Nursery Licenses

Vendors selling nursery stock (which includes live plants and cut flowers) are required to obtain a nursery license from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA). Individual annual licenses cost $50 and the nursery facility is required to be inspected by the Department of Agriculture.
Farmers' markets have been granted a special exemption to this, whereby the market itself can obtain an "umbrella license" from NMDA. The purpose of this is to support small-scale nursery vendors as they start out in business at a farmers' market. This license costs $75, and is valid from October 1st through September 30th of the following year. The umbrella license covers all those vendors of nursery stock at the market who have been registered on a list compiled by the market manager.

This inspection certificate covers growers only while they are selling at the farmers' market. They need their own individual license if they wish to sell at other locations. NMDA's interpretation of the regulations is that those growers selling at more than one farmers' market must obtain their own individual license. In other words, they can only use an umbrella license at one farmers' market.

Contact: Bureau of Entomology & Nursery Industries, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, 575 646-3207