Committee advances lengthy cottage-foods amendment but tables broader bill amid mixed testimony

The Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee on Friday took up Senate File 391, a comprehensive update to Minnesota’s cottage‑foods law that would raise revenue limits, change legal language to allow business entities to register as "persons" rather than "individuals," and permit commercial shipment of certain shelf‑stable cottage foods. The committee approved an author’s A1 amendment on a voice vote, then later voted to lay the bill on the table for further work.

Sen. Andrew Lieske (author) described cottage foods as the resale of certain homemade, shelf‑stable foods at farmers markets and other outlets and said the bill adjusts several dollar thresholds to reflect inflation, replaces the word "individual" with "person" to close a liability gap, and extends shipping to non‑potentially hazardous human foods in addition to pet treats already allowed by statute.

Kathy Zieman, executive director of the Minnesota Farmers Market Association, testified in support and described training and outreach MFMA has provided: "Minnesota Farmers Market Association is the membership organization that provides leadership and support to Minnesota's now 378 farmers markets across the state and tribal nations along with their 10,000 vendors," she said. Zieman told the committee MFMA has onboarded about 750 registered cottage-food producers and secured a specialty crop grant to develop culturally relevant tested recipes.

Jennifer Caribou, vice president of the Minnesota Cottage Food Producers Association and a registered producer, said the cottage‑food industry has expanded beyond small market pickles into a multimillion‑dollar sector and urged lawmakers to lift barriers that she said limit entrepreneurs. "Revenue caps are arbitrary limiting cottage food profitability, business expansion, and creates business inequality," she said, and argued that allowing shipping to customers would align Minnesota with other states and increase opportunity for producers.

Megan Forbes of the Institute for Justice supported changes that expand commerce for small food entrepreneurs and cited a multi‑state trend toward higher or no revenue caps and broader shipping rules. "Today, 35 states allow cottage food producers to ship their products without issue," she said.

The Minnesota Grocers Association expressed caution. Steve Barthel, the association's government relations director, told senators that large food retailers are concerned about expanding the reach of home‑based production without matching licensed‑producer food‑safety standards. "Allowing shipping only further broadens this reach, transforming what was once a small local operation into a much larger commercial enterprise," he said.

Committee action: Senators adopted an author’s A1 amendment on a voice vote; later, after the full testimony and questions, the chair moved to lay the bill on the table and the committee voted to table SF 391 for additional work and negotiations.

Clarifying details captured in testimony include a proposed revenue cap in the bill at about $85,000 (author referenced an inflation‑adjusted level) and advocates’ statements that roughly 10,000 Minnesotans are registered cottage‑food producers and that 35 states allow some form of shipping for cottage‑food products. Supporters said the proposal retains mandatory training and registration requirements, while opponents urged caution on shipping and higher revenue thresholds without matching regulatory safeguards.

What’s next: Committee members voted to table SF 391; sponsors and stakeholders said they will continue negotiating language, data collection and insurance and labeling questions before the measure advances.