The long legal case between the State of Minnesota and Dave and Heidi Berglund, owners of Lake View Natural Dairy located on Maple Hill (6 miles from Grand Marais near the Gunflint Trail), will continue after the decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the state has the right to inspect the dairy.
Zenas Baer, the attorney who represents the Berglunds, says the Berglunds will now ask to have the case tried before the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Until further notice, milk, skim milk, cream, eggs, butter, beef, cookies, and yogurt can be sold at the farm. Typically no one is there when customers enter a small store and serve themselves, putting their payment in a small box.
The state contends that Lake View Natural Dairy undergo inspection to ensure its products are fit for human consumption, but David Berglund has argued that his constitutional rights were being violated, citing a law enacted by the Minnesota Legislature in 1906 that allows a farmer to sell his farm products without a license.
The MDA has been pursuing legal action against the Berglunds since January 2013 when they learned the couple were operating Lake View Natural Dairy on Maple Hill in Grand Marais and suspected that the couple was selling unpasteurized/raw milk products to consumers.
During the court of appeals Baer argued that state statutes say that “Generally it permissible to purchase or sell raw milk occasionally.” He also told the judges that the word “occasionally” appeared in the statute long after it was first written and include in the statute. No one knows who inserted the word or when the word “occasionally” was written into the statute, said Baer.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture argues that Berglunds sell more of their products than “occasionally.”
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