MDARD AAM Statewide Mobility Challenges

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) AAM Statewide Mobility Challenge aims to modernize pesticide drift investigations in Michigan using Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The challenge focuses on leveraging drone technologies to collect hazardous samples, detect pesticide residues, and visualize plant damage, with the goal of reducing incident response times to 24-48 hours while protecting investigator safety.

Applicants are not required to be headquartered in Michigan, but they must demonstrate a clear plan for economic growth and operations within the state. A firm commitment of matching funds (financial or fair-market in-kind) is mandatory. Consistent with federal executive orders prioritizing domestic drone manufacturing, priority consideration is given to applicants committed to establishing or expanding drone production capacity in Michigan.

Eligible projects must directly solve MDARD's operational challenges, demonstrate seamless interoperability with existing state department infrastructure, show quantifiable economic benefits to Michigan (such as job creation or government cost savings), include a detailed deployment and regulatory compliance plan, and demonstrate scalability and financial sustainability beyond the demonstration period.

The application window opened on February 2, 2026, following information sessions held on February 10 and 12, 2026. Proposals were accepted through March 31, 2026. Applications are evaluated on a best-value basis considering project description, alignment with state AAM goals, team capacity, post-pilot financial sustainability, system interoperability, matching funds, overall proposal quality, and project cost.