A two-and-a-half year battle between Morningland and the Missouri State Milk Board over cheese embargoed at the Morningland facility will be ending on January 25 when Milk Board officials will be carting some 32,000 to 35,000 pounds of cheese off to a local landfill for disposal. Morningland owners, Joe and Denise Dixon, have invited members of the public to be present for
USDA’s Final Rule on Animal ID
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published its final rule on Animal ID. Thanks to the pressure from the grassroots, the agency included important changes that make it significantly less burdensome for family farmers, ranchers, and backyard poultry owners.
We have come a very long way from Big Ag’s and USDA’s proposal for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). In this final rule, there is
Heritage Pig Farm Embargoed, USDA and DNR Close In
Baker’s Green Acres made the news last spring as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) went on a mission to eradicate heritage pigs, calling them a feral invasive species. This move would wipe out the entire small-scale farm whose animals pose no threat to
“Boneta Bill” Introduced in Virginia
On January 9 Delegate Scott Lingamfelter introduced House Bill 1430 in the Virginia General Assembly to amend the State Right to Farm Act. HB 1430 is being called the Boneta Bill after Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund member and Fauquier County farmer Martha Boneta of Paris Barns at Historic Liberty Farm. Last year Fauquier County officials
New Trial Date for Hershberger Case
The criminal trial for Amish dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger of Loganville, Wisconsin has been rescheduled for May 20 at the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo. The trial is slated to run five days; it had been scheduled to start on January 7. A pre-trial hearing in the case has been set for May 7. The reason for the postponement was
Help Save Drakes Bay Oyster Company
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has agreed to administer a litigation fund to be used to help finance the Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s lawsuit against the United States National Park Service. Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) is a family-owned, environmentally sustainable oyster farm on the
Victory in Michigan! Shady Grove Farm Protected by Right to Farm Act
Fund members Randy and Libby Buchler of Shady Grove Farm learned today that their farming operation in Forsyth Township, Michigan can continue. Judge Thomas L. Solka of the Marquette County Circuit Court ruled that “because defendants’ farm . . . is protected from nuisance suits under the
Episode 4: Revisiting the Farm-to-Fork Fiasco
Episode 4 of the Food Rights Hour podcast is an interview with Laura Bledsoe, whose farm-to-fork dinner was halted mid-preparation on October 21, 2011 by the Southern Nevada Health District.
The health inspector would not allow the food, prepared by a certified chef, to be served to the guests
Crowdfunding and Farmer Access to Capital
Lack of available funding for their business operations remains a major obstacle for farmers. Banks have generally refused to make loans to small farms direct marketing their products to consumers; grants from government agencies such as USDA often have strings attached which frequently make the cost of compliance with the grant’s terms too high to […]
Make Your Own Cheese & Kefir
Learn how you can make your own cheese at home
Fundraiser – all proceeds toward defense of Hershberger
December 8, 2012 – Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Grazin’ Acres Farm Pantry – Loganville, WI 53943
Learn More about the Class and the Hershberger case