Michigan Department Of Agriculture And Rural Development

Michigan Department Of Agriculture And Rural Development is a U.S. state government entity based in Lansing, Michigan, that operates as a federal grant recipient and definitive contract awardee delivering food safety inspections, animal disease surveillance, pest detection and eradication, and agricultural regulatory programs to civilian federal agencies. The agency competes in full-and-open posture with no set-aside designations, functioning exclusively as a prime recipient across its federal footprint.

MDARD's capability portfolio centers on federal food safety and agricultural regulatory work. Recent contract work includes a $5.71 million definitive contract from the Food and Drug Administration awarded in September 2026 for human food inspections and safety testing in Michigan (ultimate completion September 29, 2031), a $927,918 contract for animal food facility compliance audits and feed safety testing (September 2026 to September 2031), and a $3.16 million contract for human food inspections (September 2023 to March 2027). On the grant side, MDARD received a $4.86 million cooperative agreement from FDA in September 2025 under the FDA Research program (CFDA 93.103) to expand food safety laboratory testing and microbiology surveillance for human and animal food through June 2030, covering mycotoxins, veterinary drugs, heavy metals, pathogen detection, and whole genome sequencing. The agency also holds a $675,000 FDA cooperative agreement through June 2028 for animal feed safety maintenance under regulatory program standards.

Customer concentration splits heavily between two grantor agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration dominates potential value, accounting for 49 awards with $24.1 million in combined potential value. The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) leads by award count with 229 awards but carries only $18 thousand in combined potential value, reflecting numerous smaller annual surveillance and pest-detection cooperative agreements. The Environmental Protection Agency ranks third with 17 awards and $2 million in combined potential value, primarily for pesticide regulatory programs and environmental monitoring. Together, these three agencies cover 94% of MDARD's combined potential value across the federal award portfolio.

Grant work dominates the footprint. MDARD acts as recipient on cooperative agreements and block grants from APHIS funding invasive pest surveys (box tree moth, wood-boring insects, cyst nematodes in potatoes), animal disease surveillance (avian influenza, bovine tuberculosis), chronic wasting disease prevention in cervid herds, and animal identification and traceability programs. From the Agricultural Marketing Service, MDARD received a $2.26 million Specialty Crop Block Grant (September 2025 through September 2028, CFDA 10.170) distributing sub-awards across 22 specialty crop projects including integrated pest management, marketing, and research initiatives. MDARD also distributes sub-awards: on a $1.26 million Soil and Water Conservation program cooperative agreement (CFDA 10.902) from NRCS effective September 2025 through September 2026, the agency routes funding to 17 Michigan conservation districts for on-the-ground technical assistance. From EPA Region 5, MDARD received $864,464 under the Performance Partnership Grants program (CFDA 66.605) in October 2025 for pesticide regulatory, enforcement, and applicator training activities through September 2026.

Activity has remained steady at 14 to 19 awards annually over the past five years, with 14 awards reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and carrying $3.2 million in combined potential value. MDARD's recent award velocity reflects sustained demand for food safety laboratory capacity, invasive species management, and animal health surveillance as core federal regulatory priorities. The agency operates with combined potential value of $27.7 million against obligated dollars totaling $208.8 million, indicating substantial prior-year carry-forward and heavily obligated performance across multi-year agreements. Work is performed in Lansing, Michigan and at subordinate laboratory facilities in East Lansing, with field operations and surveillance activities throughout Michigan's counties and regions.