Reminders for Industrial Hemp Growers
August 14, 2025
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) would like to remind hemp growers of the following requirements in Public Act 220 of 2020, the Industrial Hemp Growers Act. If you have any questions, please contact us at 800-292-3939, or email MDARD-Industrialhemp@michigan.gov. We are always happy to help and look forward to working with you this season!
Grower Registration
If you are growing hemp this year, you must be registered. To apply for a new registration, complete an online grower application (PDF). If you have already applied and have not received a paper copy of your hemp grower registration certificate in the mail, you may not be registered, so please check with MDARD’s Central Licensing Unit at 517-256-7509. There is no deadline to apply, but you must be registered before receiving seeds, clones, transplants, or performing any other grower activities. Your license will be valid until January 31, 2026.
Reporting Crop Acreage to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Outdoor hemp acreage and/or indoor square footage must be reported to FSA by July 15 each year. If planting does not occur until after July 15, the grower must report within 15 days of planting. Growers who have not reported to FSA before will most likely need to supply the agency with a copy of the deed or lease agreement for each growing location. The FSA will provide growers with a completed FSA-578 form, “Report of Commodities Farm and Tract Detail Listing” or “Producer Print” version. You are required to keep this information for five years as proof of submitting crop information. For more information, see MDARD’s technical bulletin about reporting crop acreage, FSA Crop Acreage Reporting. USDA also provides a free training course to help growers get registered with FSA.
Hemp Grower Inspections
MDARD inspectors will contact registered growers to schedule a date for the inspection of crops and a records review. Please see the hemp grower self-audit checklist to prepare for the inspection. Some additional reminders about inspections per the Industrial Hemp Growers Act, Act 220 of 2020:
- You cannot grow marijuana under a hemp registration.
- You must have proof your plants are hemp, including variety names and seed or transplant purchase documentation. Inspectors review invoices, Certificates of Analyses, seed labels, and other documentation from you to help verify the plants are intended to be hemp. Without such documentation, MDARD will likely open an investigation and collect samples.
- MDARD has the authority to test any plants they deem necessary, and can, order disposal of any plants that test as marijuana.
Pre-harvest Sampling
Before an industrial hemp crop can be harvested, a regulatory hemp sample must be collected. To schedule sampling, hemp growers must contact MDARD by submitting a preharvest sampling request not more than 30 days and not less than 20 days before the anticipated harvest date. THC levels of up to 0.36% (which includes the 0.06% measurement of uncertainty for the MDARD Geagley Laboratory) are considered hemp. More information about this process can be found by reviewing the preharvest sampling process technical bulletin.
Please visit MDARD’s website for more information and resources about the industrial hemp program and see our 2024 Annual Report.
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