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MDARDs 2025 Ag Exporter of the Year Application Period Now Open

By Lynsey Mukomel

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is now accepting applications for the 2025 Michigan Ag Exporter of the Year award. Each year, MDARD recognizes a food, agriculture, or forest product business that has demonstrated exceptional success in export growth.

Eligibility is open to Michigan food, agriculture, and forest products producers, manufacturers, or shippers that are actively pursuing international markets. Exported products must be over 50 percent grown, processed, or manufactured in Michigan. Companies of all sizes are encouraged to apply. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Monday, March 31, 2025.

"Michigan-made food, agriculture and forest products are making a global impact and represent one of the diverse ways our industry feeds the state's economic prosperity," said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “The international market opportunities in Michigan continue to grow, and we are proud to celebrate those who are having success in that area.”

The Michigan Ag Exporter of the Year was first awarded in 2006. Information on previous winners is available on our website, where you can also learn more about the 2024 Ag Exporter of the Year Awardee, Banks Hardwoods by viewing their video.

For more information, please visit the MDARD Ag Exporter of the Year webpage or contact Holly Gaffney at GaffneyH@michigan.gov.

Source : michigan.gov

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Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim



In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.