December 30, 2008

LANSING - Michigan plum producers have voted to continue the Michigan Plum Industry Development Program.

The Michigan Plum Industry Development Program was developed to improve the economic position of Michigan plum growers by supporting research and market development efforts. The program was last approved in 2003, and by law, must be renewed every five years.

The program will continue for an additional five years, beginning January 2, 2009 and ending January 1, 2014. The current assessment is at a rate not to exceed $4.50 per ton of plums.

A total of 23 valid ballots were cast in the referendum. Of those, 15 producers voted yes (65 percent) representing 1,629,360 pounds of plums (65 percent) and eight producers voted no (35 percent) representing 879,550 pounds of plums (35 percent). For the program to have been renewed, more than 50 percent of the producer votes cast, representing more than 50 percent of the total number of pounds represented on the cast ballots, must have approved it.

For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mda.