TRAVERSE CITY -- Rick Sayler can't take all the credit for his abundant cherry harvest.
He relies on the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Leelanau County each season to determine when he should plant his crops.
"Anything we need to know, they have the information for us," said Sayler, of Acme. "Science is really important to us and those guys are experts at it."
But the research station could fall victim to state budget cuts when Michigan's temporary continuation budget ends Saturday.
Some officials expect Gov. Jennifer Granholm to line-item veto funding for Michigan State University's research and extension offices.
"I think it's a safe assumption," said Patrick Cudney, north region director of MSU Extension.
The state allocates $64 million a year to MSU Extension and Michigan Agricultural Experimental Station. But October's payment was $5 million short, and no one seems to know why.
State funding was supposed to be electronically transferred to MSU on Oct. 16, but university officials received a payment that was "less than anticipated, and appears not to include funding for MAES and MSUE."
"We're prepared to take a cut, but to single out the two lines ... it's not only unfair, it's reckless," Cudney said.
The funding is part of the higher education budget sent to the governor's office Oct. 20, said Megan Brown, a Granholm spokeswoman. Brown would not disclose whether Granholm plans to line-item veto funding.
Without state funding, extension offices and experimental stations throughout Michigan would close immediately, including Grand Traverse County MSU Extension Office and Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Leelanau County.
Local farmers said the research station in Leelanau County has helped them in numerous ways, including production yield increases and curbing pest and disease problems.
More than 1,700 full-time employees and another 980 part-timers statewide immediately would lose their jobs if Granholm line-item vetoes funding.
About 84 percent of the MAES budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year stemmed from state appropriations, while MSUE received 33 percent of its funding from the state level, according to financial reports.
The news came as a shock to Coon, who said agriculture has been one of the few bright spots in Michigan's economy.
"It's tough to see support dropped for an industry that can actually produce new jobs and create new opportunities," Coon said.
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