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Review the MDA webpage Starting a New Business. This will inform you about topics such as:

• Applicable regulations such as USDA – Food Safety and Inspection Service requirements

Water source & waste water system requirements

• Food business zoning requirements
• Local authority inspections (e.g. building, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, fire)
• Certificate of Occupancy, if necessary
• Meat or dairy products

It is your responsibility to become familiar with all the applicable regulations and Minnesota Statues to ensure you are manufacturing food safely and in the best interest of public health. Depending on the food being produced in your facility, you may need to employ an individual with specialized training, seek additional education/training, or you may need to consult with an external source (university, expert, process authority or laboratory). 

• The MDA worked with our nursery advisory group to create the single fee schedule.
• Our goal was to keep overall program revenue about the same before and after the change.
• We expect that small-sized nursery businesses will see some reduction in the fee paid, medium-sized businesses will see little change, and large nursery businesses may see some increase.

A combination of three factors will be used to calculate the renewal fee: 

1. $50 base certificate fee per sales location (one certificate per sales site) 

2. If you grow nursery stock (see definition below), it must be inspected, and the fee is $100 plus $10 per growing acre up to 200 acres.

3. If you purchase and resell finished nursery stock (see definition below) there is a fee based on Gross Annual Purchase of that stock during 2024 (see table below). We are no longer collecting information on Gross Annual Sales.

• A 5% processing surcharge (minimum $5.00) on the base certificate fee will be included in accordance with Minnesota Statute 17.033. 
• A credit card payment includes a 3% transaction fee. 
• If you renew your certificate after December 31, 2024, a late fee penalty of 25% will be added to the cost.

Definitions:

• Nursery Stock: Any plant or plant part that can be propagated, grown, and overwintered outdoors in Minnesota, including but not limited to trees, shrubs, vines, woody and herbaceous perennials, cold hardy bulbs, biennials, grafts, cuttings, and buds. 
• Nursery Stock Grown: Seeds, bare roots, or small plants purchased and actively grown in pots or in the ground to increase their size or quantity. 
• Finished Nursery Stock: Finished product purchased with the intent to resell as-is that same year. 

• Individuals do not need a nursery certificate if they sell less than $1,000 of nursery stock per year, all stock sold is intended for planting in Minnesota, all of the stock was grown in Minnesota by the seller, and stock is sold on 10 or fewer days per year. 
• Starting in 2025 non-profits and municipalities producing stock for planting on public property will be required to have a certificate but there will be no fee associated.