Mihills Farms of Jones recently received its cropping verification from the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP).
MAEAP is a program that helps farms voluntarily prevent or minimize agriculture pollution risks.
It teaches farmers how to identify and prevent environmental risks and to comply with state and federal environmental regulations.
It is a collaborative effort of producers, MDA, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Farm Bureau, commodity organizations, Michigan State University, conservation groups and other state and federal agencies.
More than 150 local coordinators and technical service providers are available to assist farmers as they move through the MAEAP process towards verification.
To date, there are more than 1,000 farms verified.
To become MAEAP-verified, farmers must complete three comprehensive steps which include attending an educational seminar, conducting an on-farm risk assessment and passing a third party on-farm verification.
Farms can be verified in multiple systems, including livestock, farmstead and cropping.
Mihills Farms consists of Norm Mihills and his son, Jeff. They run a large swine operation with around 330 acres of cropland where they raise corn and soybeans. When asked why MAEAP was important to them, Norm said it “helps to keep the environment  safe and clean and keeps farms up-to-date on the best ways to do this.”
Abbey Dorr, groundwater technician for Cass County Conservation District, worked with Mihills to complete the risk assessment and verification process.A yard sign denotesg the achievement.
For more information about MAEAP or how to get involved, check out the
MAEAP website at www.maeap.org or contact Abbey at the Cass County Conservation District, (269)445-8634.