Official press releases, articles, media contact information, email subscription options, social media accounts: everything you need to stay informed, all in one spot.
The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends and determines policy on food, agricultural, and rural development issues. MDARD oversees several additional boards and commissions.
Want to know how to contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development? On this page you will find phone numbers, email addresses, snail mail addresses, and online contact forms for everything we do here at MDARD. We even have a complaint form for those of you with complaints.
MAEAP helps farms of all sizes and all commodities voluntarily prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks. We are here to help and recognize farmers who reduce erosion and runoff from private land into public waters.
MDARD works with local providers of natural resource management services that help citizens implement conservation on their land and protect the environment for a cleaner, healthier, and economically stronger Michigan.
Programs under the Private Forestlands Initiative, including the Forestry Assistance Program, Qualified Forester Registration, and Qualified Forest Program.
The food industry is responsible for producing safe food. Government sets standards, conducts inspections, and monitors food. Consumers also play a huge role in keeping their food safe and wholesome. Learn more.
The plant health program protects agricultural and environmental resources through the early detection and management of invasive species and the inspection of plants and plant products for pests and diseases, while facilitating international and domestic commerce.
Each new, existing, and proposed commercial pesticide or fertilizer bulk storage facility is required to register annually with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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This program helps Michigan schools increase scratch cooking and buy more local foods. It provides money for things like kitchen equipment, building upgrades, supplies, staff training, and administrative costs. Schools can apply only if they already buy and serve Michigan-grown or Michigan-made foods. Each approved school district can receive up to 100,000 dollars.
The aim of this grant program is to expand scratch cooking using local foods in Michigan schools by paying for equipment, infrastructure, supplies, training, and administrative costs. The project will assess the impact of scratch cooking on menu nutrition, meal participation, labor costs, and local food purchasing. Applicants for this funding must be Local education agencies (LEA) that currently procure and serve locally sourced foods.
MDARD will collect letters of intent for the Scratch Cooking in Schools Pilot from interested applicants through an online survey until November 24, 2026. The department will subsequently invite qualified applicants to submit a full application in MiAgGrants. Prospective applicants can learn more by watching the virtual information session recording.
Purchase and serve locally produced agriculture products.
A full list of eligible Local education agencies (LEAs) is available on the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) Educational Entity Master (EEM) Public Data Sets with the search criteria “LEA districts” selected.
MDARD invites qualified LEAs to submit a full application in MiAgGrants
December 8, 2026
ToJanuary 6, 2027
Grant application office hours
By invitation only
January 22, 2027
Grant applications due
Deadline to submit application in MiAgGrants. By invitation only. Applications due January 22, 2027, 5:00pm.
January 2027
ToFebruary 2027
Application review period
March 2027
Announcement of Recipients
Key Grant Criteria
Applicants must select one of the six grant packages listed below. These packages are designed to help grantees identify eligible costs to meet their scratch-cooking goals. In addition to purchases allowed in their selected package, all entities awarded this grant will receive training, guidance, and technical assistance.
Chopping – up to $25,000 to purchase an array of equipment and related infrastructure and supplies to increase efficiency of processing fruits and vegetables.
Blending – up to $25,000 to purchase equipment and related infrastructure and supplies to increase the offerings of homemade sauces, soups, smoothies, batters, and rice dishes.
Batch Cooking – up to $50,000 to purchase a tilt skillet and/or a steam jacket kettle and related infrastructure and supplies to support efficient batch cooking of fresh vegetables, proteins, grains, and sauces.
Cooking Proteins – up to $50,000 to purchase equipment and related infrastructure and supplies to prepare animal and plant-based proteins from their raw or dehydrated form.
Partnering – up to $75,000 to hire staff or third-party entities focused on creating actionable change to implement scratch cooking that sustains beyond the grant period.
Innovating – up to $100,000 to fund an alternative scratch-cooking project that does not fall into packages one through five or that combines elements from multiple packages.
MDARD will award grants to LEAs that vary by geographic location, size, and current scratch cooking capacity.
The letter of intent and application review process shall give priority to:
LEAs that serve the greatest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
Proposals that demonstrate capacity to expand local purchasing
Proposals that demonstrate ability to comply with reporting requirements. This grant opportunity entails a significant amount of administrative time to be dedicated to collecting data, implementing the pilot, and reporting
Proposals that have support from key decision makers (e.g., principals, superintendents, food service directors, business managers, etc.)
LEAs that will be supported by partners to implement the project
Proposals that include itemized costs for all budget items, based on documented quotes and/or market research
For more information about MDARD’s Scratch Cooking in Schools Pilot Program, please email MDARD-FarmToFamily@michigan.gov. Please include “Scratch Cooking Pilot” in the subject line of your email.
Learn more about the Farm to Family program: connecting farmers to consumers, so everyone has access to healthy, locally grown food.
Equal Opportunity
The State of Michigan and MDARD prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, marital status, partisan considerations, or a disability or genetic information that is unrelated to the person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position.
To file a complaint of discrimination, please contact: MDARD Office of Legal Affairs, 525 West Allegan, Lansing, MI 48909, or call 517-284-5729.
You may also contact the Michigan Department of Civil Rights at:
MDARD strives to ensure site accessibility for all persons. Our grant process is inclusive and accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations, please email the following information to MDARD-FarmToFamily@michigan.gov:
Nature of the accessibility issue.
Web address of the content you are attempting to access.
Your preferred format for the content.
Your contact information.
Please submit accessibility requests related to the Letter of Intent Survey no later than October 28, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET. Please submit accessibility requests related to the grant application no later than December 11, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET. Please allow up to two weeks for processing your request. Thank you.
