Crop-share apples count as farm products, Minnesota Department of Agriculture lawyers say

A cider maker who doesn t own her apple trees can still sell her cider without a license, Minnesota Department of Agriculture legal counsel decided this year. Her apples come from a crop-share agreement, and the lawyers ruled that still makes them products of the farm. Jane Grimsbo Jewett laid out the case Oct. 20, at a meeting of the Minnesota Food Safety and Defense Task Force. She co-chairs the task force s Food Innovation Team, which helps food business owners who get stuck in the state s licensing system. The team is advisory only, and its findings can t overturn an agency decision. The grower wanted to press cider from her own apples, add nothing to it and sell it by the glass and as frozen slushies. She planned to sell from a trailer at fairs and festivals in the St. Cloud area. The Minnesota Constitution lets people sell products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him without a license. That language is in Article XIII, Section 7. The Minnesota De