Michigan Ag Department Hires New Hemp Program Specialist

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has chosen Molly Mott to serve as the industrial hemp program specialist effective Dec. 27, 2020. She is joining MDARD’s Industrial Hemp Program Director Gina Alessandri, who will be retiring in June 2021.

This addition comes at an exciting time for Michigan’s industrial hemp industry, following the United States Department of Agriculture approval of the state’s industrial hemp plan which began Dec. 1, 2020.

Mott has been with MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division for 20 years, serving in many important roles including, pesticide inspector, nursery inspector, emerald ash borer regulatory lead, and pesticide lead inspector. Most recently, she served as the division’s pesticide enforcement program specialist, a role she has excelled in since 2017. Mott brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in program management, procedure writing, law interpretation, compliance assistance and enforcement.

Mott can be contacted at mottm@michigan.gov or by calling 248-521-0501.