Product of the farm or garden are products that you grow or raise on land that you “occupy and cultivate.” This could be fruits, vegetables, honey, maple syrup, meat, and poultry.
Under the Constitution of the State of Minnesota, Article 13, Section 7, a person may sell or peddle the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by them without obtaining a license. You also do not need a Cottage Food Producer registration.
A Cottage Food Producer registration is needed if you want to make and sell certain foods from your home that are not considered products of the farm or garden, such as adding ingredients to your tomatoes to produced a pasta sauce. Please refer to questions above for what foods are allowed under a Cottage Food Producer registration.
Please note that products of the farm or garden still must be handled in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, even though a license is not needed to sell them. Contact the Food and Feed Safety Licensing Liaison for more information, or visit MDA's Produce Safety Program website.
No. Most charcuterie boards contain meat and cheese. Because meat and cheese require refrigeration for safety, they are not an allowed cottage food. A food license is required to make and sell them. Please contact the MDA's Licensing Liaison for more information at MDA.FoodLicensingLiaison@state.mn.us.
No. Most charcuterie boards contain meat and cheese. Because meat and cheese require refrigeration for safety, they are not an allowed cottage food. A food license is required to make and sell them. Please contact the MDA's Licensing Liaison for more information at MDA.FoodLicensingLiaison@state.mn.us.
If you only sold finished nursery stock, you would owe a base certificate fee per sales location and an additional fee based on how much you spent purchasing finished stock for 2024. Finished nursery stock includes stock that was purchased with intent to sell as is.
For example, if you are a landscaper or garden center with one sales location and you spent $15,000 buying nursery stock to sell in 2024, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock purchases fee (based on the table above).
Your total fee for 2025 would be $150.
If you only sold finished nursery stock, you would owe a base certificate fee per sales location and an additional fee based on how much you spent purchasing finished stock for 2024. Finished nursery stock includes stock that was purchased with intent to sell as is.
For example, if you are a landscaper or garden center with one sales location and you spent $15,000 buying nursery stock to sell in 2024, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock purchases fee (based on the table above).
Your total fee for 2025 would be $150.
If your business grew all the nursery stock it sold, you would pay a base certificate fee, a nursery stock grower inspection fee of $100 plus a fee of $10 for each acre in production up to 200 acres. Growing nursery stock involves purchasing seed or small plants and producing nursery stock in pots or in the ground by actively increasing their size or quantity.
For example, if you were a 20-acre tree farm that grew what you sold, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee.
- The $10 per acre growing fee. In this case you would pay $10 for each of your 20 acres, adding up to $200.
Your total fee for 2025 would be $350.
If your business grew all the nursery stock it sold, you would pay a base certificate fee, a nursery stock grower inspection fee of $100 plus a fee of $10 for each acre in production up to 200 acres. Growing nursery stock involves purchasing seed or small plants and producing nursery stock in pots or in the ground by actively increasing their size or quantity.
For example, if you were a 20-acre tree farm that grew what you sold, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee.
- The $10 per acre growing fee. In this case you would pay $10 for each of your 20 acres, adding up to $200.
Your total fee for 2025 would be $350.
If you grew nursery stock, purchased, and resold finished nursery stock, you would owe a base certificate fee, a nursery stock purchase fee, a nursery stock grower inspection fee, and a fee per acre you grew on up to 200 acres.
For example, if you bought $5,000 of finished nursery stock from others to resell, and owned two acres of greenhouse space where you also grew nursery stock you sold, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $50 nursery stock purchases fee (based on the table above).
- The $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee.
- The $10 per acre growing fee. In this case you would pay $10 for each of your two acres, adding up to $20.
Your total renewal fee for 2025 would be $220.