May 13, 2019
Michigan had the highest percentage of dairy closings in 2018, 13%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual summary of licensed dairy herds.
Michigan House Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Julie Alexander of Jackson, a former teacher and farmer’s wife, says her family was one of the 230 in the state to sell its cows last year.
“It was heart-wrenching to see a third-generation family farm make a decision that was simply an economic decision to leave the industry,” she says.
In the House
Alexander is in her second term serving as state representative for the 64th District, which includes the city of Jackson and Concord, Hanover, Napoleon, Parma, Pulaski, Sandstone, Summit and Spring Arbor townships. In her second year teaching, she met local farmer Jeff Alexander.
“On our first date, he took me to dinner and a movie and after he said, ‘Do you want to go back to my place? I’ll show you my cows,’” she remembers. Four months later, they were engaged and have been married for 32 years.