Local dairy loses legal appeal, aims for Supreme Court

A Minnesota Court of Appeals has issued a decision confirming that the state’s Department of Health has the legal right (and duty) to inspect Lake View Natural Dairy and its non-pasteurized milk operation for compliance with health standards. The court ruled that no constitutional rights were violated.

The dairy is located in rural Grand Marais and owned by the Berglund family. David Berglund had argued that the district court erred in determining that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has statutory authority to regulate and inspect his dairy and that inspection of his farm violates his Fourth Amendment rights.

Berglund had argued that as a farmer he has a fundamental right to sell his farm products. The court disagreed, saying farmers have no such fundamental rights and that current laws do not allow such sales, saying “ensuring that food products offered for sale are safe for consumption is a legitimate governmental purpose.”

Therefore, the court ruled, because the DOA enforcement and inspection statutes are rationally related to a legitimate government interest, the district court did not err in determining that statutory scheme was constitutional and not in violation of Berglund’s claimed constitutional right.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Lake View Natural Dairy Attorney Zenas Baer, who said the Berglunds now plan to take their case to the Minnesota Supreme Court.