About
Social, political, and market support enabling long-term, landscape-wide change.
Our Focus
Michigan Agriculture Advancement (MiAA) empowers alternatives to the commodity agriculture system that has prioritized production efficiencies at the expense of farm resiliency, production flexibility, food value, and environmental impacts.
On the farm level, MiAA is working to drive soil health and diverse rotations. That improved soil health comes through decreased reliance on chemical inputs and tillage, use of cover crops, and rotational diversity. These are management practices that can cut input costs, improve weather resiliency, and decrease economic risk.
Externally, the environmental outcomes of these practices must be used as a driver of adoption as well. Soils with greater water holding capacity and rainfall infiltration are better able to keep water in the field, reducing the downstream flashiness of intense rainfall events. Water that does leave the field is cleaner, with fewer nutrients and less eroded soil. The soil quality attributes reduce the susceptibility to drought, decreasing the dependence on insurance and emergency government assistance. Carbon is retained in these systems, contributing to global climate change concerns.
On a structural level, market development must take place to facilitate a more diverse mix of crops. The value of crops must be leveraged, be it the value of proximity to consumers, nutritional content, or environmental footprint of production practices. Economic development initiatives to support rural economies can be leveraged to augment this work. Free market practices must be enacted, curtailing the long standing artificial economic support for corn and soybean production.
This broad, complex combination of technical, social, economic, political barriers is daunting, but innovative individuals and companies all along the food chain are already working to make these changes happen. MiAA seeks to support that work and serve as an advocate on their behalf, thereby improving the economic and environmental landscape of Michigan agriculture.
Our Leadership
Julie Doll, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Agriculture Advancement
Julie started as CEO in November of 2021. Previously she worked at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station as Associate Director for Stakeholder Engagement for the Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Program.
As a PhD student and Postdoc at the University of Wisconsin-Madison she investigated agronomic, ecological, and social aspects to using native prairie grasses in grazed pastures. While a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay from 2000–2002, Julie fell in love with working with famers, grasslands, and meeting the needs of people through improved agricultural production and care for the environment.
Becky Wark, MBA
Project Coordinator, Michigan Agriculture Advancement
Becky joined MiAA in October of 2023 as Project Coordinator. She grew up on a conventional crop farm in Huron County and then pursued a business degree. After college, she worked in a variety of positions in corporate agriculture, ag lending, and project management.
Currently, Becky lives on a farm in Tuscola County with her husband and three children where they grow wheat, soybeans, sugar beets, corn and utilize cover crops like sunflowers, clover, and radishes. Her goal is to help ensure the future of Michigan Agriculture, not just for her family, but for other growers, our food supply, and the environment.
Tucker Gibbons
Agronomy Consultant, Michigan Agriculture Advancement
Tucker has been the Agronomy Consultant for MiAA since 2023 and is also the Farm Manager at Granor Farms. After attending Hope College where he studied business, Tucker worked in ag retail at Fowlerville Farm Services and as a customer success agronomist at Continuum Ag, before planting his career at Granor Farms.
“I hope to bring forth some solid, soil health focused agronomic practices from a farmer’s point of view to help the Climate Smart team. I also hope to bring these to farmers wherever they’re at with their soil health journey. Massive change doesn’t need to happen overnight, but incremental change can help show that regenerative agriculture can truly be a win-win between farmers and our environment.”
Our Board
Tom Zimnicki, MPA, MS
Agriculture and Restoration Policy Director, Alliance for the Great Lakes
Tom leads work in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio to achieve the Alliance’s agriculture and water goals and implements regional restoration initiatives. In addition, he serves as a convener, organizer, and relationship builder at all levels of government and stakeholders, emphasizing state-level agriculture water policy. Previously, Tom has served as the Senior Environmental Policy Advisor for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and as the Agriculture and Source Water program and policy manager at the Michigan Environmental Council. Tom received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Adrian College and a master’s degree from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Adam Reimer, PhD
Conservation Outreach Specialist, National Wildlife Federation
Our Founding
Tim Boring, PhD
Founder, Michigan Agriculture Advancement
Tim worked closely with the team members listed here to develop the Michigan Agriculture Advancement in response to growing concerns of agriculture’s current challenges and approach for addressing those issues. He is the 6th generation to operate his family farm in Stockbridge, MI, raising a variety of grain crops utilizing soil health and regenerative principles. He’s benefited greatly from the inclusive community of innovative growers in the US, Canada, and around the world that share experiences and ideas. Tim has previously served as the Vice President of the Michigan Agri-Business Association and Research Director of the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. He holds a MS and PhD in Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University.