CHATHAM, MI— The Michigan State University Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center is celebrating its 125th anniversary this weekend.
UPREC director James DeDecker says the center was established in 1899 to support the development of agriculture in the U.P. He says the environment of the U.P. and its distance from agricultural markets calls for different farming methodologies.
“Farmers have to be innovative in the U.P. to work around our environmental conditions and put together resilient production systems, but they also have to be creative in terms of how they source products or inputs for their business and where they ultimately sell the products that they’re producing and how they can capture the best value possible for those products.”
DeDecker says UPREC brings the latest technology to area farmers and serves as a hub for innovation uniquely focused on this region.
A Research and Extension Center anniversary celebration will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the UPREC South Farm in Chatham. More information is available by calling 906-439-5114.
