USDA Files Complaint Against Former Boise Produce Business

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed an administrative complaint against a defunct Idaho company because USDA officials say the business owes farmers tens of thousands of dollars. The Capital Press reports the USDA complaint alleges Northwest Produce LLC failed to pay 11 produce growers more than $85,000 during a nearly two-year span between 2015 and 2017. Henry Michael Grasmick, the registered agent for the Boise-based company, says he can't comment about the complaint, which the company just received last week. USDA said Northwest Produce LLC will have an opportunity to request a hearing on the matter. If the USDA determines that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations it could be banned from the produce industry for two years. According to a filling with the Idaho Secretary of State's office, Northwest Produce dissolved as a company at the start of this year.