November 17, 2009
Magisterial District Judge Jene Willwreth today dismissed both charges brought by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture against C.A.R.E. member Jan Haller in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.  Before cross examination of the Department’s two witnesses was even completed, the Judge dismissed the charges without prejudice.  “He made the right ruling” said the Fund’s attorney Gary Cox “because they simply had no evidence of any violation.  It was a sloppy investigation from start to finish.”

A PDA inspector had charged Haller with two summary criminal charges, refusing an entry and an inspection by Department inspectors, and failing to obtain a license as a retail food establishment.  According to Fund President Pete Kennedy, “this is an important case for the Fund because it has so many members in Pennsylvania.  C.A.R.E. should also be proud that one of its members stood up to the intimidating tactics of the Department.”

The Fund argued that Haller had the right to refuse entry and an inspection because the Department inspector insisted on doing so without any search warrant.  The Fund also argued that Haller did not need to obtain a retail food license because her operation is a private club and is not open to or accessible by the public at large.  The Fund anticipates that the Department will attempt to conduct another investigation into Haller’s operation and that the Department will this time obtain a search warrant.  “We hope to work with the Department to convince them that these types of operations should not even be regulated by the State” explained Kennedy.  “People are perfectly capable of determining for themselves what food is and is not safe to eat” said Kennedy.  “The government has no business telling people what foods they should or should not eat.”

May 18, 2009
The Legal Defense Fund won a minor victory today in its struggles to put a halt to the NAIS program nationwide. In an Order issued by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the District of Columbia District Court, the Fund was granted permission to supplement the administrative record filed by USDA. The original administrative record filed by USDA omitted many USDA and Michigan Department of Agriculture documents that demonstrate NAIS is not “voluntary” as alleged but is in fact mandatory. The documents that the Court wishes to see in the administrative include all of USDA’s press releases that pertain to NAIS, all of the federal register announcements that were omitted by USDA, as well as several internal USDA and MDA/USDA joint documents demonstrating that USDA is paying MDA to implement NAIS in the State of Michigan under the guise of eradicating tuberculosis. Once the record is supplemented by the documents requested by the Fund, the Court will be in a better position to determine whether USDA and/or MDA have violated applicable law, and what the appropriate remedy should be.

March 20, 2008
Yesterday, Judge Harry J. Tobias of the San Benito Superior Court in Hollister, California temporarily stayed the effect of AB 1735.  Ruling from the bench after nearly two hours of oral argument, Judge Tobias concluded that Organic Pastures Dairy Company LLC and Claravale Farm, Inc. would both be irreparably harmed if the coliform standard imposed by AB 1735 continued to remain in effect because existing testing data proves they cannot meet the standard.  In issuing the temporary restraining order, the Judge ...continue

March 10, 2008
Meadowsweet Dairy LLC and Steve and Barbara Smith won a victory today against New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets.  In a decision issued by Albany County Supreme Court Judge John C. Egan Jr., the Court found that it made no sense to proceed on the Department's contempt action if indeed the Smiths and Meadowsweet are not regulated by New York's Agriculture and Market Laws (A&ML).  "If the A&ML does not govern the respondents' activities, then the respondents cannot be held in contempt for failing to comply with the warrant issued pursuant to the A&ML" Judge Egan stated in his decision.

The contempt proceeding stems from a search warrant that was...continue

March 4, 2008
Today, the Legal  Defense Fund successfully got the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to admit that it had erroneously enforced the law against a pet food producer in that State.  Stemming from a February 23rd incident, the DACS issued a "stop sale" order to The Dancing Goat, alleging that the farm was illegally selling pet food and eggs at a local farmers' market.  However, The Dancing Goat was a licensed commercial feed operator which meant that it could legally sell pet food, and The Dancing Goat was also the producer of the eggs that were being sold at the farmers' market which meant that it could package and distribute them.  All of the Goat's products were clearly stamped as "not for human consumption, pet food only" and the Goat even had a copy of its commercial feed license with it at the market.  "I'm glad that the DACS representative was reasonable and agreed that their inspectors had goofed" said Fund attorney Gary Cox.  "It's nice to get these regulators to recognize the errors of their ways once in a while" said Cox.  The DACS representative stated that the stop sale order had been released and that it would not go on the record of The Dancing Goat.  For a copy of the letter sent by Cox to DACS see this link.

Per Fund Attorney and Board Member Steve Bemis Reports - The Fund was asked two weeks before trial to help a farmer who had been representing himself in a criminal matter related to the unlicensed sale of value-added food products. A Fund attorney was able to negotiate a 50% fine reduction without a trial.

Georgia - GDA Drops Proposed Rule Requiring Dye in Pet Milk - A press release issued this afternoon, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irwin announced that he is dropping the proposed rule amendment that would require a dye be added to raw milk sold as pet food. The announcement came shortly after a pre-hearing on the proposed rule (and other rule changes to the Georgia Feed Code) was held at the State Farmers Market in Atlanta. Approximately fifty people spoke at the hearing; every speaker opposed the dye. Many of the speakers were pet owners who promised they would be buying pet milk in South Carolina if the proposed rule were adopted.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) received nearly two hundred letters opposing the dye. GDA claimed it proposed the rule on the dye "to prevent any confusion between milk sold for human consumption with that sold for animal consumption." With opposition to the dye, GDA decided to concentrate on amending the labeling rules to make the distinction for the consumer. A final hearing on the remaining amendments to the Georgia Feed Code will probably be held sometime in the next month before their adoption as rules by GDA. Check the GDA website for scheduling.

There was talk after the hearing among opponents of the dye to revive a failed 2005 effort to pass a bill legalizing raw milk for human consumption. Raw milk for human consumption has been is illegal in the state since 1980. Congratulations to the producers and consumers successfully opposing the rule, especially to those who are members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

Herdshares are now legal in Ohio - Judge Jonathan P. Hein of Ohio's Darke County Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of Carol Schmitmeyer, a dairy farmer who operates a herdshare with over 100 shareholders. Judge Hein's decision vacated an earlier decision by Ohio's former Director of Agriculture that she was illegally "selling" raw milk. For a more complete discussion of the Court's opinion click here.