2022 Annual Grower Questionnaire

This questionnaire is the annual review to determine how the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) applies to your Minnesota produce operation for the upcoming 2022 growing season. By completing this questionnaire, you will:
  • Help determine your current status under the rule AND receive official confirmation from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Produce Safety Program explaining how the rule applies to your operation.
  • Get the latest updates, resources, and information about trainings and general on-farm produce safety in Minnesota.
  • Help protect the production of local produce in Minnesota by prioritizing food safety and minimizing the risk of foodborne outbreaks.
  • Assist MDA in the development of programs and funding opportunities that respond to your interests and needs as a produce farmer.

    This questionnaire should be filled out once per year, per farm. By submitting this form to the Produce Safety Program, I hereby certify that the information contained in and submitted with this form is true and correct*. Privacy Notice: Your information will assist the MDA in building a produce farm inventory database as part of a cooperative agreement between the MDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the implementation of the PSR under the FSMA.

    Your contact information and location of your farm operation is classified as private or nonpublic data under Minnesota Statutes Section 13.643 and will be accessible only to those employees at the MDA, or the MDA’s contractors, who have a valid work assignment that requires access. Your private or nonpublic information may be turned over to the legislative auditor, the state auditor, to parties identified in a valid court order or to whom you give written consent. The MDA has the right to release private or nonpublic data in the event it determines there is a substantive threat to human health or safety or to the environment, or to aid in the law enforcement process. In certain circumstances, the information you provide may also be used as the basis of an inspection and/or investigation of your farm operation and/or farming practices by the MDA and may be shared with the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General.

    Please note, participation in this questionnaire is voluntary; you are not required to fill it out. There are no legal consequences for choosing not to complete the questionnaire. However, farmers who opt out will be contacted by the MDA via email, phone, or in person to identify their farm status and inspection requirements under the rule.

    *Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 34A.05, a person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor if they knowingly make or offer a false statement on a record or report.

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