* Luke Meerman, State Representative (R) Coopersville

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
I did my best The Mission's Big Show starring Michael
Patrick Shields. I'm Kyle Malin, editor of the Murrors newsletter,
filling in today for Michael Patrick Tony Cuthbert on the
other end of the glass at the State Capitol. This morning,
we are going to have tractors, tractors in front of
the State Capitol. Let's talk to our next guest to

(00:26):
learn a little bit more about that. He is Representative
Luke Meherman from Coopersville. Good morning, sir, good to be
with you. Okay, so is this for real? We're actually
going to have tractors out in front of the capitol lawne.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah. Absolutely. They're gathering now a sort of the congregating point,
and you should see them there on the capitol soon.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
All right. So our office is our studios is just
a block away from the Capitol. So on the next break,
I'm going to get out and I'm going to look
down the street and how many tractors am I going
to see?

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Well, hopefully by nine o'clock you'll see fifty or more.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Goodness gracious, what are they doing there? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
We are? And I said we because I'm a dairy
farmer myself serving in the state legislature. We are rallying
to protest against overreaching government, particularly the Department of Environmental Quality.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Now, when you say overreach, give our listeners a little
bit of an example of what you're talking about.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah. Absolutely. In the oversight hearing, so this is combined
with oversight hearings in the Capitol building at nine, you'll
hear from a biodigesting company from the Fremont area that
is no longer operating a biodigester, but they are operating
biodigusters in New York and California and other states around

(01:52):
the nation. And this is the only environmental agency at
the state level that has really forced them out of this.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
A biodigester. If what's a biodigester.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, in this case, they were taking food waste before
it went to Gerber or after left Gerber, and they're
processing it and making biogas.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
So if so, if we're talking about bio waste, so
Gerber is taking let's say, peas or bananas to make
like creamed banana baby food, So all those banana peels
would go to this digester.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Exactly. Yeah, food waste is a lot better term. Yeah,
and yes, it's just it's it's things that would there's
things that can bugs can eat and create gas, and
in this case it's it's all food based.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
And so this digester then would take all this stuff
and it would decompose create methane, and then the methane
would be used for for natural gas to eat homes.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Absolutely, there's a local school there that heated itself with
a gas from that from that biodigester. There's also biodigesters
that run off animal manure and make gas off of
that as well, basically collecting cow farts.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
It probably.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Things that the farmers are here to talk about as well.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
But I mean that biodigester that kind of smells. Is
that why the state is putting the kaibash on it?
Or is there other reasons?

Speaker 2 (03:34):
I guess when we hear from this company uh in
in oversight hearing, I think you'll hear from them. So, yes,
it could smell, but it shouldn't smell it's done right. No,
it really should be taking that smell in the form

(03:54):
of methane and making a gas out of it that
can be used in a home.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
So what is the state's problem with this thing?

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Well, that's a great question. You know, why is Michigan
different than California, New York. Yeah, that's a great question.
I know, one of the people trying to get the
license for that specific digest or talked to one of
the you know degal person Department Environmental Equality and asked them,

(04:30):
do you want all this to go to the landfill?
And they basically said yes. I don't know. I can't imagine.
They basically were asking for you know, test wells and
liability to be put on the digesting company. That just
again is unlike California, New York. This is so really,

(04:50):
in our mind unreasonable. But we're also facing problems with
fruit and vegetable washing water with draws and other things.
It's just at so many different levels. Farmers feel there
isn't and you know, there isn't any interaction with departments.

(05:10):
It's just completely their way and most farmers honestly don't
see much of the future for themselves here, so they just.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Don't feel like they're getting support from the state regardless
of what they're in, whether it's fairy cows or it's
fruit or vegetables or grain or whatever.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah. Yeah, again, not asking for you know, you know,
farmers to do whatever they want, but just asking for
a working relationship with with the department where they can
have some feedback back and forth with department and figure
this out. It's just become our way or the highway,

(05:53):
and it seems like the department is choosing the highway
for the farmers.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
We're talking with Representative Loop Mirror and from Coopersville. Have
you noticed the change in the administration, whether it's Grand
Holme or it's Snyder, or it's Whitmer Republican Democrat, or
in general, is the bureaucracy pretty inflexible?

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Big big difference, big difference. It's it's changed a lot
in the last seven years since the last governor. You know,
a department environmentalitality is a good thing to have, but
the way they've been going about things since Whitmer came
into office has just been really Farmers feel like they

(06:42):
have a they have a boot on their on their
chests and they just can't figure out how to continue
to stay farming here. So there hasn't been any statute
change at the legislative level to change this. This is
a bureaucratic overreach and just propagated rules.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
M Luke Meherman here state represented from Coopersville. Just to
kind of change focus here a bit. Uh, what kind
of impact have you felt, if any, on this whole
bird flu issue that we're experiencing.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, not directly myself, but I guess in Ottawa County
we had some bird flu in. We had some bird
flu in some turkeys there, so it's there or we're
watching to see. This is the time of year that
we had the worst of it last year, So we'll

(07:42):
see if we have another of those outbreaks. But you know,
Lord willing, we can avoid that this time.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
It's kind of weird to think that bird flu could
infect bovines, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah, yes, it was. The hadn't been seen before to
go over the dairy herd. Obviously, the mortality rate isn't
there with the dairy herd, but it certainly really affects
amount production and it makes the cow stick for a while.

Speaker 1 (08:15):
Well, well, we're going to be keeping an eye on that,
and we're going to be keeping an eye on the tractors.
Now are you at the capitol right now? Can you
see the tractors.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
I'm still at the site where tractors are gathering. Okay,
all right, and we'll be there around eight thirty and
then hopefully continue to gather strength for a while.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
All Right, has the capital facilities? Have the capital facilities.
People told you that they're concerned about the weight, like
impacting the grass and stuff.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
We are staying on the streets. We will be just
participating in normal you know, just driving on the street.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
Okay, all right, Well, thank you for the update. We'll
see them later. Luke Miraman, State Representative.

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