2024 Hemp Grower Registration Update
January 11, 2024
Dear Hemp Growers,
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MDARD) Bureau of Environment and Sustainability has a few updates to share regarding 2024 Hemp Grower Renewal Applications.
MDARD mailed the 2024 Hemp Grower Renewal Applications on December 4, 2023. Renewal applications are not posted on the department’s website. If you are renewing your registration, do not complete the online application for new registrants; it will be rejected, and you will be asked to complete your renewal application.
If any firms are still conducting any growing activities after January 31, 2024, hemp grower registration cannot lapse. “Grow” or “growing” as defined in the Industrial Hemp Growers Act, Act 220 of 2020 means to plant, propagate, cultivate, or harvest live plants or viable seed; drying and storing harvested industrial hemp; possessing live industrial hemp plants or viable seed on a premises where the live industrial hemp plants or viable seed are grown; growing industrial hemp for the purposes of conducting research; and, selling harvested industrial hemp to a processor-handler licensed under the Industrial Hemp Research and Development Act, 2014 PA 547, or processor licensed under the medical marihuana facilities licensing act, 2016 PA 281.
Your current registration expires January 31, 2024, so be sure to submit your renewal application soon. Plan for time for MDARD to process your application, and ensure you include a current background check, which must be dated within 60 days of submission of the application.
Those not registered in 2023 can apply for a new registration by downloading an application at www.Michigan.gov/HempGrowing under “Forms.”
If you submit an application with an error, MDARD will notify you via email with the deficiencies listed. It is your responsibility to reply to that email and correct outstanding problems, so please ensure you have a valid and monitored email address on file with MDARD. You are not considered registered until MDARD has approved your application and issued you a registration certificate via mail.
As a reminder, if you have a pre-existing PBS (Performance-Based Sampling) plan and have your plan set for 2024, please do the following:
- College and university researchers should email their dated plan to MDARD-Industrial-Hemp@Michigan.gov for review.
- All other growers should complete the online PBS request form. If you do not currently have a PBS plan and are interested, please review the technical bulletin for more information. Submission for PBS approval must occur annually.
Lastly, MDARD continues to see some cannabinoid growers attempting to grow marijuana under the guise of hemp. This hurts the state’s legal, licensed cannabis industry as competitors do not have a level playing field. It also impacts MDARD’s available resources to regulate the hemp industry. As such, we continue to work closely with Michigan State Police and the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) to address these situations. If you would like to file a complaint concerning a hemp grower, visit MDARD’s website for more information. To file a complaint against marijuana businesses, visit CRA’s website.
Contact MDARD with hemp cultivations questions by emailing MDARD-IndustrialHemp@Michigan.gov or calling 800-292-3939.
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