Stallman. The USFRA is a lobbying organization "of more than 80 farmer and rancher-led organizations and agricultural partners representing virtually all aspects of agriculture, working to engage in dialogue with consumers who have questions about how today’s food is grown and raised," and is funded by checkoff funds from the USDA and corporate sponsors including Monsanto and DuPont. History The Michigan Farm Bureau was formed as an initial response to the tax situation in the early 1900s. The motor car was changing the dynamics of transportation, and Michigan's residents demanded new and improved roads for their vehicles. The state legislature determined that the best way to fund road improvements was through a tax levied on owners of land touching roadways. Because Michigan's farmers owned more land than most citizens, the tax became a burden on their lifestyle. After its formation, the Michigan Farm Bureau successfully lobbied for shifting this tax from land owners to purchasers of gasoline. In early 1973, the flame retardant PBB was accidentally mixed with a cattle feed supplement and then sent to a Michigan Farm Bureau Services feed mill in Battle Creek, Michigan. By the time the mix-up was discovered a year later, contaminated livestock feed had been sent to hundreds of farms. About 500 contaminated farms were quarantined. The state of Michigan killed thousands of animals and destroyed tons of animal feed and dairy products to keep the chemical out of the food system. The Gratiot Landfill in Gratiot County, Michigan, has 269,000 pounds of PBB buried, in addition to animals. But people across the state of Michigan were already contaminated, mostly at low levels. Residents of quarantined farms had the highest levels of the chemical and formed the base of 4,000 participants for the Michigan Long-Term PBB Study, now transferred to Georgia due to lack of funds. The study is the largest one on human chemical contamination in the world. Michigan Farm Bureau came under criticism in 2014 for its stance on changes to regulations related to the Michigan Right to Farm Act, with small farm rights advocates asserting that MFB is supporting regulations that harm small farms and favor agribusiness. See also The American Farm Bureau Federation Polybrominated biphenyl#Michigan PBB contamination incident References External links The Michigan Farm Bureau Web site Farm Bureau Insurance Michigan Web Site The American Farm Bureau Federation Web site American Farm Bureau Federation Economy of Lansing, Michigan 1919