Over nearly two decades of fighting for the right to access raw milk, Michael Schmidt has become legendary for his persistent promotion of dialog with reluctant regulators and politicians. He went on a hunger strike last fall that he ended after five weeks when his demand for a personal dialog with Ontario’s premier, Dalton McGuinty, was granted.
In recent days, he has undertaken a new, even more sensitive, dialog challenge. He is seeking to turn an aggressive investigation into scrapie among a herd of rare Shropshire sheep into an opportunity for dialog designed to re-examine how farm animal illness is handled and how rare genetic strains might be protected.
What makes this challenge so sensitive is that Schmidt has been targeted by investigators from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), suspicious about his possible involvement in the disappearance of 31 sheep from an Ontario farm last April. They mysteriously vanished–taken into “protective custody” by the Farmers Peace Corp, according to a note left behind– after authorities targeted them for slaughter because they were thought to possibly harbor scrapies, a fatal degenerative disease that can spread among sheep and goats. The sheep’s disappearance prompted a huge search by authorities going door-to-door in the area and using helicopters. Some 26 of the Shropshire sheep were re-discovered at another farm earlier this month.
Based on reactions and questions from the investigators, he expects to be formally charged with criminal misconduct before long.
He appeared to anticipate the new developments in a video statement last week, when he denied direct involvement in the affair, but said , I am aware that I, as a consequence to my public statement, might be subject to an investigation and possible charges related to the sad sheep saga. I am determined to support the brave work of those who have risked their personal safety and security to try to protect those sheep with the hope that conclusive evidence would have been provided by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) in order to return the sheep for orderly slaughter if found infected or for further testing Whatever will evolve I am honored to be a part of this brave action, as I have taken on the role as liaison for the Farmers Peace Corp.
At the end of last week, two investigators from the CFIA showed up at Schmidt’s Ontario dairy farm and “were threatening,” says Schmidt. “One of them said, ‘Your travels are over, Mr. Schmidt.'” There was also talk that “we will quarantine your farm for forty years.” One thing that was very clear was “that they have been watching my every move and travels and every thing I have written on the Internet. It is also very clear that they are weighing their strategy how to silence me and if silencing me might create an even bigger problem.”
Schmidt tried to turn this potentially very serious confrontation into an opportunity for dialog. “I made a point of inviting them this past Wednesday to my house for a meeting.”
When two investigators and a state veterinarian showed up on Wednesday, the tone had improved, says Schmidt. What helped were negative test results from the 26 sheep seized by government authorities earlier in the month. However, five sheep are still unaccounted for. The investigators “think the missing sheep are the contaminated sheep,” Schmidt told me.
Schmidt says he tried to improve the atmosphere further by asking the investigators to remove their shoes before entering his home, and by having a container of raw milk on a table. One investigator helped himself to a couple glasses of the drink.
He says the investigators came to his house “with the understanding that I would give a statement revealing details about the Farmers Peace Corp. I however made it very clear that one of the codes of the FPC is that before you reveal anything you commit to rather being charged yourself with all the consequences. That seemed to make them extremely nervous. I pointed out that the principle is based on peace and dialogue as the name indicates. After all, the name is NOT ‘farmers underground army’.”
As for the discussions, “They urged me to arrange a meeting between the FPC, which I left open with the suggestion that I will try but doubt that it will lead to anything unless the government is prepared to look at adjusting policies in regards to erasing genetic diversity to save commercial breeds.”
There was some disagreement about the FPC’s role in moving and hiding the sheep. The investigators were concerned because scrapie “is so highly contagious,” said Schmidt. He noted that the FPC, from the very beginning of the episode last April, had sought to engage the government in discussions about more effective ways of dealing with serious disease in farm animal herds aside from immediately targeting certain breeds and slaughtering all the animals.
His goal going forward: To keep the dialog going and “prevent a political show trial.”
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Most far-sighted ideas take time to gain acceptance. Sometimes it’s a crisis that finally gives impetus to the idea.
So it is with the Raw Milk Institute. Now, more than a year after the concept was raised and heavily debated on this blog and elsewhere, RAWMI seems to have settled down and will hold its first farmer training session July 23 in Oregon. The crisis that seems to have pushed it along toward wider acceptance was the outbreak of serious illnesses from E.coli 0157:H7 earlier this year at an Oregon dairy.
As a result of the illnesses, the dairy industry has sought to push politicians to tighten restrictions on access to milk in the state. Mark McAfee, who originated RAWMI, reported in a comment following my previous post that he expects as many as 100 participants at the upcoming training session. One Oregon farmer, Charlotte Smith of Champoeg Creamery, has been outspoken in promoting the RAWMI effort.
Smith wrote on her farm’s blog recently: “The Department of Agriculture at this time does not offer support or advice, other farmers are too busy, so most of us just read a book and buy a cow! Then what? Unfortunately, on the way up that learning curve, there is so much opportunity to make people ill. I am committed to doing all I can to help get a group organized and funded that will offer resources to raw milk producers in Oregon and also show Oregon Dairy Farmers Assoc. and Oregon Department of Agriculture that we are committed to producing safe and clean raw milk…”
Try http://www.champoegcreamery.com/p/oregon-raw-milk-producers.html
and
http://www.champoegcreamery.com/
**The sheep’s disappearance prompted a huge search by authorities going door-to-door in the area and using helicopters**
Just who is going to pay for this operation to find the sheep? The Ontario tax payer? Maybe the Farmers Peace Corp should be made to foot the bill!
**The investigators “think the missing sheep are the contaminated sheep,” Schmidt told me. **
There is a 50/50 chance those sheep are contaminated. If the 26 sheep were not contaminated, just how likely is it that the remaining missing sheep are contaminated? Is this wishful thinking on the investigators end? After all, killing all those sheep to have them come out clean would be quite the embarrassment. And quite the loss!
**container of raw milk on a table. One investigator helped himself to a couple glasses of the drink.**
There is one thing you are good at Michael and that is poking government officials! Its interesting that in Ontario investigators are allowed to eat and or drink at someones home who is under investigation. I know for a fact this is not allowed in many of the provinces.
**He noted that the FPC, from the very beginning of the episode last April, had sought to engage the government in discussions about more effective ways of dealing with serious disease in farm animal herds aside from immediately targeting certain breeds and slaughtering all the animals. **
This is good, they need to start changing how they deal with certain issues. What bothers me is that if an outbreak of whatever happens, they must deal with that outbreak with the methods that they have. Changing those methods is not done overnight. As well, changing the methods regarding how they deal with issues like scrapie is going to be a huge undertaking. Think about it how many years have they dealt with scrapie by killing off herds then testing? I do agree with the Farmers peace Corp, there has to be a better way. And yes I would be livid if that was done to my sheep.
Is there not more to this story? Did not the owner of the sheep turn down all offers from the government, including breeding the sheep and keeping some of the offspring before the killing took place?
There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding this whole situation.
How did the Farmers Peace Corp know where to find the sheep that were to be culled on the farm that night?
How is it that the Farmers Peace Corp knew enough to log all the information about the sheep, so as to have records when needed? A non farmer would have moved the sheep to a new location and left it at that, never thinking to keep records. A non farmer would not have known that the receiving farm needed sheep or goat fencing.
How is it that the Farmers Peace Corp keeps changing its story? We took the sheep, then we have no idea who took the sheep and where they put the sheep, then back to we took the sheep.
How is it that the sheep ended up on a raw milk supporters farm? No only a raw milk supporter but a supporter of healthy natural food. How did the Farmers Peace Corp know to bring them there? Thinking about it, the sheep had to be brought to a farm that was fenced for sheep. Im figuring that the farm was picked out long before the sheep were taken. The question is, was the receiving farmer in on the sheep removal or did he all the sudden one day come to understand that the sheep on his farm were the missing sheep?
This sort of stuff is not a game. Like the mad cow issues that saw our beef no longer welcome in other countrys, this sheep incident had it gone the wrong way could have brought about the same results.
The FPC had a noble idea, it should have stayed an idea, it never should have been put into action. I really hope who ever had the remaining sheep come forward with them. Or is the idea to keep them and attempt to breed them and get offspring?
“I’m sorry to burst the bubble, but the claims this article making just aren’t the case. As a forage agronomist I should know. The reality is that drought conditions in Texas have caused a hybrid variety of bermudagrass (This is a hybrid developed thru natural plant breeding methods), Tifton 85, to accumulate prussic acid which leads to prussic acid poisoning in livestock consuming the forage. Prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid) is converted to cyanide in the rumen of cattle which is the absorbed in to the blood stream. It interferes with oxygen uptake & transfer, essentially suffocating the animal. This can occur in as little as 10-15 min after the animals consume effected forage. Prussic acid poisoning can also occur in other grasses such as johnsongrass, sorghum varieties, sudangrass, sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, and even wild cherry leaves. Get the facts before you believe the hype.
For a statement from the Texas State Forage Extension Specialist, Larry Redmon, explaining the real facts behind this tragic event go here: http://haysagriculture.blogspot.com/2012/06/potential-toxicity-issues-with-tifton.html”
Things like this is why we rely on those who know animals, etc and hope that there are others who will teach those who want to know..
Aya,
Your thoughtful comment captures the complexity of the situation. I know I can’t pretend to be knowledgeable enough in this arena to take an intelligent stand.
My sense is that the immediate issue at hand is basically one of trust. In both Canada and the U.S., many people have come to mistrust the agriculture and public health regulators on a variety of issues. So when something like this animal illness and potential animal epidemic comes up, people are increasingly inclined to question the seemingly dire and desperate approach of the authorities.
You say, “What bothers me is that if an outbreak of whatever happens, they must deal with that outbreak with the methods that they have. Changing those methods is not done overnight…I do agree with the Farmers Peace Corp, there has to be a better way.” The problem is that intelligent change in such matters usually doesn’t happen unless there are people like those of the FPC asking hard questions and forcing a reexamination.
My friend Micheal…was truly sweating some bullets when I saw him last in Oregon. He senses the crazed blood wetted jowls of the government. Now the government has been embarrassed and upstaged by truly revolutionary but yet peaceful activists. The Throne knows not what to do. Canadians are supposed to be compliant and peaceful. Stealing sheep in the dark of night in the name of animal rights and human rights is not something Canadians are supposed to do.
RAWMI has found its true north in Oregon. It takes a crisis to create a leader. In this case, Charlotte Smith is the leader and RAWMI is the support and infrastructure she needed to lead her people out of the political Ecoli Desert. I am just so honored to stand with her and bring a solution to a serious challenge in Oregon. When the dairy industry gathers for an anti-raw milk hearing and publically declares that the Raw Milk People are not invited, that stirs up the soul and Charlotte gave RAWMI the call.
With 100 producers and some consumers of Oregon raw milk coming in for RAWMI prep training, that signals a change for Oregon and if this is a good training session ( and it will be awesome and fascinating )…it will signal a serious debut of RAWMI for the rest of America.