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[Page S90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO JIM BYRUM
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to honor someone who
has dedicated his entire career to promoting Michigan agriculture and
someone I am proud to call my friend.
I have always said that, in Michigan, we don't have an economy unless
we make things and grow things. For more than 40 years, Jim Byrum has
been helping Michigan do just that.
That is a big deal for our State. From West Michigan's fruitbelt, to
the forests of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, to sugarbeet
and dry bean fields in the Thumb, to biofuel production providing good
jobs in rural communities, to dairy and food processing businesses in
cities and towns of all sizes, agriculture is our State's second-
largest industry, supporting one in four jobs.
During his nearly 25 years with the Michigan Agri-Business
Association, Jim has been a powerful advocate for those one in four
jobs and for his organization's more than 400 members. His vision,
insight, hard work, and great sense of humor have played a strong role
in the association's success.
It is no surprise that Jim knows exactly what his members need; he
has his own lifetime of experience to rely on.
Jim is the fourth generation of Byrums to live on his family's farm
in Onondaga. Before he joined the Michigan Agri-Business Association,
he was State executive director of Michigan's Farm Service Agency and
executive director of the Michigan Bean Commission.
Jim may be moving on, but the imprint he has left on the agribusiness
industry will live on. I know that Jim is particularly proud of the
work he has done to expand markets internationally and to build the
Michigan Agri-Business Leader Program, which has been bringing together
different sectors of agriculture and training the next generation of
leaders since 2008.
I have been especially grateful for the culture of cooperation and
bipartisanship Jim has helped cultivate in our State during a very
challenging time for the industry.
As Jim told Russ White of MSU Today back in September: ``There's
going to be more change in the next 20 years of this industry than
there has been in the past 50. And that change is coming at light speed
. . . it's going to benefit consumers . . . it's going to benefit
producers . . . but folks better be ready to embrace it.''
I know for a fact that Michigan's agricultural industry is better
positioned to embrace change thanks to Jim's hard work and dedication.
Speaking of change, I am so happy that Jim will have more time to spend
with his wife Dianne, who is a leader in her own right, and his two
children and grandchildren.
Jim, thank you for your friendship, your leadership, and your
lifetime of work on behalf of Michigan agriculture. It has been my
honor to be your partner in helping Michigan make things and grow
things.
Thank you.
____________________