Funding will be used to establish West Michigan as a premier destination for camping and agricultural events

The 2026 state budget plan recently approved by the Michigan House of Representatives includes $1.8 million for the Kenty County Youth Agriculture Association.

The funding was requested by state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford.

If approved by the full Legislature and signed into law by the governor, the money would go to the non-profit to be used for The Grand Agricultural Center of West Michigan (“The Grand”) development. Specifically, the funds would get used to provide electricity and water at a campsite on the Grand River Trail, which stretches from Grand Haven all the way to Shiawassee County. The investment would make it the only campsite on that trail to offer water and electricity.

The funds would also get used to construct a covered arena for agricultural shows.

“This isn’t just for Kent County, this isn’t just for West Michigan either, [it] would be the only electrified campsite on that trail that spans half the entire state of Michigan,” Posthumus said on July 29 while testifying in support of the funding in committee. It would also “help establish the state of Michigan as a premier destination for horse shows and other events that would be utilizing covered arenas.”

Posthumus serves as the majority floor leader.

The Grand development has been in the works for several years; Posthumus expects The Grand will get a 3:1 match from other donors for every dollar provided by the state.

Getting the funding included in the budget plan was not easy; the House-passed budget includes just under $100M of earmarks, a sharp drop from the approximately $1 billion in pork barrel spending typical in recent years. That’s because the House GOP cut most earmarks in order to eliminate waste and free up money for road funding. The few earmark requests that made it into the budget were for public safety, infrastructure, or those that create a generational transformation.

Posthumus successfully argued that the investment will help The Grand become a destination for large agricultural and equestrian events, which will bring in hundreds of thousands of additional visitors to the state each year. Electrifying the campground is necessary to support regional and national multi-day events.

VIDEO: State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, testifies in committee in support of a $1.8M request for Kent County Youth Agriculture Association (comments start at about the 2:00:30 mark)