By
Kimberly Warren
Managing Editor
Being involved in the fruit
industry is no strange task for the Michigan State Horticultural Society’s
(MSHS) new president. In fact, industry involvement runs in Ross Stein’s
blood.
Stein’s grandfather served on the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC)
for 12 years. His father was on MAC for six years, and Stein himself
served for six years. Stein’s father also was involved with
the Michigan Agricultural Commodity Marketing Association (MACMA)
for 22 years. Stein took over his father’s position and now
serves on MACMA. On top of his growing list of industry organizations,
Stein also serves as South Haven Township supervisor.
“It’s one thing to sit and complain about things, but
if you’re not involved, you don’t know why things are
the way they are,” Stein said.
But he also added, “I think I’m at my limit – you
don’t want to get spread too thin.”
Stein will take over as the MSHS president at this year’s Great
Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO, which will be Dec. 7-9
in Grand Rapids, Mich. The EXPO is a joint venture between MSHS and
the Michigan Vegetable Council.
“It’s going to be an honor to be president,” Stein
said. “The fruit industry is changing quite rapidly right now.”
MSHS has around 1,200 members and has been in existence for 134 years.
“The hort society’s mission statement is to educate and
promote the horticultural crops of the state of Michigan,” he
said.
It is through sponsoring events, such as the EXPO; contributing money
for research; and lobbying members of the state Legislature, that
Stein said MSHS is able to accomplish that mission.
“We need to educate our senators and representatives on (agricultural)
issues, and term limits are not helping that – people are not
there long enough to learn the issues and help with them,” Stein
said.
Among those important issues, Stein listed water regulations, labor,
chemical registrations, trade and abandoned orchards.
And Stein said the No. 1 concern the industry might be facing is labor
and labor regulations. Often the government gets itself involved in
passing regulations that growers must follow with their workers, and
Stein said it goes a little too far.
“No grower out there wants to injure their workers,” he
said. “If we weren’t treating them well, they wouldn’t
come back. We treat our employees like family.”
And that’s if growers have workers they know they can get back
year after year. Some growers Stein knows have problems finding workers
who will work for the wages those growers can afford to pay.
“If the economy gets better, they (workers) are finding other
jobs that can afford to pay them more,” he said.
Another of Stein’s top concerns is abandoned orchards. These
orchards that people purchase and grow without applying chemicals
are causing problems for traditional growers.
“We’re not opposed to organic growers, but there need
to be standards,” he said. “Our definition of organic
is not just letting it (orchard) go.”
As Stein serves as MSHS president, he hopes to continue to work on
some of these issues facing growers like himself.
Stein has been farming on his family’s farm since he graduated
from Michigan State University with a degree in agricultural engineering.
On his farm, he grows apples, peaches, Stanley prunes and blueberries.
“I like the diverse work you do as a farmer, and I enjoy being
outside,” he said. “I like starting with a dormant tree,
and at the end of the season I have a nice-looking piece of fruit
off of it.”
Stein has enjoyed the farming lifestyle since he was a child –
and he doesn’t think he’ll stop anytime soon.
“When I was younger, we had a sandbox on the home farm, and
I would play tractors in that sandbox,” he said. “Farming’s
in my blood, and I haven’t had a blood transfusion yet.”
Stein and his wife, Cheri, have two children, Jenna, 16, and Daniel,
12.
