingcooperative.

6 | FUTURES

Above from left: JudyHarmon, Sue Keegstraand Lynda Herkner. Thesisters started acompany to market theirfamily cherry toppingrecipe in 2009. With theProduct Center’s helpand demand that hasoutstripped supply, thecompany has grownbeyond their wildestexpectations.

Left: A jar of Herkner’shomemade cherrytopping. Product Centercounselor Matt Birbeckcontinues to advise thewomen on variousaspects of the business.

Life is a Bowl of Cherries for the Herkner Sisters

“We’re just three grandmas trying to improve theMichigan economy, one jar of cherry topping at a time,”said Sue Keegstra (nee Herkner). “We absolutely couldnot have done any of this without the Product Centerand counselor Matt Birbeck and the MSU SmallBusiness and Nonprofit Law Clinic. They’re still guidingus on this incredible journey.”

The Herkner sisters’ journey started in April 2009.Keegstra’s older sister, Lynda Herkner, a Realtor in theTraverse City area for 25 years, found herself dealingwith the harsh reality of Michigan’s economy. The realestate market flat-lined; Herkner was working day andnight and still wasn’t making ends meet. Two ofHerkner’s four siblings still lived in Michigan —Keegstra and Judy Harmon — so the three sistersdecided they were going to form a company to marketthe cherry ice cream topping their parents had developedto help Herkner through her rough patch.

The company has grown beyond the sisters’ wildestexpectations. The first batch of 600 jars of Herkner’sHomemade Cherry Topping was available in September2009. It immediately sold out. Seven months later, justabout a year after they first thought of starting the com-pany, production is up to 143 cases (each case holds 12pint-sized jars) and growing, and the topping is availablein stores across Michigan, from Suttons Bay to WestBloomfield, as well as selected stores in Wisconsin,California, Vermont, New York and Florida. The sistersalso have developed a recipe book that expands uses forthe topping to salad dressings, meat glazes, pancakesand cookies.

“We worked with the Herkner sisters from conceptto startup,” Kalchik said. “They launched their businessat the Starting Block, a kitchen incubator in Hart, Mich.Within a few weeks, they had exceeded the capacity ofthat incubator. They’re working with two major com-panies to distribute their product and have moved to alarger copacking operation to keep up with demand.Everyone is really pleased with their success.”

Herkner’s Foods received the 2009 Start-Up toWatch Award, which recognizes a Product Center clientwho has demonstrated excellence, innovation and

“. . . IF WE CAN DO IT AT OUR AGE — I’M 64, LYNDA IS 72 AND JUDY IS 67—

AND IN THIS ECONOMY, THEN OTHER PEOPLE CAN, TOO.”

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growth through consistent success and growth in entre-preneurial and business development, sales, profits and re-lated financial performance.

“I can’t sing the praises of the Product Center enough,”Keegstra said. “We didn’t know anything about marketingor packaging or even how to scale up the recipe to com-mercial-sized batches. The Product Center and Matthelped us with everything. And if we can do it at our age— I’m 64, Lynda is 72 and Judy is 67 — and in this econ-omy, then other people can, too.”

“We consult with Matt before we make most decisionson the business,” Herkner added. “I don’t think we’ll everget so big that we don’t call Matt.”

Kalchik is delighted that the Herkners are pleased withthe Product Center’s services, but he also pointed out thatthe sisters were willing to do the time-consuming worknecessary for success.

“They went to farmers’ markets all over the state andsold the topping out of vans and trailers,” he said. “Theywere very aggressive.”

In the end, though, if the topping didn’t please thepalate, people wouldn’t buy it — even people who don’tlike cherries have purchased jars after being cajoled intoaccepting a taste by one of the sisters. A closely guardedfamily recipe, the topping was developed by the women’sparents in 1962.

“Our parents had the second largest cherry farm onthe Old Mission Peninsula,” Keegstra said. “They werealways experimenting with ways to use cherries in all sortsof recipes.”

The Herkners’ parents wanted to market the toppingbut had trouble making large batches that had the sametaste and consistency as the original recipe. The familykept making the topping for themselves and to give as giftsto friends for holidays and special occasions.

“We wanted to fulfill our parents’ dream and also helpLynda,” Keegstra said. “We’re having the time of our lives.Most of the money is going back into the company, butwe’re making a small profit. Our goal is to be able to haveLynda work full-time for the company so she can quitworking in real estate.”

Refining Fuel Alternatives

The Motor City is known for automobiles; less so forthe fuel it takes to operate them. But four entrepreneursbased in Warren want to change that. The PowerAlternative, incorporated in 2006 by Jim Padilla Sr., JimPadilla Jr., Daniel Angell and E. Lance Stokes, has beenselling biodiesel since June 2008. Drawing on the partners’expertise in chemistry, manufacturing, plastics, the autoindustry, and business development and startup, the

company aims to make biodiesel fuel competitive withthe wholesale price of petroleum diesel fuel (known asthe rack price) without government subsidies.

“We’re the highest capacity plant in Michigan,” saidthe younger Padilla. “We can produce one barrel ofbiodiesel per minute, and we’ve made thousands of barrelsof spec fuels.” (Spec fuels are made to meet certain spec-ifications.)

In the wake of the cooling of the biodiesel market,The Power Alternative is diversifying its offerings. Effortsinclude developing other products, developing feedstockparameters and setting up biodiesel plants for otherpeople. The company also has patented a process forgrowing algae for biofuel in cold weather climates.

“I think it was someone at the Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corporation that recommended the ProductCenter to us,” Padilla Jr. said. “We had talked to a lot ofpeople. The Product Center was different — they gave uscontacts that were useful. They brokered meetings thatwere helpful and assisted us in setting up relationshipswith other public and private entities. It’s been a very goodexperience for us.”

“The principals at The Power Alternative have quite abit of research experience,” said the Product Center’sDerderian. “Originally they were planning on processingcanola oil, but because of prices, they’re looking at usingother feedstocks, including pennycress.”

Pennycress, also known as skunkweed, can grow onmarginal soil that can’t be used to grow food. It also hasbeen shown to remove heavy metals from soil, so it mayserve a dual purpose of helping to clean up contaminatedland. The Power Alternative is working with a Canadiancompany to install a pennycress crushing plant andbiodiesel refinery in Alberta.

“Pennycress is basically a weed and not a food crop,”Padilla explained. “It’s also more cold-tolerant than canola,which means the biodiesel made from it will do better incold weather than biodiesel made from canola. I’ve seen itwork at -28 degrees Celsius [-18 degrees Fahrenheit].”

One general knock against biodiesel is that it becomesvery thick at cold temperatures and won’t flow throughengines.

Padilla said his company is working with Detroit pol-icymakers to explore options for growing pennycress inproposed urban farming plots on vacant land around thecity. He believes pennycress is an ideal crop for formerindustrial sites that can’t be used to grow food.

“We want to work with the city of Detroit to establish aproject to grow pennycress and make biodiesel,” he said.

The Power Alternative continues to look to the ProductCenter for help in setting up meetings with farmers whomay be interested in growing pennycress or other biodieselfeedstock crops.

8 | FUTURES

Business-CONNECT works to linkbusinesses to MSU research and services

the MSU Product Center helps agricultureand natural resources-based businesses launch orexpand by offering an immediate network ofsupport services. But both new and establishedbusinesses may have other needs that MSU canmeet, such as access to research and developmentresources, sources for hiring MSU talent, ortraining programs for employees and executives.MSU Business-CONNECT can help businessmake those connections to MSU.

“Our goal is to make MSU accessible tobusinesses,” said Charles Hasemann, executivedirector of MSU Business-CONNECT.“Business-CONNECT is business’s front doorto MSU for research partnerships, entrepreneursupport and economic development.

“One important way we can help companies isby coordinating the contractual negotiations andother business agreements that are part of anycollaboration between MSU and private organi-zations,” he explained. “Chief among these areprivately sponsored research contracts. In aneconomic downturn, research and developmentis an early area to be cut. Companies can partnerwith MSU to help bridge the need for researchexpertise and high-end specialized testing facili-ties and equipment. Business-CONNECT canfacilitate these working relationships by helpingto design mutually beneficial contracts betweenbusinesses and MSU resources.”

Like the Product Center, Business-CONNECT introduces companies touniversity experts, scientific equipmentand facilities — the goal is to make connect-ing to the vast expanse of MSU knowledgea productive and personal experience forclients.

Hasemann has worked with The RightPlace, Inc., a non-profit economic develop-ment organization based in Grand Rapidsthat promotes economic growth in westernMichigan. Bill Foley, advanced productioninnovation director for the group, helpedlink Business-CONNECT with the WestMichigan Manufacturers’ Council. Thecouncil conducted a needs assessment, andHasemann used that to pull together a poolof MSU resources, including faculty mem-bers, and technology transfer and intellec-tual property information.

“Working with Dr. Hasemann meanswe have confidence that we can talk to theright people and receive quicker feedbackabout opportunities or challenges for col-laborations with MSU,” Foley said in aninterview. “Time is valuable, and our manu-facturing decision makers want dynamic,forward-moving relationships because theireconomic survival depends on it.”

“Any business that wants access toMSU resources should contact me first,”Hasemann said. “Things will happenmuch faster when Business-CONNECThelps navigate the university’s wealth ofresources.”

— Jamie DePolo

Charles Hasemann, executive director ofMSU Business-CONNECT, aims to makeMSU resources accessible to business.“Any business that wants access to MSUshould contact me first,” Hasemann says.


“The Product Center is opening up a lot of new op-portunities for us,” Padilla said. “When you run yourown business, it’s very easy to be insularly focused. TheProduct Center helps us think broadly and gave us aninstant network when we started. And a network is soimportant when you’re operating your own business.”

Marketing a Legendary Fish

As anyone who’s savored a perfectly prepared filetknows, whitefish is one of the most prized catches inthe Great Lakes. In 2007, Michigan commercial anglerscaught more than 7 million pounds of whitefish.Wisconsin had the second largest catch at nearly 2 mil-lion pounds.

“We started working with the state’s whitefish industryin 2004 at the request of Michigan Sea Grant — RonKinnunen and Chuck Pistis,” said the Product Center’sKalchik. “There were some economic issues, and theyneeded brand recognition for Michigan whitefish.”

Using a grant from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) Agricultural Innovation Center,representatives from the Product Center and MichiganSea Grant facilitated a series of meetings between every-one involved in the industry, including commercial fish-ermen, processors, packers and regulators, outlining astrategy that focused on quality to set Michigan whitefishapart from whitefish from other states.

In 2008, four commercial fishing/processing com-panies — Gauthier & Spaulding Fisheries in RogersCity; the Bay Port Fish Company in Bay Port; MarineManagement Ltd., in Muskegon; and LeBlanc Fisheriesin Cheboygan — decided to form the Legends of theLakes cooperative to market a superior whitefish filetto retail stores. In 2009, the co-op accepted a fifth partialmember, the Mackinac Straits Fish Company. Memberspay a fee to join, and those that produce fish must meetstrict requirements for freezer temperatures and timefrom dock to processor.

Funds from another USDA program — the RuralCooperative Development program — allowed theProduct Center to help the group organize as a coop-erative and start a marketing program.

“The idea was to get a better price for a filet thatmeets stringent size and quality standards,” explainedTom Spaulding, of Gauthier & Spaulding Fisheries.“Matt Birbeck [Product Center project consultant]helped us develop our accounts, including SpartanStores, our largest account.”

Meijer and stores in Chicago are considering stock-ing Legends of the Lakes after meetings that Birbeckhelped broker. The Product Center also put the co-opin touch with a design firm to develop the product’slogo, Web site and packaging.

Cooperative members are pleased with the product’s

success, which includes an increasing share of the white-fish market and a $2-per-pound price premium.

“We grew from nothing to a viable co-op,” Spauldingsaid. “We sold more than 2,000 pounds of Legends ofthe Lakes whitefish last year. Everyone is very satisfiedwith the growth. The Legends filets are the best inMichigan.”

Not content to sit dockside and rest on their fishinglaurels, Legends of the Lakes members are working tointroduce new whitefish products, and the ProductCenter will be there with them as they expand and takeadvantage of their growing reputation for excellence.Gauthier & Spaulding plans to introduce a new line ofbreaded whitefish cakes, and the Mackinac Straits FishCompany is working on a microwavable flavored filet.The Bay Port Fish Company has plans to introduce asmoked whitefish spread, and the members are talkingabout developing a lake trout filet.

“It’s been impressive to watch the success of Legendsof the Lakes,” Kalchik said. “Matt helped them addressall the issues they faced, and now they’re looking intoexpanding into other states.”

— Jamie DePolo

“THE PRODUCT CENTER HELPS US THINK BROADLY AND GAVE US

AN INSTANT NETWORK WHEN WE STARTED. AND A NETWORK IS SO

IMPORTANT WHEN YOU’RE OPERATING YOUR OWN BUSINESS.”

10 | FUTURES

Relocalizing the Food Supply to Feed Michigan’s Economy


It’s a cold February Saturday in Michigan, and you’re heading out to

buy groceries for a dinner party at your house that evening. You swing

by the community farmers’ market and purchase some baby leaf salad

greens and kale that were just harvested from a farm a half-hour away,

and radishes and carrots from a vendor who operates a small urban farm

on the west side of town. Wait . . . fresh, locally grown vegetables

available in the dead of winter?

As Michigan works to nurture and diversify its transitioning economy, a team

of MAES researchers is envisioning a fresh approach to cultivating new jobs

and new markets in the state by investigating the economic potential of a more

local, seasonal and sustainable food system.

“Michigan won’t have a godfather economy to drive it as it had in the 20th

century with the auto industry,” said MAES researcher Mike Hamm, who holds

the C. S. Mott Chair of Sustainable Agriculture and heads the 12-member

C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. “If we’re going to

build the economy of Michigan for the 21st century, it will need to be a

diverse, networked, green industry economy. Otherwise, there isn’t going to

be an economy.” ▼

12 | FUTURES

Cultivating a New Vision for Economic Prosperity

“The umbrella for this work is health, jobs and food,”said MAES horticulturist and Student Organic Farm(SOF) coordinator John Biernbaum. “Mike [Hamm]and I are especially interested in new farmer training,producer access to financial capital and land, technolo-gies that extend the growing season, direct marketingto the public, soil improvement and crop diversity.”

Hamm said that a more sustainable food and agri-culture system, with greater emphasis on local marketsand fresh produce, can bring an array of benefits toMichigan and to society at large.

“Historically, Michigan agriculture has tended to goafter a single market,” he said, “so most of the state’sfruits and vegetables have been processed. For example,the state has 48,000 acres in potatoes; 40,000 acres ofthose potatoes go to Frito Lay. Meanwhile, the residentsof Michigan or that ‘little place’ called Chicago are buy-ing in a lot of niches — organic, fresh, local, pasture-raised — and Michigan is going after only a very smallpiece of those markets.

“Certainly a big part of the green economy in a placelike Michigan is agriculture,” Hamm added, “but it can’tbe the agriculture we’ve had for the past 30 or 40 years.The state’s agricultural sector has to go beyond claimingthat it’s the second most diverse agricultural state in thecountry. That’s based on numbers of things grown — itsays nothing about the markets that those things pene-trate.”

A recent study conducted by Hamm; MAES re-searcher Chris Peterson, who holds the Homer NowlinChair for Consumer-Responsive Agriculture; MottGroup economist David Conner; and agricultural econ-omist Bill Knudson showed that almost 2,000 new off-farm jobs, 37,000 more acres of production and $200million in new farmer income would be created withinthe state in a scenario in which residents increased fruitand vegetable consumption by about 20 percent to helpmeet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) con-sumption guideline levels by eating more seasonallyavailable, Michigan-grown fresh produce.

“It is clear that relatively small changes in individualeating habits across a state’s population can have signif-

icant direct and indirect impacts on employment andincome,” Hamm said. “In a sense, the figures we cameup with are conservative in that they don’t account forthe economic benefit resulting from improved nutritionand health.”

Hamm said that a major challenge for Michiganagriculture in the development of local food systems isthe state’s fairly limited growing season.

“Because Michigan agriculture is seasonally chal-lenged, it’s not possible to eat a broad array of locallygrown, fresh produce year-round,” he said, “and yet 10million Michiganders and about another 10 millionpeople in the Chicago area are eating fruits and vegeta-bles year-round. So we can also expand opportunitiesfor building the economy by asking how we can extendthe season over which we deliver those things to market.That’s where season extension technology comes in,along with postharvest management and controlled-atmosphere storage for produce such as apples.”

“Building dimensions of diversity into our agricul-tural system is a prerequisite for it being a larger part ofMichigan’s future economy,” Biernbaum said. “It’s adevelopment process of building the market, the people,

“Certainly a

big part of

the green

economy in a

place like

Michigan is

agriculture...

but it can’t

be the

agriculture

we’ve had for

the past 30

or 40 years.” MAES horticultural scientist John Biernbaum also coordinatesthe MSU Student Organic Farm. He has been a big proponentof hoophouses, which allow farmers to extend their growingseasons and intensify production.


the land and the infrastructure. We can build the capac-ity, get the farmers, and provide the necessary trainingand resources. The necessary vision is seeing how weget all these pieces to come together so that people whowant to buy local food and the people who want jobsproducing local food are all successful.”

Capitalizing on a New Kind of Hoops in Michigan

As researchers and others explore strategies to shiftemphasis to fresh wholesale and direct-market produc-tion, season extension technologies are receiving in-creased attention. More and more Michigan farmers areexperimenting with the use of hoophouses (also knownas high tunnels because they’re tall enough to stand in)to extend the growing season, increase the number ofmarket days and intensify production. Hoophouses aresimple structures characterized by a peak or Gothicframe typically constructed using a series of bowedlengths of tubular steel covered with a layer of green-house plastic film.

“I was introduced to hoophouses by John Biernbaumand the SOF,” said Conner, who studies the economicimpacts of community-based food systems and the

marketing of sustainably raised products. “He and histeam showed us that hoophouses work in Michigan —the SOF runs a 48-week, community-supported agri-culture program using hoophouse technology. Althoughit’s clear that produce can be grown year-round, there’sstill the need to see how profitable it can be on Michiganfarms with hoophouse novices. So we decided to takehoophouses for a test drive.”

Twelve farmers agreed to test the technology and itseconomic potential — three each in Sault Ste. Marie,Traverse City, Muskegon and Ann Arbor. One 3,000-square-foot hoophouse (30 feet by 96 feet) was donatedto each farmer in exchange for 30 months of data,including revenue and sales, direct costs and hours oflabor. Participating farmers also were interviewed todocument their experiences, the lessons learned and thechallenges they faced in adopting this technology.

To help with this work, Biernbaum and Connerteamed up with Michigan Food and Farming Systems(MIFFS) to hire Adam Montri — a former MSU horti-culture student — as an outreach specialist to provideMichigan growers and, more recently, partners in Flintand Detroit, with hoophouse construction and cropmanagement information through the SOF.

A hoophouse (also called a high tunnel) at the Student Organic Farm. MAES scientists teamed up with Michigan Food and FarmingSystems to teach farmers how to build hoophouses and manage the crops grown in them. Research shows that these farms can makemoney and pay off hoophouse construction costs in about two years.

14 | FUTURES

Another key piece of the food access equationis investigating the use of vacant and aban-doned land in Michigan cities to develop urbanagriculture systems.“Detroit is demonstrating tremendous oppor-tunity in this area,” Hamm said.

The Detroit of the 1950s is not the Detroit of today. The cityof 2 million people and 139 square miles worked in 1950. Fastforward 60 years, and Detroit still has an infrastructure de-signed for 2 million people but a population of just under 1million. What should be done with all the extra space?

“Detroit has no major supermarkets within its city limits,”Hamm said. “There are retail outlets and corner grocery shops,but they’re limited. So one of the big issues is how you ensurefood access for all Detroiters. One thing that is emerging is theopportunity to turn large amounts of the open space in Detroitinto productive farmland, and to think about Detroit, in part,as a food production center for Michiganders and the region.”

Hamm worked with then MSU graduate student KathrynColasanti (now an academic specialist with the Mott Group),who analyzed the publicly owned open space in Detroit. Herstudy included only public land with no buildings that couldpotentially be put into production.

“In my analysis, I found that there are 4,800 acres or about7.6 square miles of empty, publicly owned, available landwithin the city limits,” Colasanti said. “Then we asked, ‘If weput a small percentage of that land into production, whatwould that mean in terms of the ability to produce food inDetroit?’ We determined that using four-season farming tech-nology and postharvest storage technology on 2,000 acres,Detroit could produce up to 75 percent of the vegetables andabout 50 percent of the fruit needed for 900,000 people.”

The question then became how to go about making thisa reality.

MSU Extension already had teamed up with Greening ofDetroit and the Detroit Agriculture Network to create theGarden Resource Collaborative (GRC) in 2003. The GRC workswith community gardeners in the city to provide garden space,

resources and education. In recent years, the emphasis hasexpanded to include efforts to seed 1- to 3-acre farms thatprovide opportunities for people in Detroit to be small businessentrepreneurs.

In addition, Greening of Detroit currently has a 3-acre siteat the Eastern Market that will be established as an educationand training four-season market garden similar to the MSUSOF. Montri and Biernbaum are working with Greening ofDetroit to develop the four-season production plans for thesite, and Hamm, Colasanti and Conner are working with thegroup to model the economics and production potential of a3-acre farm.

“We’re just starting to develop partnerships and formulatea plan to look at whether these small-acreage urban farms canbe profitable,” Colasanti said. “Three acres is a reasonablescale — it makes sense for an urban family farm. The nextphase of our project is to collect data over the next two grow-ing seasons — 2010 and 2011.”

“Production will begin this summer on at least half thesite, which includes three hoophouses that are movable andone stationary hoophouse, representing about 7,500 squarefeet of growing space,” Montri added.

Hamm knows that turning Detroit into an agricultural hubisn’t going to be easy. He suggested that various scales of agri-culture will be needed to reach, for example, a 2,000-acre goal.

“Two entities are looking at creating 30- to 40-acrefarms,” Hamm said. “These larger scale farms would comple-ment small-scale farms to realistically reach 2,000 acres.”

“Urban agriculture is a good synergy in a number ofways,” Conner said. “For example, Detroit has been called a‘food desert’ because of its relative absence of fresh, afford-able food. There is a need for fresh fruits, foods and vegetablesthere, and there is affordable land available. For young farmerswho are just getting started, land in rural areas can be fairlyexpensive, so we think urban farming is an option worth in-vestigating, especially for beginning farmers.”

— Val Osowski

management matters. The tool works — it’s a matter ofhow it’s managed.”

Hoophouse management includes deciding what toplant, how much of it to plant, when to plant it and howto keep it growing. The team also found that one of thekey predictors of success for these 12 farms was recordkeeping.

“Those who kept good records were more successful,”

So, can these farms make money?“Yes, they can certainly make money,” Conner said.

“Some farmers netted up to $6,000 in the first year. Thehoophouses used in the study cost $10,000 to $12,000,which means that these farmers could realistically payoff their hoophouse expense in two years. One farmerduring the course of the study made almost $19 perhour. One farmer made 28 cents. This said to me that

Getting Concrete Results from Urban Agriculture


Conner said. “What’s the old adage — ‘You can’t man-age what you don’t measure’? When each farmer placedhis or her numbers next to the averaged numbers of allthe farmers in the study, a lot of light bulbs went on inheads. We heard things such as, ‘Wow, I’ve been spend-ing a lot of time on that compared to others,’ and ‘Thesecrops are making me money, these are not.’”

Conner said that there is also well-documenteddifficulty with credit access for farmers, particularlyfarmers who are using technologies that are not familiarto lenders.

“Naturally, lenders see things that they are less fa-miliar with as higher risk,” he explained. “Most lendersaren’t familiar with hoophouses, so we decided to createa model business plan to give farmers using this tech-nology a better chance at securing financing. The teamstarted by taking what it thought a good farmer woulddo — maybe not even the very best farmer — but agood farmer, and ran the numbers.”

On the basis of those results, Conner wrote up themodel business plan.

“I called the plan ‘David’s Farm’ and wrote it up as ifI were a farmer,” he said. “Then I shared it with threepeople — one person who specializes in helping smallbusiness but is not in agriculture, and two agriculturallenders. They looked at it, picked it apart and said, ‘Thisis good, this is good, this is good, this needs work.’

The plan is now complete and is available as a free,downloadable document on the Mott group Web site[www.mottgroup.msu.edu].”

“The nice thing about this hoophouse technology isthat whether you’re talking about urban or rural or peri-urban [between the suburbs and the countryside] farms,it’s applicable from right downtown to all the way out,”Montri said. “Our hope is that this is a document that afarmer can take, put in his or her own numbers and hisor her own marketing/business strategy, and then taketo a lender and get a loan to buy a hoophouse.”

“I think it’s a really defensible plan,” Conner added.“I think it’s realistic. It’s what a good farmer with goodmarkets and good management can do.”

Tapping the Economic Potential of Farmers’ Markets

Farmers’ markets are another important tool inrelocalizing Michigan’s food supply. MSU has a longhistory of working with farmers’ markets. Since the1960s, MSU researchers and Extension specialists havetracked farmers’ market numbers and provided infor-mational resources, educational programs and technicalassistance to help keep these markets growing and viable.

“Farmers’ markets are seen by many as the flagshipof the local food movement,” said Susan Smalley, MottGroup director. “Although they account for only arelatively small portion of food that people purchase,they’re very visible, they’re colorful, and they bring goodfood and people together.”

From left: Mike Hamm, Kathryn Colasanti and David Conner examine produce grown in a hoophouse. The scientists areworking with Greening of Detroit to develop a four-season market at the Eastern Market that will use hoophouses togrow produce.

“Farmers’ markets are

seen by many as the

flagship of the local

food movement ...

they’re very visible,

they’re colorful, and

they bring good food

and people together.”

16 | FUTURES

There are currently 5,274 operating farmers’ marketsin the United States, according to USDA data. InMichigan, the number of farmers’ markets more thantripled from about 70 in the early 1990s to about 250markets in 2009. To help support this growing marketniche, MSU helped MIFFS found the Michigan FarmersMarket Association (MIFMA) in 2006.

“Farmers started realizing that the industrial agri-culture model wasn’t working for all scales of farming,”said Dru Montri, MIFMA manager and MSU doctoralstudent. “Farmers’ markets fill a niche for small- andmedium-sized farmers and provide a way for them toput a larger portion of food dollars in their pocketthrough direct marketing.”

Smalley said that agricultural census data indicatethat approximately 6,300 Michigan farmers are selling

directly to consumers. Excluding consumer sales throughroadside stands and CSA programs, she estimates thatabout 5,000 farmers are selling at least some of theirproduce at farmers’ markets.

“Of all the ways farmers can sell food, I see farmers’markets as having the lowest barriers to market entry,”Smalley said. “People can come in and sell for part ofthe season and try it out, stall fees are very low, youdon’t need a lot of equipment, and you get direct feed-back from your customers. It’s a really good way forpeople to put their toe in and try out the market on asmall scale before they jump in and make an expensivemistake.”

On the consumer side, Montri said that, as peoplegain access and are exposed to fresh, healthy food, theywant more and become interested in a greater varietyand diversity of foods.

“A lot of consumers are now hooked on fresh, localfood,” Montri said. “They don’t want it to end inOctober, and they don’t want it to start in June or July— they want it year-round. So farmers’ markets are reallyworking with growers to help them understand simpleseason extension techniques and the ability to extend notonly the growing season but the market season.”

“We’re seeing a number of these markets try winterhours,” Smalley added. “Most farmers’ markets close atthe end of October, but some of them are now trying

Mott Group Director Susan Smalley works with farmers’ markets across the state. Smalley believes that the development of farmers’ marketsneeds to be considered as part of the state’s economic recovery.

“A lot of consumers are now hooked on

fresh, local food.”


one or two days the week before Thanksgiving and aday in December just before Christmas. If that provessuccessful, maybe they’ll try selling monthly throughthe winter.”

Montri said that a lot of downtown development au-thorities and chambers of commerce are very interestedin establishing farmers’ markets as a part of their com-munity development strategy.

“These groups see farmers’ markets not only as away to provide access to fresh, locally produced foodbut — even more importantly — as a way to invigoratetheir downtown areas by bringing more people to down-town businesses and creating traffic in less frequentedparts of their communities,” she said.

“A neat example of how farmers’ markets and urbancommunities are working together is the GrandRapids Fulton Street Farmers’ Market,” Smalley said.“The market isn’t right downtown, so the city’s localtransit authority set up a bus route on Fridays. It runstwo bus loops from downtown to the farmers’ marketduring the lunch hour to encourage people to shop forhealthy food.”

Montri said that MIFMA also is seeing a lot of hos-pitals and people in the health and wellness industry in-terested in establishing farmers’ markets.

“It’s not just about the traditional places where youthink a farmers’ market might be,” she said. “There area lot of healthcare professionals that view having an on-site market as a very important part of what they’redoing for both their employees and their patients. Forexample, Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak has a farmers’market; Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo hosts an indoorwinter market with its municipal farmers’ market; HurleyHospital in Flint is doing a trial market in conjunctionwith the Flint Farmers’ Market; and Sparrow Hospital

in Lansing has a satellite market of the Allen StreetFarmers’ Market once a month.”

It’s also very important to look at farmers’ marketsas places where people can go regardless of their so-cioeconomic status, Montri said. For this reason, a na-tional effort began in 2007 to increase the number offarmers’ markets that used the Electronic BenefitsTransfer system to accept Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The system acceptsa plastic card similar to a bank debit card to deduct foodpurchases from a shopper’s SNAP account. Because thecard used in Michigan shows the Mackinac Bridge, ithas become known as the “bridge card.”

“The biggest barrier to bridge card transactions atthese markets was the development of an efficient, cen-tralized system,” Montri said. “Although we still have away to go, Michigan leads the Midwest states in thenumber of farmers’ markets that accept bridge cardswith more than 50. During the 2009 market season,more than $297,000 in bridge card benefits were re-deemed at farmers’ markets across the state — a 224percent average increase per market over 2008 redemp-tions. This growth is a testament to the success of bridgecard programs at Michigan farmers’ markets.”

So how do farmers’ markets fit into Michigan’s over-all recovery?

Dru Montri (right), Michigan FarmersMarket Association (MIFMA) manager, talks with Christine Miller, manager of theMeridian Farm Market. MSU worked withMichigan Food and Farming Systems tofound the MIFMA in 2006.

“Of all the ways farmers can sell food, I see

farmers’ markets as having the lowest barriers to

market entry.”

18 | FUTURES

said. “We don’t want our rural areas to be islands, and wedon’t want our cities to be islands. There’s an intercon-nection there — strengthening one strengthens the other.”

Conner agrees.“There’s a false competition in the perception of a

zero-sum game,” he said. “Some take the position, forexample, that ‘If they’re growing vegetables in Detroit,consumers there won’t be buying mine.’ I don’t believethat’s true. I believe it’s ‘They’re growing vegetables inDetroit; they’re getting a taste for fresh, healthy food;they feel good; they’re productive; they want to buymore; and they can’t grow all of it.’ There’s a new mar-ket. Too often, people think in either/or when theyshould think in both/and.”

The urban-rural connection is also important to therole that farmers’ markets play in connecting people totheir food, to the land and to one another.

“Direct relationships between the people who growthe food and people who eat the food helps people caremore about the way their food comes to them,” Smalleysaid. “If I just go to a supermarket and pick food off ashelf, there’s not really a lot there that encourages meto care much about where that food came from; the onlythings I might pay attention to are the price and whethermy family will eat it. But at a farmers’ market, peoplecan talk with one another and ask questions such as ‘Didyou use pesticides and, if you did, why did you use them?’There’s an opportunity for real relationships betweenpeople and between people and their food that isn’t partof most other ways of getting food.”

Hamm said that, although transitioning to a morelocal, sustainable food system shouldn’t be oversold asthe end-all, be-all of economic development, it has greatpotential to help revitalize Michigan and generatebroadly applicable lessons for many other areas.

“We’re going to need a network of innovative, sustainable industries and small- and medium-scale agriculture that’s locally sourced and locally consumed,”he said. “Whether the food is rural- or urban-produced,relocalizing the state’s food supply is an important pieceof the economic system of the future. By understandingand articulating the interconnectedness of food andagriculture, nutrition and health, and economics, wecan create opportunities for broad conversations onpotential solutions to a variety of problems.”

— Val Osowski

“When we think about economic recovery, too oftenit’s about bringing in a big factory or a big anything,”Smalley said. “In the long run, we might be better servedby placing an emphasis not just on finding jobs but onhelping people create viable businesses. Farmers’ marketsare one way, at a pretty low cost, to accommodate this.If we’re in this for the long haul — and I hope that weare — including the development of farmers’ marketsas part of the state’s broader economic recovery effort issomething that really needs to be considered.”

Growing Michigan’s Future TogetherAlthough health, job creation and local access to fresh

food are key goals of this endeavor, the group is quickto point out that the foundation and ultimate success ofsuch an approach lies in a collective effort that includesmany groups and cultures across the state.

“The opportunities we’re facing will not be addressedby one faculty member doing a project and making adramatic difference,” Biernbaum said. “We’re trying todevelop a system that has room for everyone to join inand participate. There will always be people with moreor less wealth, but we need systems that are diverse andrespect the need for small, medium and large.”

Adam Montri emphasized that, although the groupis pushing for more urban agriculture in the state, theysee these mostly small-scale farms as a supplement to,not a replacement for, rural farm operations.

“I don’t think anyone in Detroit or Flint or GrandRapids or Traverse City would say that their goal is togrow all the food for the populations of these cities,” he

Turf’s Up!

As the industrial model that once drove the United States’

economic engine continues to downshift, communities across the

country are looking for innovative, sustainable ways to cultivate

their economic and social well-being. Population decreases and

urban decline caused by the contraction of manufacturing jobs

have taken their toll, and urban areas are increasingly driven to

find ways to survive and thrive as smaller cities.

There is perhaps no more telling example of the magnitude of

this challenge than the collapse of the auto industry in the 1970s,

and no more emblematic and well-publicized story than the decline

and fall of Flint. In his 1989 documentary film, “Roger & Me,”

Flint native Michael Moore portrayed the negative economic im-

pact that resulted from the closing of several General Motors auto

plants in Flint, eventually costing more than 80,000 people in the

region their jobs and devastating the city. Known as “Vehicle

City” and the birthplace of GM, Flint saw its population drop

from a peak of about 197,000 during the GM heyday of the 1950s

and 1960s to 112,900 (according to a 2008 Census Bureau estimate)

— a 43.7 percent decline. ▼


Using Lawns and Parks toCatalyze Urban Revitalization

20 | FUTURES

Of particular concern are the thousandsof abandoned buildings and vacant lots nowscattered throughout the city’s deteriorat-ing neighborhoods. These properties canbecome quickly overgrown and unsightly,diminishing property values and the overallquality of life of area residents. Faced witha $10 million budget deficit for the comingyear, the city has little ability to keep upwith the maintenance of these problemproperties.

To help address this plaguing situation,a team of Michigan Agricultural Experi -ment Station researchers — comprising turfexperts, a sociologist and an economist —embarked on a three-year project in autumn2009 with the Genesee County Land Bankand three Flint communities to investigatethe interaction between the biological envi-ronment and social change, and how thisconnection may affect the ability to recreateprosperous, vibrant communities.

ROLLING OUT THE GREEN CARPETSince the early 1900s, lawns and green

space have played an important role in U.S.

urban and suburban areas (see box on page23). When laying out plans for suburbs,landscape architects often used lawns to linkthe homes and residents of communitiestogether. And for the individual home-owner, owning that little patch of greenwas a personal point of pride and, formany, connoted hope for prosperity andhappiness.

MAES turf expert and project leaderThom Nikolai said the team hopes to com-bine the attachment value embedded inlawns with growing and maintaininghealthy turf to build community capacityand help contribute to Flint’s economic re-covery.

“I’ve been involved in turfgrass researchsince 1993, and as I’ve become more andmore specialized in putting greens, I’vedeveloped a real interest in the functionalaspects of turf — such as how thicker, well-maintained grass keeps soil and pollutingrunoff in place, and the ability of the turf-soil ecosystem to decompose and renderharmless pesticides and other toxic organicchemicals,” said Nikolai, who is also an

academic specialist with the MSU Instituteof Agricultural Technology.

Nikolai said that turf is often viewed inextremes — either as ornamental, visuallypleasing and desirable as a surface for out-door sports and recreation, or as a sourceof negative impacts on the environment.On the basis of his research, Nikolai seesfar more positives than negatives on the en-vironmental side as long as best manage-ment practices are used.

“It seems counterintuitive, but if youfertilize grass in a responsible manner, youend up with a denser turfgrass stand, whichmeans less sediment movement,” heexplained. “As a result, since chemicals suchas phosphorus — which is a big issue forsurface water quality — adhere to the clayand organic matter in sediment, you actu-ally have fewer pollutants entering thesewater bodies.”

Nikolai continued to think about andconduct research to demonstrate the effi-cacy of these benefits as well as how theymight be applied beyond the golf course.

“So the idea became ‘Let’s get into acity and see what impact these benefits mayhave, especially in urban areas challengedwith large numbers of abandoned homesand vacant lots,’” he said. “We wanted toanswer the questions ‘Is it economicallyworthwhile for a city to put money intotaking care of these areas?’ and ‘If theseareas are taken care of in a sustained way,what impact would that have economi-cally, socially and environmentally on thecommunity?’”

After several years of looking for a com-munity partner to work with, Nikolai at-tended a meeting in 2008 with JoanNassauer, professor of landscape architec-ture at the University of Michigan.Nassauer, internationally recognized forher work on the cultural sustainability ofecological design in human-dominatedlandscapes, had been brought in by theGenesee County Land Bank because it hada turf problem.

“At that point, there were about 4,000abandoned homes in Flint,” Nikolai said.

Turfgrass scientists Kurt Steinke(left) and Thom Nikolai areexamining how the functionaland environmental aspects ofgrass can benefit three test sitesin Flint. Project leader Nikolai hasstudied turfgrass since 1993.


Nassauer’s work indicates that selectivelykeeping some mown turf is key in improvingcommunity pride and acceptance of vacantproperties — an important first step in whatshe recommends to make “vacant land a nat-ural asset.” When she met with Nikolai,she said, “In Flint, even more than in citiesthat don’t have much vacant land, manyproperties should stay in lawn because that’show people know someone is taking care ofthem — it’s the social side of things.”

Armed with Nassauer’s findings, Nikolaiidentified three test sites — HartlandManor near the Carriage Town HistoricDistrict, the McKinley Park area andRamona Park in the Metawananee Hillsneighborhood — and approached the LandBank to negotiate a study to test his ideas.When the Land Bank approved, he usedhis long-standing relationships in the golfindustry to secure funding, supplies andequipment for the project. Nikolai landed$150,000 plus lawn care supplies from lawnand garden products maker The Scott’sCo.; $20,000 from the Michigan TurfgrassEnvironmental Stewardship Initiative (apartnership between MSU, the MichiganTurfgrass Foundation, the Golf Associationof Michigan, the Michigan Golf CourseOwners Association and the Michigan de-partments of Agriculture and NaturalResources and Environment); and donatedlawn mowers from John Deere — threemowers for each community and a commer-cial mower for the Land Bank.

THE MANY SIDES OF TURF As planning began for the project,

Nikolai quickly recognized the need for amulti-disciplinary approach.

“My field of expertise is the puttinggreen, so when I received this money andthings got started, I realized that I didn’t

have the social science expertise needed forthe project, so I got in touch with MAEScolleague Stephen Gasteyer,” he said.“Fortunately, he was interested in partic-ipating.”

“I was fascinated with the Nassauerstudy,” said Gasteyer, MAES sociology re-searcher. “There’s a lot written about theideal constructed natural environmentwhere people don’t have to manage it — itjust takes care of itself. In Flint, you havecommunities saying, ‘No, we want some-thing we can manage, something we cancontrol.’ It’s a neat take because, if it’ssomething you have to manage, then it im-plies interaction and building capacity atthe local level to do that management inperpetuity. This is especially relevant in a

place like Flint, where you’re dealing witha local government that won’t be providingthese services anytime soon, and everyoneunderstands that.”

Another key aspect of the project in-volves looking at the broader question ofcommunity capacity, and that gets intoquestions of social capital — sympatheticand trusting relationships that can produceimportant benefits.

“As I’ve engaged with the neighborhoodassociations in these communities,”Gasteyer said, “I realized what should havebeen apparent all along — that lawn is reallyone piece in a big puzzle of how residentsmake their neighborhoods places wherethey can walk around, greet and get to knowone another, and have positive interactions

“We wanted to answer the questions ‘Is it economically worthwhile

for a city to put money into taking care of these areas?’ and ‘If these areas

are taken care of in a sustained way, what impact would that have

economically, socially and environmentally on the community?’”

MAES scientists Lindon Robison (left)and Stephen Gasteyer are studyingthe social side of turf — how lawnscan build positive relationships andcommunity capacity.

22 | FUTURES

rather than the negative interactions of drugdeals, guns, violence and prostitution.

“In one neighborhood, the place thatwe’re planning to lay the largest piece ofturf is currently an area where prostituteshang out,” Gasteyer added. “The residentssee this as a way to take back communityspace from people and activities that have anegative influence on their neighborhoods.As a social scientist, my job is to try to con-nect this to the broader efforts at creatinglocal capacity to give people the power totake back control of their lives.”

Acknowledging the importance of quan-tifying these social interactions and whatpeople get out of them, the team addedMAES agriculture, food and resource econ-omist Lindon Robison to its roster.Robison, who studies the social capitalparadigm and how the value and meaningof objects change as a result of social inter-actions, said he was interested in seeing theextent to which the value and meaning ofthese neighborhoods changed as residentsparticipated in the shared opportunity cre-ated by the project.

“Social capital alters the terms and levelof trade,” Robison said. “In other words, ifI’m selling my car to my sister, I don’tcharge her the same price as I place in anewspaper ad to sell to someone I don’tknow.”

Robison said that social capital is similarto other forms of capital — such as machin-ery, land and natural resources — becauseit produces goods that satisfy social-emo-tional needs and that can then become embedded in things such as flags, songs andmascots, creating what is called attachmentvalue.

“I’m interested not only in the economicside but also in how an object like grass can

acquire attachment value, how that valuecan change because of the exchange ofsocial-emotional goods between people asthey create rules and manage the resource,and how that change in value then spreadsto houses, roads, etc.,” he said. “It’s excitingto bring together the intersection of thephysical resource and the social resources.This is one of very few projects I know ofwhere the main goal is to look at and quan-tify these types of interactions.”

Rounding out the project is an environ-mental component led by MSU turfgrassecologist Kurt Steinke, who will conductresearch in the Hartland Manor area.

“We’d like to explore some storm water

runoff issues by looking at phosphorus andsediment loading and various types of urbanvegetation to better assess perceived versusactual environmental impacts. In otherwords, we want to examine the residents’rationale for selecting certain ground coversand gain insight into whether they feelcertain types of vegetation may or maynot contaminate the surrounding envi-ronment.”

Steinke explained that, although a lot ofthis type of research has been conducted atMSU and other land-grant institutions, thework hasn’t been done in a location such asFlint.

“We’ve done studies like we’re going todo in the Hartland Manor area at turfgrassresearch centers throughout the country,but the general public doesn’t come to viewthe results,” he said. “We want to put thatstudy in right in the middle of a neighbor-hood so that residents living directly acrossthe street can walk over and examine theresults firsthand. I’m hopeful that we’ll havea field day in Flint next year to share ourfindings.

“We’ll also be looking at water qualitycoming into the Flint Golf Club and waterquality leaving the golf club as it entersThread Lake, which borders the McKinleyPark area,” Steinke said.

Nikolai added that leaf mulching studieswill be an important part of the project’senvironmental palette.

“Leaf mulching is a way that communi-ties can save lots of money by mowing theirleaves into their lawns instead of havingthem picked up,” he said. “The cost of leafpickup in Flint is approximately $500,000annually. In addition to the contributionthat leaf mulching makes to healthy turf,we want to document the cost savings it

“…lawn is really one piece in a big puzzle of how residents make their

neighborhoods places where they can walk around, greet and get to

know one another, and have positive interactions.”

Michigan Turfgrass Foundation ExecutiveDirector Gordon LaFontaine helped Nikolaisecure donations of lawn care supplies andlawnmowers for the project.


The roots of our attachment to grass-covered yards can betraced back to the beautifully maintained English lawns of the19th century. Americans with enough money to travel overseasduring this period returned to the United States with images ofthe English lawn firmly planted in their imaginations. Lawnswere seen as a luxury expense for only the wealthy, who couldafford groundskeepers to maintain the fine-bladed plants usingscythes. It wasn’t easy to reproduce an English lawn in theUnited States, however. Grasses native to North America provedunsuitable for a tidy and well-controlled lawn, and its extremesof climate were less than hospitable to the grass grown fromEnglish grass seeds.

By 1915, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was collaborat-ing with the U.S. Golf Association to find the right grasses orcombinations of grasses that would create a durable, attractivelawn suitable to the variety of climates found in North America.Fifteen years later, the USDA had discovered several grass com-binations that would work.

Mechanical mowing came about early in the 19th century,with the invention of a reel-type mower by Englishman EdwinBudding in 1830. In 1870, Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Ind.,designed a machine that basically brought push mowing to themasses. By 1885, America was building 50,000 lawnmowers ayear and shipping them to every country on the globe.

For the average American, readily available grass seed andthe invention of the rotary mower and the garden hose made

home lawns a more realistic option. However, the big demandfor grass-covered front yards didn’t happen until The GardenClub of America – established in 1923 — stepped in. Throughcontests and other forms of publicity, the group convinced home-owners that it was their civic duty to maintain beautiful andhealthy lawns. The Garden Club further stipulated that the appro-priate type of lawn was “a plot with a single type of grass withno intruding weeds, kept mown at a height of an inch and a half,uniformly green, and neatly edged.” So effective was the GardenClub’s campaign that lawns were soon an accepted form oflandscaping. America thus entered the age of lawn care.

Today, there are an estimated 27.6 million acres of turfgrassin the United States, 21 million acres of which are in homelawns. An estimated 80 percent of U.S. households have a pri-vate lawn.

In Michigan, maintained turfgrass areas cover large portionsof the state. Turfgrass accounts for 5 percent of the state’s totalland mass, encompassing almost 1.9 million acres, and 1.58 mil-lion acres of that are attributed to residential lawns. The use andmaintenance of turfgrass contributes significantly to Michigan’seconomic, cultural and recreational well-being, adding morethan $1.86 billion dollars into the state’s economy through jobs,materials and equipment. Michigan is also a major producer ofsod, a significant agricultural commodity for developing areas.

— Val Osowski

A Brief History of Lawns: Turning Green into Gold

24 | FUTURES

affords and then explore how a communitymight use that money if it weren’t spent onpicking up leaves.”

Robison said he is hopeful that this typeof project will gain attention as the stateworks to address the challenges of bothurban and rural communities, especiallyduring these trying economic times.

“This whole idea of an economic modelthat is multidisciplinary and accounts forintangible goods and their effect on valuesis a new direction that involves looking atnew kinds of resources,” Robison said.“What we appreciate is that these problemsare not going to be solved within an isolateddiscipline. And I think down the roadthere’s the opportunity to say, ‘OK, howdo you manage the relationship betweenurban and rural, and what’s happened inthat relationship where it’s clearly been de-preciated?’ We haven’t really demonstratedthose connections very well.”

CREATING A NEW KIND OFCOMMUNITY ‘TURF’

Although the project is just getting offthe ground, Nikolai is encouraged by theenthusiastic reception the team is receiving.

“We are extremely welcome when wemeet with these community groups,” hesaid. “The city council reps are often atthese gatherings, and they start out talkingabout the fact that 46 police officers and 23firefighters just got laid off. Next, a womanin the back stands up and talks about howher kids don’t have a park to play in. ThenI’m introduced toward the end of the meet-ing and tell them that we want to give theirneighborhood some mowers and fertilizerand work with them on managing theirlawns and parks, and you’d think we werethe Beatles in 1964! They’re excited!”

The team believes that this project willprovide real opportunities for future re-search to look at the integrated environ-mental, social and economic impacts of turfapplication in revitalizing abandoned spacein urban environments.

“We believe that there are going to beinteractions in this project that can really

push new theories of neighborhood devel-opment but also neighborhood environ-ment and sustainability,” Gasteyer added.“This is really about urban sustainabilityin the new millennium, and we have a win-dow to think about that in a dynamic andunique way.”

Replication is one area where additionalfunding will be instrumental.

“We’d like to take whatever modelcomes out of this project and be able toadapt it to a different community,” Steinkesaid. “However, I think we’re all aware thatthe model may not work for a communitythat doesn’t have a 29 percent unemploy-ment rate and a median household incomein the upper $20,000s; if unemployment is5 or 6 percent and median household in-come is much higher, the end result maybe completely different from what we findin Flint. So from a biological, physical, eco-nomic and social science perspective, wehave to document and develop specific aimswell enough so that we can pinpoint where

in the Midwest or South or Northwest thismodel can be adapted and used.”

Gasteyer said that the project alsoprovides an avenue to start thinking aboutsustainability in a place that most peopledon’t think about it — in an urban setting.

“For those of us doing this type of workin the Midwest, one of the things we haveto grapple with is shrinking cities, whetherthey are the size of Flint or Detroit, or thesize of Mancelona,” he said. “We will bebuilding on work that’s already been donein more rural settings but applying it toparticular shrinking urban cities. I thinkthis is going to be one of the challenges inthe new millennium — how do you createsustainability as you’re scaling back citiesthat were developed around industrialmodels that are no longer functional?Reinventing public space is going to be animportant part of that story.”

— Val Osowski

Though some may view turfgrass as a source of negative environmental impacts, research has shownthat, if grass is fertilized in a responsible manner, it becomes denser and helps reduce sediment move-ment, which can keep pollutants out of surface water.


In Michigan, much research and development aimedat developing and growing the bioeconomy — an econ-omy based on renewable resources rather than non-renewable resources such as petroleum and coal —focuses on making renewable fuels from cellulose: treesand plant stems and stalks that aren’t food products.Other scientists are working to introduce to Michiganfarmers new crops that could be grown for either foodor fuel and to develop markets for them in the state.

MAES researchers are working with a number ofcompanies, from small start-ups to subsidiaries of in-ternational corporations, that all have the same goal:finding ways to grow and process plant biomass intobiofuels and bioenergy that are economically, environ-mentally and socially sustainable.

Fuel, CubedWhen the K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base closed in 1995,

communities in and around Marquette County in theUpper Peninsula braced themselves for the economiceffects. The base provided more than 4,500 jobs andhad a military payroll of more than $100 million.

Fifteen years later, the decommissioned base is hometo the Sawyer International Airport, a golf course, an

elementary school and an economic development ren-aissance zone that has attracted dozens of businesses,including renewaFUEL, LLC, a subsidiary of CliffsNatural Resources, an international mining and naturalresources company. RenewaFUEL plans to manufactureand distribute cubes made from plant biomass, includingswitchgrass, which can be burned along with coal toheat Cliffs iron ore processing facilities. Cliffs managersbelieve the cubes have the potential to replace about 20to 25 percent of the coal used to fire the kilns.

The company announced in November 2009 that it

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The Businessof Biofuel

By conducting research in partnership with companies

large and small, MAES scientists are helping Michigan’s

fledgling biofuel industry power up.

At the former K.I. SawyerAir Force Base, CliffsNatural Resources plansto make these cubes fromplant biomass, includingswitchgrass. The cubescan be burned with coalto heat Ciffs iron oreprocessing facilities.

was building a plant to produce the fuel cubes at theTelkite Technology Park at the former base, as well asleasing two former B-52 aircraft hangars. The plant isexpected to be finished and start producing cubes thisyear.

MAES forage scientist Doo-Hong Min, based at theUpper Peninsula Experiment Station in Chatham, hasbeen working with Cliffs and renewaFUEL scientistssince 2007 to help them identify the best varieties ofswitchgrass to grow in the U.P., as well as the best wayto grow the crop. As the company moves forward, Mincontinues to offer guidance and support. Thirty balesof switchgrass produced at the U.P. Experiment Stationwere donated to renewaFUEL last December for testingpurposes.

“Dr. Min’s research and advice have been invaluableto us,” said Michelle Jarvie, an environmental engineerwith Cliffs, who has been working on switchgrass testplots. “His expertise has made it much easier for us tostart working with this new crop. He and technicianChris Kapp helped us pick out varieties and prepare thebeds — they knew immediately if something wasn’tdone correctly.”

Min’s research focuses almost exclusively on switch-grass and forages and looks at such things as how tillagepractices affect carbon sequestration and greenhousegas production. He’s testing nine varieties of switchgrassat the U.P. Experiment Station; renewaFUEL has onetest site in the Upper Peninsula.

“Switchgrass is a perennial crop,” Min explained. “Afarmer plants it once and it can last 15 to 20 years. It

also has lower nutrient requirements than other cropssuch as corn or wheat, so it can be planted on fallowfields or in areas that can’t be used to produce food.This allows farmers to make those fallow areas morevalue-added.”

Min’s research also is benefitting area farmers. DaleHemmila, public affairs district manager for Cliffs, saidthe company plans to buy the switchgrass and otherraw materials needed to make the fuel cubes from localgrowers within a 75-mile radius of the new facility inK.I. Sawyer.

“I talked to the president of renewaFUEL at thepress conference announcing the fuel cube productionplant,” Min said. “He told me that renewaFUEL isgoing to buy any available feedstock, including switch-grass and reed canary grass, so this is a good opportunityfor local farmers who want to grow bioenergy crops.I’m working with growers to put in more switchgrass inDickinson County.”

“We are pleased to be able to begin the necessaryrenovations and equipment installations to commenceoperations at the Sawyer location,” said William A.Brake, chairman of renewaFUEL and executive vicepresident for human and technical resources forCliffs Natural Resources, in a statement. “This is anexciting new economic development opportunity for renewaFUEL and Michigan’s growing renewableenergy industry.”

The $19-million plant is expected to create 25 newjobs and will produce 150,000 tons of biofuel cubes peryear. The cubes are about 1.25 inches square and about

26 | FUTURES

MAES forage researcher Doo-Hong Min has beenworking with Cliffs scientistsin the U.P. to identify thebest switchgrass varieties togrow, as well as the bestway to grow them. A Cliffsscientist called his support“invaluable.”


2 to 3 inches long and generate the same amount ofenergy as coal from the western United States.According to Hemmila, they emit 90 percent less sulfurdioxide, 35 percent less particulate matter and 30 percentless acid gas than coal. Once the plant reaches fullproduction, renewaFUEL expects to sell 60,000 tonsof the cubes to power the steam plant of the MarquetteBoard of Light and Power. Because of the cubes’ sizeand density, most solid fuel systems can use them withno problem.

“Our objective with this first full-scale plant is toestablish safe, profitable production and demonstrateto utilities and other industries currently using non-renewable energy sources that renewaFUEL energycubes are a cost-effective way to supplement or replacefossil fuels in their operations,” Brake continued. “Weanticipate being in production at the Sawyer facility bythe end of 2010.”

Sense and Cents Figure into FuelProduction

When Dan Blackledge started Marion Bio-Energythree years ago, biodiesel was selling for $3.50 per gallonand his business model predicted a profitable business.One of his goals was to help develop a biofuel market inMichigan that would be profitable for both farmers andprocessors. A farmer and former software companyowner, he had read an article about MAES scientistDennis Miller’s research on making biofuel from canolaon the MAES Web site. He and Miller went to lunch in2007, and the meal resulted in a two-year research proj-ect funded by the MAES on developing markets inMichigan for canola and the best processes to makebiodiesel from canola oil.

The fact that a single canola seed is more than 40percent oil makes canola one of the world’s most oil-dense crops. In comparison, a soybean is only 18 percentoil, and a kernel of corn is 4 percent oil. Canola wasdeveloped in the 1970s by Canadian plant breeders. Inthe late 1980s, Michigan farmers grew about 15,000acres of canola, but the amount tailed off dramaticallyin the ensuing years because the state lacked processingplants. Most of the canola was grown in northernMichigan, and the closest processor was in Windsor —trucking the crop all the way to Canada meant lowerprofits for growers. Farmers could make more moneyselling crops such as corn and soybeans to a localelevator.

As part of the biodiesel project, Miller conductedresearch on converting canola oil to fuel, and MAEScanola breeder Russ Freed provided advice on the bestvarieties to grow. Blackledge worked with MSU

Extension directors Jerry Lindquist, in Osceola County,and George Silva, in Eaton County, to recruit farmersas contract growers of winter and spring canola thatMarion would process into biodiesel. The goal was tohave participating farmers growing 40,000 acres ofcanola within five years. The company’s future lookedpromising.

Then the bottom dropped out of the biodiesel marketin 2008, and prices plummeted. Suddenly, the company’sfinancial future didn’t look as rosy. To produce biodiesel,Blackledge needed to invest an additional $6 million tobuy a crusher, bins, barns, vats and other necessaryequipment. And though Blackledge, Lindquist and Silvahad recruited more farmers the second year to growcanola, 2009 acreage reached only about 500 acres —far short of the 40,000-acre goal and not nearly enough

raw material to produce the amount of biodiesel neededto offset a $6 million investment.

“Right now, biodiesel doesn’t make sense econom-ically,” Blackledge said. “It’s more profitable to growcanola for food. The amount of capital I needed to finance a crusher coupled with a limited amount of product[canola] meant we had to rethink what we were doing.”

“Everyone in the chain has to make a profit, or thebusiness won’t succeed,” Miller added.

Zachary Thompson, chemicalengineering student, processescanola. Since it's moreprofitable to grow canola forfood, Dan Blackledge developeda new business model andrenamed his company Michigan Canola Products.

28 | FUTURES

Instead of shuttering his business, Blackledge devel-oped a new business model that markets the canola thatthe contract farmers grow to food processors and otherniche markets. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which canlower triglyceride levels and promote heart health, andvery low in saturated fat, canola oil has become a populardiet choice for people looking to trim their saturatedfat intake. The contract growers supported the change,and all are still working with Blackledge and hisrevamped operation, now called Michigan CanolaProducts. Some farmers made a profit from the canolalast year and have upped their acreage for the upcomingyear.

Miller and Freed also still work with Blackledgeas research consultants and serve on the company’sadvisory board.

“Dennis is a chemical engineer, and if anyone hasquestions about refining, he’s available to answer them,”Blackledge said. “His research and reputation add cred-ibility to the company.”

Blackledge also has received advice and busi-ness plan assistance from Ruben Derderian,associate director for the bioeconomy in theMSU Product Center for Agriculture andNatural Resources (see story page 4). Blackledgereceived the 2009 Best Innovative Business IdeaAward from the Product Center.

“Michigan Canola Products works withfarmers to grow new varieties of canola and isdeveloping value-added specialty oil markets,”Blackledge explained. “We still have the optionto process the canola oil into biodiesel if pricesare such that biodiesel is competitive withpetroleum diesel; we could easily switch backto that business model.”

Rather than studying the optimal techniquesfor refining canola oil into fuel, Miller is nowfocusing on refining techniques to meet the veryspecific standards of the food industry.

“We’re researching the best ways to degum,decolor and deodorize canola oil,” Miller said.“Food-grade canola oil requires more process-ing and filtering than oil that’s going to beturned into biodiesel.”

Besides food processors, Blackledge also seespeople who want to open a small crushing facil-ity or biodiesel operation, perhaps just largeenough to produce biodiesel for a local co-op,as potential buyers of his company’s canola oil.Canola oil also can be used as an industrialchemical oil, so that’s another potential market.He’s also working to make Michigan CanolaProducts the sole distributor of canola seed in

Michigan.“Selling seed is a sure thing to start,” Blackledge

said. “That allows us to build relationships and cultivateinterest.”

Though his business model has gone through sometwists and turns, Blackledge has never swerved in hisbelief that canola is a viable crop for Michigan growers.As Freed has pointed out, much of the food-grade canolaused in the United States is imported; in 2009, morethan 2 billion pounds of canola oil and 1.8 billion poundsof canola seed were imported. Increasing domestic pro-duction is just a matter of connecting the growers andthe markets. And Blackledge sees Michigan CanolaProducts as the ideal matchmaker.

“If we can get enough canola grown, then there maybe interest from investors to allow us to build crushplants,” he said. “It’s all economy of scale.”

— Jamie DePolo

MAES chemical engineerDennis Miller studied how toconvert canola to fuel when hestarted working with MarionBio-Energy. He now serves onthe Michigan Canola Productsadvisory board and assists withrefining canola for food.


Setting Michigan’sEconomic

Spirits Soaring

Kris Berglund’s research

on distilled spirits and

other fermented

beverages has helped

create a new industry

in the state.

A native of the Leelanau Peninsula, Rifino Valentine was atrader inside the Wall Street pressure cooker for a number ofyears before having what he called his “ah-ha” moment.

“I wanted to make the perfect dirty martini using vodka made in theUnited States,” explained the president and founder of the Ferndale-basedValentine Distilling Company. “So I signed up for Kris’s artisan distilling

30 | FUTURES

course at Cornell University and decided I was going to move back toMichigan to set up my business. I had thought about basing the companyin New York City or Miami, but I wanted to go back to Detroit and showeveryone that the city could produce world-class spirits.”

Valentine is part of an emerging industry in Michigan, one that hasgrown tremendously in the past two years thanks to a law passed in 2008allowing small distillers to market and sell their products on-site. The statehas 11 licensed artisan distilleries — second only to California — and manyof them, as well as the law, can trace their beginnings back to the researchof the “Kris” that Valentine credits for helping the genesis of his company:MAES scientist and university distinguished professor Kris Berglund.

Berglund, forestry and chemical engineering and materials scienceresearcher, has been studying distilling processes and conducting how-toworkshops since 1997, envisioning a bright future for microdistilleries thatwould be similar to beer microbreweries. State economic studies estimatethat microdistilleries will add more than $400 million to Michigan’s econ-omy and create about 1,400 new jobs. Today, much of Berglund’s researchtakes place at the MSU Biorefinery Training Facility at the MichiganBrewing Company (MBC) in Webberville, where a line of gleaming copperstills helps provide research results for distillers in Michigan and aroundthe globe.

The facility received a $20,000 Michigan Initiative for Innovation andEntrepreneurship grant in late 2009 to develop the MSU-MBC ArtisanDistilling Business Accelerator to help fledging distillers develop and markettheir products. The accelerator has a commercial license and is certifiedorganic.

Encouraging Artisan Entrepreneurs and Established Distillers

Berglund is passionate about his research and just as passionate abouthelping small companies find their way through the maze of regulationsthat govern alcoholic beverage production, especially distilled spirits.

Federal law requires a company to have an operational distillery beforeit can apply for a license to produce distilled spirits. Unlike beer and wine,there’s no minimum amount of distilled spirits that can be made withoutfederal and state licenses. So an entrepreneur has to attract investors tobuild a distilling plant without being able to actually prove that he or shecan make and market the product.

“It’s a chicken and egg problem,” Berglund said. “You need a prototypeof your product to get investors interested, but federal law says you can’tmake the prototype until you already have the plant. The incubator allowsentrepreneurs to test and develop recipes and prototype products to showpotential backers that they know what they’re doing.”

At the incubator, Berglund and his graduate students help a number ofcompanies with pilot-scale fermentation, finishing and prototypes. The fa-cility has four stills ranging in size from 10 to 800 liters and 2-, 30- and400-liter fermenters, as well as a full lab.

“We can go from very small test batches all the way up to brewhousequantities,” Berglund said. “We’ll do contract work for anyone. Our goalis to help anyone who is interested in getting into the business.”

Valentine Distilling does testing and finishing there, as does the Vlixir

Rifino Valentine started hisdistilling company to show theworld that first-class spiritscould be made in Detroit. He iscommitted to buying local — allhis suppliers, except for thecompany that makes the glassbottles, are based in Michigan.


Beverage Company, a California-based operation that makes or-ganic vodka. When owner Robert Reagan was having difficultyfinding organic wheat for his vodka, Berglund connected him witha Michigan grower. Berglund also is consulting with entrepreneurson the Isle of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands off France’s north-ern coast, who want to make vodka from the area’s renownedJersey Royal potatoes. A bit closer to home, Herman Mihalich, ofWrightstown, Pa., is using Berglund’s research as he works todevelop a rye whiskey for his company, Mountain Laurel Spirits.John Jeffrey, a graduate student working on his doctorate throughthe MSU distilled spirits program under Berglund, has started hisown company, Novina Spirits, which also does work at the accel-erator. Jeffrey is developing a line of spirits using seasonal Michiganproducts.

Berglund also continues to study the nuances and variables ofbeverage technology to help established companies in Michigan.

“Kris provided our initial training,” said Don Coe, a partner inthe Black Star Farms operation in Sutton’s Bay, which includes awinery, a distillery, an inn, several tasting rooms, a restaurant anda creamery. Black Star Farms produces a variety of distilled spirits:eaux de vie — clear fruit brandies — made from apricots, cherries,pears and plums; four- and 10-year aged apple brandies; and white-and red-grape grappas.

“Lee Lutes, our winemaker, went to Kris’ workshop; Krisadvised us when we purchased our first still and analyzed our firstresults,” Coe continued. “He shortened our learning curve on thedistilling process by about five years.”

Berglund is working with the New Holland Brewing Company,in Holland, Mich., to study the aging process for whiskey using1- to 3-gallon barrels versus the standard 55-gallon size by ana-lyzing the rate of extraction of color and flavor from the barrels.

“Our preliminary results indicate that smaller barrels shortenthe aging process,” Berglund explained. “So we’re studying whetherwe can get the same flavor in a shorter time using a smaller barrel.”

Just up the road from the MSU campus, in St. Johns, Berglundis working with Uncle John’s Cider Mill co-owner Mike Beck todevelop an apple vodka to complement the selection of wines andhard ciders produced by the Fruit House Winery at Uncles John’s.Berglund noted that true apple vodka is different from the manyfruit-flavored vodkas on the market.

“It takes a lot of apples to make apple vodka,” he said. “About30 pounds to make 1 liter. It also has a very different texture andmouth feel compared with a flavored vodka — it has a butteryflavor. So this could be a good way for Mike to make an added-value product with any extra apples he has after making cider.”

Distilling Reality from an IdeaHis business set in motion by a craving for a premium martini

that didn’t use imported vodka — his only choice at the time —Valentine said Berglund’s research and advice have been indispen-sable as his company moved from brainstorm to bricks and mortar.

“When you start a business like this, you don’t know all thestuff you don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “We’re one of the firstcompanies in the world to use a multigrain recipe to make vodka.Kris helped us get the exact character we wanted, and I’m veryproud of it. It’s warm with a hint of vanilla, but that all comesfrom the grains and the distilling process — we don’t add anythingto the vodka. It was complex to develop, and we went throughhundreds of tests. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of thiswithout Kris.”

A proprietary blend of barley, red wheat and corn, ValentineVodka uses Michigan-grown grain. Valentine is so committed tobuying local that all his suppliers, except for the company thatmakes the glass bottles, are based in Michigan. All productioncurrently is done at the Webberville incubator, but Valentine plansto move production to his new Ferndale location by the end of theyear. The new facility also will have a tasting room so potentialcustomers can sample the product. The vodka is available all overthe state, and Valentine plans to focus on expanding distributionin the next year.

“I’m just blown away by what’s happened,” he said. “We wentfrom nothing to having more than 500 accounts, and the vodkahas been on the market for only a year. In blind taste tests, we beatGrey Goose 19 out of 20 times.”

For Coe, of Black Star Farms, the desire to become a distillerwas rooted in the 30 years’ experience he had in marketing andselling distilled spirits. After retiring from that position, he helpedstart the winery.

“I started the winery in 1997 because I wanted to distill fruitbrandies,” he explained. “But the laws are such that we had to havethe winery first. I wanted to produce fruit brandies like those I hadexperienced in Europe and Italy. There really wasn’t anything atthat level of quality being made in the United States at the time.”

The brandies and grappas make up less than 2 percent ofBlack Star’s business, but Coe said their sales belie the products’significance.

“Distilled spirits will always be a small part of our overallsales, but they serve as a very important introduction for BlackStar Farms to European-educated chefs at prestigious, high-profile restaurants,” he said. “The distilled spirits open the doorfor our company and allow us to place our wines and other prod-ucts at these white tablecloth restaurants. Fewer than 100 eauxde vie are made in the United States, so it’s a very good marketingtool for us.”

Coe also pointed out that Michigan brandy producers have hadmore difficulty reaching the marketplace than whiskey and vodkaproducers.

“Our brandy products are having difficulty navigating the state’sdistribution system, which makes it very difficult to get retailpresence,” he explained. “Since the state’s brandy producers arealmost all wine producers, too, they would benefit from theability to offer samples and sell in all of their existing winery

32 | FUTURES

tasting rooms — not just at the production site.”So the five Michigan brandy producers have one retail outlet each while

the other 5,600 brands of distilled spirits listed by the state have access tomore than 15,800 retail accounts.

“This provides a huge advantage for established, national brands andthe most popular categories of products as opposed to our specialtyproducts,” Coe continued. “They have none of these advantages toobtain retail presence.”

Coe credited Berglund with orchestrating the establishment of thedistilled spirits industry in Michigan.

“With the research and education available from Kris and the Collegeof Agriculture and Natural Resources at MSU, new laws from the legislatureand investment from the private sector, this industry was created. Kris wasthe convener — he brought these three groups together.”

Expanding, StillBetween teaching graduates and undergrads, writing, advising entre-

preneurs and conducting distilling workshops around the country, Berglundmanages to maintain his own research program, studying issues that willaffect the Michigan distilled spirits industry in the future. He’s also activein the Michigan Artisan Distilling Council, a relatively new commoditygroup for state distillers.

One focus of his research is controlling regulated compounds in distilledspirits. For example, the European Union limits the amount of methanolin vodka to 100 parts per million (ppm). Also known as wood alcohol,methanol is a simple alcohol that can be toxic to people at high concentra-tions. Because the EU standards are more stringent than those in the UnitedStates, Berglund is studying how to precisely control this and other regulatedcompounds in spirits.

“Methanol is just one example,” he said. “Methanol comes from pectin,which is in produce. Grains don’t have any methanol, so for vodka madefrom grain this isn’t an issue. But if the vodka is made from fruits or veg-etables, we have to tightly control the amount of methanol in the finalproduct if distillers want to export the spirits to Europe, which could be alucrative market for them.”

Berglund also is building a yeast database. How various types of yeastaffect specific fermentation conditions in beer and wine production is wellknown. Vintners and brewers can pair the conditions and yeast to get theresults they want. But no research has been done for distillers, until now.

“No one really knows what distills over to spirits,” Berglund said. “Sowe’re studying what happens to various yeasts under a variety of conditions.So far, we know that each type of yeast seems to produce very differentresults. The effects are actually more pronounced in spirits — they’re moreconcentrated.”

Ultimately the results of these studies will help current and future dis-tillers meet their goals.

“We’re here to support distilling entrepreneurs,” he said. “Because manyof them are already in the brewing or winemaking business, the successrate is high — and we want to make sure it stays that way.”

— Jamie DePolo

Top: Don Coe, of Black StarFarms, started his winery in1997 so he could distill fruitbrandies. His pear brandy has awhole pear inside the bottle.

Below: MAES researcher KrisBerglund has been studyingdistilling processes since 1997.Michigan’s 2008 law allowingsmall distillers to market andsell their products on-site wasbased in part on Berglund’sresearch.


“A Shining Example of Excellence” —MAES Ecologist Accepts NationalAward on Behalf of LTER Network

Powered by the research of more than2,000 scientists, the Long Term EcologicalResearch (LTER) network was honored for itslarge-scale experiments that have transformedecological and environmental science.

Phil Robertson (above right), MichiganState University distinguished professor, MAEScrop and soil sciences researcher and chairper-son of the LTER executive board and sciencecouncil, accepted the 2010 DistinguishedScientist Award from the American Institute ofBiological Sciences (AIBS) on behalf of the LTERnetwork. Robertson directs the MSU LTER siteat the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, one of14 off-campus field research stations in theMAES network.

“The LTER Network provides a fundamentalunderstanding of ecological change otherwiseunavailable,” Robertson said. “LTER scientistsstudy how plants, animals and microbes inimportant ecosystems respond to long-termchanges in climate, human influence and otherenvironmental factors. What makes thenetwork unique is a long-term record ofchange in environments as diverse as arctictundra, southwest deserts and Michigan crop-lands, together with experiments that help toexplain how and why ecosystems respond inthe way that they do.”

“AIBS is pleased to recognize the contribu-tions of the LTER network in this, its 30thanniversary year,” said Richard O’Grady, AIBSexecutive director. “A shining example ofexcellence in our nation’s scientific enterprise,the LTER program focuses on large-scale,multidisciplinary research and has truly trans-formed ecological and environmental sciencein the United States and worldwide. The

program and the scientists and students thathave conducted research at LTER sites or withLTER data have fundamentally advancedhuman understanding.”

Funded by the National ScienceFoundation, the LTER network comprises 26sites across a range of ecosystems where scien-tists study ecology and environmental biologyto provide a better understanding of the ecol-ogy of both natural and managed systems. TheMSU LTER site is the only one in the nationalnetwork to focus on agriculture.

“We are both grateful for and humbled bythis recognition,” Robertson added.

MAES Scientist Will Use $1.7 MillionClean Energy Grant to Harvest Fuel from Bacteria

An MAES bioreactor expert was tapped tobe on a team working to exploit a bacterium’spotential ability to produce a type of butanolthat can be used as an automobile fuel.

R. Mark Worden, MAES chemical engineer-ing scientist, is part of the group receiving $1.7million from the U.S. Department of EnergyAdvanced Research Projects Agency-Energy(ARPA-E) to build a reactor system for Ralstoniaeutropha, a bacterium that scientists aim toengineer to metabolize hydrogen and carbondioxide to produce isobutanol, a fuel that canbe used as a replacement for gasoline.

Anthony Sinskey, MIT professor of biology,leads the genetic engineering team.

“The MIT group is focused on the biologyof the bacterium and engineering it to produceisobutanol,” Worden explained. “Early thisspring, they realized they needed a bioreactorexpert, and I was asked to be a collaborator.My role is to build a reactor system at MSU forthis unique fermentation system.”

Worden has to overcome two major chal-lenges in developing the bioreactor system.Once Ralstonia eutropha is engineered to

produce isobutanol, the isobutanol eventuallywill build up to a toxic level and kill thebacterium. So he must create a way to“harvest” the isobutanol without interruptingthe fermentation process. Secondly, becausethe bacterium’s energy source — hydrogengas — is not very water-soluble, Worden mustfigure out how to feed it to the bacterium in awater-based system.

“We also have to make sure the bioreactorsystem is safe,” Worden said. “The Ralstoniacells need a little bit of oxygen to grow, buthydrogen and oxygen together are flammable.So I’ll figure out how the two gases can co-exist in the system and minimize any risk ofexplosion.”

Worden plans to start building the bioreac-tor immediately.

This project is part of the second round ofgrants from the ARPA-E, a program aimed ataccelerating innovation in clean energy tech-nologies, increasing America’s competitivenessand creating jobs.

“Thanks to the Recovery Act, dozens ofcutting-edge research projects with the poten-tial to dramatically transform how we use theenergy in this country will now be able to getunderway,” said Vice President Joe Biden whenhe announced the awards. “By investing in ourtop research, we’re not only continuing in thespirit of American innovation but helping builda competitive American clean energy industrythat will create secure jobs here at home foryears to come.”

Building a Sustainable Future: MSULeads Global Effort to Study Linksbetween People, Planet

Hundreds of scientists from around theworld are involved in a new initiative atMichigan State University to improve cutting-edge research on the increasinglyfragile relationship between humans and theenvironment.

Research in the news

34 | FUTURES

The National Science Foundation (NSF)recognized this research as a priority and hasselected MSU and an MAES scientist to lead theeffort, called the International Network ofResearch on Coupled Human and NaturalSystems, or CHANS-Net. The NSF is supportingthe project with a $1.5 million, five-year grant.

Jianguo “Jack” Liu, university distinguishedprofessor, MAES fisheries and wildlife scientistand world-renowned ecologist, is directingCHANS-Net. He said the project reflects one of MSU’s primary missions: to solve real-worldproblems through applied research, globalengagement and collaboration among thescientific disciplines.

MSU’s role includes building a global data-base of scholars and their projects, fosteringcollaboration, helping identify and train newtalent, and raising awareness. In mid-April, Liuled a group of scientists to Washington, D.C.,to present key research findings at an NSFsymposium and at the annual meeting of theAssociation of American Geographers.

In the past three years, MSU scientists havereceived about $6 million in NSF funding forcoupled human and natural systems research,far more than any other university. The researchfocuses on everything from panda habitat inChina to development along Nicaragua’sMosquito Coast.

“This is really an exciting frontier inresearch,” Liu said. “We want to help peopleunderstand the value of ecosystems to humansociety rather than just for the sake of protect-ing the environment. A lot of people treat theenvironment as something that humans canuse forever, when in reality that’s not true.”

The key is bringing researchers togetherand combining their strengths — getting theeconomists working with the hydrologists, forexample, to develop irrigation systems that areboth efficient and fair to farmers.

It’s also imperative, Liu noted, to attack theenvironmental issues from an internationalperspective. The more than 300 scientists nowinvolved in CHANS-Net work at institutions inthe United States, Africa, China, India, theUnited Kingdom and elsewhere around theworld. And the number is growing.

Thomas Baerwald, NSF program director,said Michigan State has done an excellent jobof encouraging researchers to bridge the natu-ral and social sciences in an effort to focus ongroundbreaking sustainability research.

“It’s a testament to the university’s successin fostering interdisciplinary collaborations

that advance basic understanding and addresssignificant environmental problems,”Baerwald said.

Plant Genomics Program OffersStudents Research Experience

MSU will use a National Science Foundation(NSF) grant to fund a 10-week summerresearch program designed to provide inten-sive experience for undergraduate students inareas such as biochemistry, genetics andcutting-edge biological science methods.

The $282,606 grant will allow 30 studentsto participate in Research Experiences forUndergraduates (REU) in Plant Genomics. REUsites are funded by the NSF to provide researchopportunities for undergraduate students.

“The plant genomics REU allows studentsto work alongside internationally respectedscientists who are leaders in their fields,” saidRob Last, MAES biochemistry and molecularbiology scientist and project co-leader. “Thestudents are involved in research spanning bio -informatics and functional genomics to analyti-cal chemistry and metabolic biochemistry.”

The program builds on the success of afive-year-old summer program (www.plant -genomics.msu.edu). Funding previously wasprovided by the university and individual NSFand Department of Energy research grants; theprogram has hosted 60 students from morethan 30 institutions across the country.

“The REU program teaches research skillsand emphasizes research ethics,” said RichardAllison, MAES plant biology researcher and theother project co-leader. “The programcombines effective use of literature, Web-based resources and presentation skills as away to improve critical thinking skills.”

The plant genomics REU is open tostudents entering their junior or senior year ofstudies in biology, chemistry, engineering andcomputational sciences.

In addition to Last’s lab, where students

work on chloroplast biology and plant metabo-lism, other MAES researchers participating areCornelius Barry, Christoph Benning, RobinBuell, Dan Jones, Tom Sharkey and KevinWalker. Other MSU faculty members partici-pating are Eva Farre, Jianping Hu, BerondaMontgomery-Kaguri and Shinhan Shiu. Eachfaculty member will serve as a mentor andassist the students in producing research tocomplement their lab activities.

Plant Scientists Work to ImproveProduction of Natural Sweetener

The world’s leading supplier of all-natural,zero-calorie sweeteners is tapping MSU andsome MAES scientists to help develop sweeter,more robust varieties of a South Americanplant.

PureCircle Ltd. engaged MSU horticultureresearchers to help breed proprietary varietiesof Stevia rebaudiana. Native to Paraguay, thisoffshoot of the chrysanthemum family hasbeen known for centuries as “sweet leaf” bythe Guarani Indians.

“We are excited to partner with an indus-try-leading company such as PureCircle tobring our cutting-edge knowledge and experi-ence in horticultural plant breeding and genet-ics to this exciting new crop,” said MAEShorticulture scientist Ryan Warner, leadresearcher on the project. “This is a greatexample of combining the strengths of indus-try and academia to bring value toconsumers.”

Some of the world’s leading food andbeverage manufacturers are increasingly turn-ing to stevia as a source of high-intensity natu-ral sweetener in products ranging from softdrinks to yogurt.

“The incorporation of MSU’s leading-edgeresearch combined with PureCircle's industry-leading proprietary varieties will ensure that wecontinue to lead the industry with sustainableagriculture while improving the economics forboth farmers and our customers,” PureCircleCEO Magomet Malsagov said.

Research in the news


Kris BerglundUniversity Distinguished Professor of Forestry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science126 Natural Resources [email protected]

John BiernbaumProfessor of HorticultureA440C Plant and Soil Sciences Building517-355-5191, ext. [email protected]

Dan BlackledgeMichigan Canola Products6361 Cannonsburg Road, NEBelmont, MI [email protected]

Don CoeBlack Star Farms10844 East Revold RoadSuttons Bay, MI [email protected]

Kathryn ColasantiSpecialist, C.S. Mott Group forSustainable Food Systems309 Natural Resources [email protected]

David ConnerAssistant Professor of CARRS303 Natural Resources [email protected]

Ruben DerderianMSU Product Center Associate Director, Bioeconomy82 Agriculture [email protected]

Stephen GasteyerAssistant Professor of Sociology316 Berkey [email protected]

Mike HammC.S. Mott Chair of SustainableAgriculture312 Natural Resources [email protected]

Charles HasemannExecutive Director, MSU Business-CONNECT325 Grand River [email protected]

Dale HemmilaDistrict Manager for Public AffairsCliffs Natural ResourcesP.O. Box 2000Ishpeming, MI 49849906-475-3400

Lynda HerknerHerkner’s Old Fashioned CherryGoodness [email protected]

Michelle JarvieEnvironmental EngineerCliffs Natural ResourcesP.O. Box 2000Ishpeming, MI 49849

Tom KalchikMSU Product Center Associate Director101 Farrall [email protected]

Sue KeegstraHerkner’s Old Fashioned Cherry Goodness [email protected]

Gordon LaFontaineExecutive Director, Michigan Turfgrass FoundationP.O. Box 27156Lansing, MI [email protected]

Dennis MillerProfessor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science1243 Engineering [email protected]

Doo-Hong MinSpecialist, Department of Crop and Soil SciencesUpper Peninsula Experiment StationP.O. Box 168Chatham, MI [email protected]

Adam MontriOutreach Specialist, Department of HorticultureA422 Plant and Soil Sciences [email protected]

Dru MontriManager, Michigan Farmers Market Association131 Natural Resources [email protected]

Thom NikolaiSpecialist, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences154B Plant and Soil Sciences Building517-355-0271, ext. [email protected]

Jim PadillaThe Power Alternative24855 RomanoWarren, MI 48091www.thepoweralternative.com

Chris PetersonNowlin Chair of Consumer-ResponsiveAgricultureDirector, MSU Product Center83 Agriculture [email protected]

Lindon RobisonProfessor of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics317C Agriculture [email protected]

Susan SmalleyDirector, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems 302A Natural Resources [email protected]

Tom SpauldingGauthier and Spaulding Fisheries, Inc.521 Park DriveRogers City, MI 49779989-734-4427

Kurt SteinkeAssistant Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences584D Plant and Soil Sciences Building517-355-0271, ext. [email protected]

Rifino ValentineFounder and Master DistillerValentine Distilling CompanyDetroit, [email protected]

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