Congressman Tom Barrett hosted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in mid-Michigan on April 13 to meet with local farmers and Livingston County emergency dispatchers. The visit included a roundtable discussion at the Michigan State University Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, as well as a tour of the Livingston County 911 Central Dispatch facility.
The meeting focused on how local farmers are benefiting from tax relief and farm provisions introduced through the Working Families Tax Cuts. These measures were supported by Barrett and the president to provide financial support for both farmers and families.
Barrett said, “Michigan’s farmers deserve a federal government that understands their challenges and ensures they can keep feeding our communities.” He added, “The Working Families Tax Cuts are putting more money back in the pockets of farmers and families, and I’m grateful to Secretary Rollins for joining me to hear it directly from the people of mid-Michigan. I was also proud to welcome her to Livingston County to highlight federal funding I secured for the new computer-aided dispatch system, providing emergency dispatchers the tools they need to keep our communities safe. I’ll continue fighting to bring Michiganders’ tax dollars home to benefit our communities.”
Rollins said, “The Working Families Tax Cuts provided the largest investment in American agriculture, including boosting support for America’s row crop and specialty crop farmers.” She continued, “It’s thanks to members of Congress like Tom Barrett that the Michigan agricultural industry and those around the country will be able to use these investments.”
During their visit at MSU’s Dairy Research Facility, Barrett and Rollins met with farmers from across mid-Michigan who discussed ongoing challenges facing agriculture operations. Afterward, they toured facility operations before moving on to Livingston County 911 Central Dispatch.
At Livingston County 911 Central Dispatch, officials highlighted a $495,000 federal investment recently secured by Barrett for purchasing a new computer-aided dispatch system. This upgraded system is expected to improve call intake processes, location verification accuracy, response coordination efforts among first responders, record management capabilities, among other functions.
