Turning the Tables on The USDA

I recently made the acquaintance of Andrea Elliot. She and her husband have a dairy farm in upstate NY. Andrea is an active opponent of the NAIS and recently launched a one-woman anti-NAIS mail blitz that included some NY Ag & Market folks in Albany.

Within a week Andrea’s farm received a visit from an Ag & Market person concerning a “complaint” that just happened to be lodged against them. It’s all highly suspicious and seems to be nothing other than a bullying tactic against this family. The Elliots responded with courtesy and firmness, using a video camera and a Public Servant Questionnaire to make it clear that they were not going to be intimidated.

Here is the whole story as reported by David Gumpert at http://www.thecompletepatient.com/

NY Dairy Farmer Turns the Tables When the Ag Inspectors Arrive for a Mystery Visit

Over the last two weeks, Andrea Elliott has been writing emails to farm associations, her Congressman, and members of the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees—all urging that the upcoming farm bill not include funding for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). She and her husband, Jim, own a dairy farm in the Catskill Mountains of New York, and she made it plain in her notes that she is adamantly opposed to registering the farm’s 80 cows under the federal program.

Yesterday (Monday) she received a call from an inspector with the New York Department of Food and Markets in Albany that he planned to come by the farm for a special inspection, based on “a complaint” made to the department’s Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services.

Andrea couldn’t imagine who might have complained, and what the complaint might have been about. Her farm, Crystal Brook Farms, sells nearly all its milk to a local creamery for pasteurization. She sells a few gallons of raw milk occasionally to individuals who stop in with their own containers, under New York rules that allow sale of 25 gallons a month without a permit.

Today (Tuesday), the inspector, Bradley Lyle Houck, arrived from Albany, two hours away, together with her regular local dairy inspector, and Andrea was prepared. As soon as they arrived, “I turned on my video camera. I think that made them a little uncomfortable.”

Then, she says, “I asked the state inspector to fill out my form.” Her form is a three-page “public service questionnaire” that asks for the inspector’s identity, his principal reason for doing the inspection, how the information he gathers will be used, and other such data.

“He shook his head and refused,” says Andrea. “He said, ‘I have to be authorized by Albany.’” He tried to make a call on his cell phone, but couldn’t complete the call because the farm area has no cell reception.

Andrea persisted. “I said, This is our property and I can require you to fill it out.'” He offered his state ID and badge.

Andrea moved on. “I asked him why he was here and he said a complaint was received in Albany.”

What was the complaint? “He said he couldn’t tell me.”

Who filed the complaint? “He wouldn’t tell me. He just wouldn’t go any further. He said all complaints that come into Albany are treated as confidential.”

“I asked him what statute allows a complaint to be treated as confidential. He said he couldn’t quote a statute.”

At that point, the inspector asked if they could talk off-camera. Andrea declined.

“He said, ‘I guess the best thing would be for us to come back another time.” The two got back into their car and took off.

Andrea adds, “At no time did I deny him the inspection. I didn’t ask him to leave. All I did was ask him for specific reasons for the inspection…I have a right to know who my accuser is.”

Andrea seems to have added an entirely new dimension to the agricultural inspection. Especially one with such an intriguing coincidence connecting it to NAIS.


Bravo, Andrea!

Jumping back in

Whoa.

It's been about 6 months since I last blogged. Life has been busy and we once again had a good year at the Farmers markets.

The reason that I am starting to blog again has to do a growing awareness of the pressure being put on small farms by various departments of our state and federal governments.It really does seem that all the stuff from the USDA that claims to support small farms and buying local is just a bunch of nonsense. All those web pages and handbooks are contradicted by the actual practices of the department which treats small farms like an annoyance to eliminated.

I have recently spoken with farmers in my area and all of them have "horror stories" of being pressured, harassed, and intimidated by agents of the Department of Labor, or some subset of the USDA. One of these has been driven out of business by some very shady government folks. I hope to post some details soon.

Also, I have become aware of the HUGE impact that locally-raised and locally sold foods can have on family health, the local economy, and the whole mindset of farming on a small scale. More to come on that as well.

So expect posts on farmers rights and the struggle to preserve them, the benefits of locally raised foods, the joy of raw milk and other living foods, and atleast 1post on how NOT to raise turkeys.

Gil