Our Emergency Hotline consistently ranks as the benefit our members value most.
It’s available 24 hours for surprise inspections or short-notice regulatory interruptions of a member’s farm, ranch, or business. Our on-call attorneys can be available by phone during a stressful, unexpected farm inspection or even seizure of product.
We provide a Hotline Blotter at least once per quarter. While we will always protect the privacy of our members, this anonymized summary shows the types of challenges facing your fellow farmers, homesteaders, and cottage food producers.
Hotline Blotter
State: Ohio
The OH Department of Agriculture threatened to revoke the business license of a member’s artisan bakery.
State: Ohio
An urban farmer member received a trademark violation letter that turned out to be a scam.
State: North Dakota
The neighbor of a farmer member was spraying pesticides upwind of the member’s fields.
State: Virgina
The local sheriff called animal control on a farmer member about an elderly cow, claiming it was underfed.
State: Pennsylvania
An artisan member called with the USDA outside their shop demanding they sign some papers and throw away all their meat.
State: Michigan
An affiliate member received a Cease & Desist letter that claimed they were operating an unlicensed food establishment.
- State: Florida
Farmer member called for advice about a pregnant cow worth good money that they mistakenly sent to the processor, and which the processor refused to return.
State: New York
A farmer member called when a police officer and inspector arrived on the scene of a religious on-farm beef slaughter for personal use, issuing violations and shutting it down.
Legal Advice
We’ve also summarized the non-emergency requests for legal advice we received last quarter to illustrate the kinds of advice we most frequently provide.
Our intake included:
- 61 dairy herdshare questions and consult requests from MI, VA, NC, AK, CA, AL, NM, PA, WV, TX, KS, CO, IL, and more
- A zoning issue involving a fire hydrant in IA
- Help with a public hearing on a farmer member’s 4,000 sq ft processing facility for poultry and pork in IL
- 2 consultations about overspray in IA and TN
- 9 questions about on-farm poultry processing in MI, KS, WY, WI, GA, OK, TX, and VA
- Support for a livestock guardian dog issue for a member in TN
- 5 questions about the legalities of selling through or setting up co-ops, Private Membership Associations, and food-buying clubs
- 19 questions about meatshares and custom butchery in MI, VA, WI, TX, NH, OH, KS, VA, OR, GA, CO, NC, KY, and TN
- 6 requests for liability waivers
