Mar 19, 2025Vote to raise Michigan’s assessment cap fails
A proposal to raise Michigan’s assessment cap on potatoes to 9.5 cents per cwt failed to pass a vote.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) notified the Michigan Potato Industry Commission (MPIC) in a March 18 letter that a vote to raise the assessment cap failed, meaning the assessment cap will remain at 5.5 cents.
Per state statute, the cap involves growers with 20 or more acres of potatoes in production according to MPIC. The assessment cap for shippers will remain at 1.5 cents.
The Michigan potato industry, along with national promotion board Potatoes USA, uses assessment funds to support research and other checkoff program efforts to increase potato consumption and to address industry challenges.
“The failure of the assessment cap increase special referendum to pass is a significant setback for our industry,” MPIC executive director Kelly Turner said in a news release. “With no other means of accounting for inflation, it means that we will continue to face financial uncertainties that hinder long-term planning and our ability to address critical research needs.”
Last fall, MDARD verified 15 petition signatures asked for the vote on raising the assessment cap and mailed ballots to potato producers on Jan. 28. The voting period took place from Feb. 3-14.
MDARD received 18 ballots, with one being disqualified as incomplete. Of the 17 ballots counted, which represented 13,480,523 cwt of potato production, 10 ballots were in favor of raising the cap assessment, with seven opposed.
However, the seven opposed accounted for 58% of the production, and volume is the deciding factor in the vote, according to state law.
“This assessment cap referendum vote may be a direct response to the economic uncertainty currently facing the industry,” Turner said. “As stakeholders seek to mitigate financial risks, they see this as one cost they can control.”
