Vernon Hershberger Gets Another Visit from DATCP Agents: A New Raid in the Offing? Horizon Says It's No Organic Valley
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 10:52PM 
Vernon Hershberger, the Wisconsin dairyman who last week broke the seals placed on his raw dairy fridges and freezer by the state's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, this afternoon received a visit from two agency inspectors and a few sheriff's deputies.
The agents requested a look at his store. He told them, no warrant, no look.
His expectation is that the agents will be back Wednesday or another day this week, this time armed with a search warrant.
As word spread about the agent visit, Max Kane, who has his own case of civil disobedience over refusal to hand over lists of his enterprise's suppliers and customers, arrived at the Hershberger dairy and filmed the events. It seems DATCP inspector Jackie Owens wasn't real thrilled to be appearing on film. A clip should be available on YouTube shortly. In addition, a couple of television station reporters appeared. Also, Augie Augenstein has launched a fund-raising campaign for the Vernon Hershberger resistance via Facebook.
After being quoted as saying they had turned the Hershberger case over to a district attorney, DATCP officials seem instead to be intent on confrontation with raw dairy farmers. How many will they have to confront, in addition to those arleady on the docket? Those include not only Hershberger and Max Kane, but also Mark and Petra Zinniker, who have sued DATCP claiming a right to distribute milk via herdshares (first hearing due to be held Thursday); and Wayne and Kay Craig, who have sued DATCP over its inconsistent application of Wisconsin law, which allows "incidental" sales of raw milk (can appreciate that the world is "dark and gloomy" to Wayne Craig these days).
DATCP's last stand? Or the opening rounds of a long and ever-more-bitter battle?
***
Not everyone in the land of Big Dairy is prepared to throw raw milk producers under the bus, a la Organic Valley.
Horizon Organic, a part of conglomerate Dean Foods, is being quoted as saying "they are not opposed to the producers under contract with them also selling raw milk." That quote from Ed Maltby, executive director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, who said on a listserve for organic dairies that he had "received a number of questions as to Horizon Organic's position on raw milk and consequently asked Horizon management about their position."
Why the nonchalance by Horizon? "Their position is that they are in the business of selling processed milk not raw milk," said Maltby.
Before switching from Organic Valley to Horizon Organic, raw milk producers should be aware that Horizon has done its share of squeezing of organic dairy producers. Last fall it threatened to dump a number of its organic milk producers in the face of falling demand. At that point, Organic Valley accepted refugees from Horizon.
If it's some measure of financial security raw dairy farmers are seeking, they likely won't find it with either of these outfits. As I said in my post yesterday, the best promise of financial security for small farms most likely lies outside the commodity realm, by selling directly to consumers, and depriving the Organic Valleys and Horizon Organics of the world the lucrative middleman status.
The Complete Patient
A group of sheriff's deputies and DATCP agents were reported at Vernon Hershberger's dairy as of 10 a.m. (Eastern) Thursday. Presumably they are there this time with a search warrant. A number of area farmers and consumers are understood to be heading to the farm. I had inquired with DATCP yesterday about its plans, and a media representative with the agency didn't return my call.
Reader Comments (29)
http://www.moojesus.com/?to=keepingitclean
And some on this blog thought it was a ridiculous idea to use gloves while milking cows. What about giving them a bath before milking? Here's a farm that takes the presence of pathogens serious. You have to love the name of the dairy, mooJesus.
cp
No, worse than a slave. At lease slave owners provide for a slaves living requirements. Big Ag makes you and your wife work on the side in order for you to make ends meet.
I would think it smart for OV / Horizon to advertise that their dairy cows are so healthy, some of the same milk is consumed raw for those that choose it that way. If I were afraid of raw milk, I would definitely seek that source of pasteurized milk. There are some micro-dairies in CO that strive to offer grassfed, minimally processed milk. I notice more and more people are bragging about getting this milk - delivered to their front porch milk box every week. This kind of boasting pleases me.
In addition to the value-added products (start with eggs - problems are quicker and cheaper to iron out) customers LOVE them; we have an ongoing year-round shortage here. Good eggs go for up to $6/dozen here, with $4-$5 about average if they are organic/pastured eggs. I buy 2 dozen/week; or $40/month. If you don't get there by 9am, they're sold out. Definitely superior eggs.
In the previous blog's raw milk business model discussion, there were great points made, but I don't think anybody mentioned economy of scale. We haven't figured out yet what's the optimal amount of cows or goats, (assuming you have the demand in your area, are willing to work full time, and love what you're doing) but I suspect if you want to add value-added products, you'll need to consider how big you want to get. Also need to hire part-time/seasonal professionals.
Volunteers are great, but most are fine with an occasional jar of milk for an occasional hour of work. I used to inspect baby poop; I bet I could learn cow poop too. But you have to monitor it daily - babysitters didn't see it yesterday, nor will they know who ate what this morning. It's Not Their Job - nor their Reputation at stake. You need reliable professional help.
I enjoyed Gwen's previous post about subsistence farming, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that imply living near poverty levels? Don't farmacists deserve some profit?
Salatin wrote that every farmer should be earning at least $20/hour. I don't think you can do that with less than say, 20 cows, WITH value-added products.
-Blair.
p.s. My house is no McMansion, I drive a 95 Honda Civic, but I pay through the nose for some people's farm products. I can get juicy thick heavenly pork chops that make me swoon; just pan-fried with some lard and salt & pepper. That's what I call living well.
This dairy milks by hand into open containers, which is a much higher risk for milk contamination. Of course if you are going to use this relatively unsanitary method of milk collection, you'd need to take all the extra precautions.
Additionally, I've been told by UW dairy scientists about studies on the use of gloves vs. well-washed bare hands in dairy plants, which show that the bare hands are actually cleaner because you are more conciouss of whether they are clean or not.
Seems to be a case of germ-o-phobia on your part.
None of us have a good answer for her, and my only suggestion was to keep her head down and hope that OV doesn't find out about the herdshare any time soon. I had suggested selling eggs from pastured chickens and producing value-added dairy products like butter or yoghurt for her shareholders using the extra milk. However, not knowing any specifics I would estimate that she would require between 100 and 150 new shareholders in order to make use of all the milk currently being sold to the co-op. I also don't know where she is located in the state, and if she isn't located near one of the larger cities getting that many new shareholders is going to be a difficult task.
Luckily my farmer has a dairy herd of around 35 or so cows, and he transitioned away from co-ops years ago to working directly with his shareholders and other customers. He is doing quite well financially, but they rely on a whole slew of farm foods to make up their income. They have a large pool of shareholders for dairy as well as sales of pastured eggs, chickens, turkeys, bulk beef sales, pork, seasonal fruits & vegetables, kombucha and they even buy walnuts for a national distributor. (They put up a "Buying Walnuts" sign later in the summer and people bring carloads of walnuts they've collected off the streets. They run the walnuts through a machine to de-husk them, bag them up and wait for the semi to arrive to collect them.)
My point is that it's not necessarily an easy task to completely sever your dependence on large co-ops, and that it can take a lot of effort and planning to be successful. My farmer has said that he wouldn't do this any other way, even though he now gets a lot of headaches from dealing directly with his shareholders and the public. On the other hand, we shareholders have a personal stake in the farm and we want them to be successful, so it's not unusual for us to help out while we're there and to have an interest in what is going on.
It's good that they have news footage and have put video on Youtube. We need to put more video of elected officials and bureaucrats on the internet and hold them accountable for their actions. They do it to us, why can't we do it to them?
I was very surprised to see that they bathe each cow entirely before each milking... what a colossal waste of water, and bathing the animals so much can't be healthy. In any case, they're in Texas... such bathing is not feasible even once a day in frigid climates.
So much of what they do is so pointless and time-consuming, I have to wonder if they really do all of it, all the time.
Let's see how many creative ways this information can be picked apart supporting the belief the raw milk was not contaminated that came from the Hartmann farm?
cp
"He said, She said". They're from Mars, and we're from Venus. We don't speak the same language, we don't see the same truths. They keep trying to clobber us with their sophisticated laboratory evidence, and we keep trying to clobber them with mother nature's simple evidence.
Science was originally supposed to observe and explore mother nature for the betterment of mankind...now it's all politic-infused.
The clean raw milk hypothesis has never been presented to modern science. Regulators say they stand by scientific evidence that raw milk is inherently unsafe, but then say there is no scientific evidence that [clean]
raw milk is beneficial. They say there is plenty of evidence that [factory farm] raw milk is inherently dangerous; so all milk must be pasteurized!
We're from the government, and we're here to help! Um, care for a tub of doublespeak?
Their desperate mission is to market the tenets of mass production and "Get Big or Get Out". (Which has backfired into mass poisoning.)
This blog is in part an ongoing documentary of the collapse of authority's credibility. They "know" what is correct. We don't "know" anything, we just want what works for us, and the freedom to choose.
-Blair
A cows first inclination when entering the stable to be fed, washed off and milked is to have a shit and or piss. I don’t see either.
The film was clearly staged and would have been much more realistic and credible if it had shown the cow’s entire true nature.
Blair,
Regulators and their followers have adopted the imperious belief that the science is settled and the debate is over with respect to the cause, diagnosis and management of disease. They consider their conclusions to be incontrovertible to the point of sacrosanctity.
Ken Conrad
society are systematically eliminated through over-regulations,
licenses , raids and economic strangulation. Unless the consumers
who care about their food rally around the last remaining farms we
will face a crisis beyond imagination. Our food system. is a
fragile house of cards.
ACTION ALERT--DATCAP has surrounded Vernon Hershberger's Farm In Wisconsin
Call NOW. Call the Sauk County Sheriff's Office--608-355-3207 and the Sauk
County District attorney's Office-608-355-3280. Protest government
overstepping their boundaries in private buying club.
calls? Something about that makes me think that is just not one of the
things a public agency can do -
ALSO WI dept of Justice contact info -
>
> ------------
> Sauk County District Attorney
> Sauk County Court House
> 515 Oak St.
> Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913
>
> Phone: (608) 355-3280
>
> District Attorney: Patricia A. Barrett
> http://www.co.sauk.wi.us/districtattorney
>
> -----------
> J.B. Van Hollen, Attorney General
> If you would like to contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice by
> telephone, please call:
> 608-266-1221
>
> If you would like to write to the Wisconsin Department of Justice,
> please direct all communication to:
> Wisconsin Department of Justice
> P.O. Box 7857
> Madison, WI 53707-7857
> Fax: 608-267-2779
>
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/05vol31/dr3112a-eng.php
"In July 2004 an unusually high number of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections were reported in British Columbia (B.C.), many of which were in the Interior of the province. By early August, regional health authorities and the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) were actively investigating several clusters of E. coli O157:H7. One cluster was linked to a nationally distributed beef product and involved cases identified by a unique pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern.
One case in a separate cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections with a similar PFGE pattern had a strong epidemiologic link to the contaminated beef product. On careful review, we felt that the PFGE patterns associated with these two clusters were identical. On 9 August, we performed a second round of PFGE testing using a different enzyme to confirm that there was only one cluster - not two - of E. coli O157:H7 in the province related to the contaminated beef product.
However, this second round of PFGE testing reclassified isolates into two new clusters with different PFGE patterns. One cluster was connected to the nationally distributed beef product. The second cluster was determined to have a different PFGE pattern, and the majority of infections occurred in the Interior of the province."
In order to track one strain of bacteria from the farm to the consumer you have to make the assumption that that strain will remain unchanged from the time it leaves the farm until the analysis in the laboratory is finished.This is one of the basic beliefs in the germ theory of disease.Does science support this belief?No!Research has shown that a bacteria can change strains as result of culturing and as a result of passing through the digestive system of a human or animal host.In fact there are respected microbiologists(Sorin Sonea and Maurice Panisett) that say that prokaryotes( the family of bacteria) cannot be separated into strains.We can take a picture at any moment and see many different types of bacteria,but in reality they are always exchanging DNA with each other which changes the strain that they are classified as.Bacteria exchange DNA the way that people exchange text messages.Exchanging DNA is how bacteria communicate with each other.They work together like one big community.Each one is a specialist in one way for a short time and then changes form to meet the next challenge ,all with help from other bacteria that already have been through that challenge.All along it's journey from the soil to the plant into the cow's stomach and back to the soil it takes on new DNA and discards DNA when it need's to.Individually each bacteria can travel lightly carrying 4 or 5 thousand genes only,because it relies on the rest of the community to provide it with the proper bits of DNA just when they are needed.How can we take a DNA fingerprint of this single cell beast when it is constantly changing it's DNA as it's microenvironment changes?
"I can honestly say that the Marler blog CP cited is just more of the same - farmer points to no conclusive evidence, and regulator's data hasn't got it, but based on their uncontestable logic, they have a solid link.
"He said, She said". They're from Mars, and we're from Venus. We don't speak the same language, we don't see the same truths. They keep trying to clobber us with their sophisticated laboratory evidence, and we keep trying to clobber them with mother nature's simple evidence.
"Science was originally supposed to observe and explore mother nature for the betterment of mankind...now it's all politic-infused."
Precisely why I keep beating the "constitutional rights, not food safety" dead horse. Regardless of truth, regardless of evidence, regardless of ANYTHING outside forcing government to abide by the constitutional limitations, the Raw Milk War will be lost.
http://www.JuicyMaters.com'foodpolitics
Bob BUBBABOZO Hayles
The direct line to the sheriff's department is 608-356-4895, and the chief deputy, Chip Meister, functions as th PIO.
Bob BUBBABOZO Hayles
David
We are currently paying for cow shares at a farm that we haven't been able to get milk from in months, with no sign of relief in the near future. We will continue to support this farm as this has become about much more than getting our milk. In a free country, you should be able to choose what you eat and where it comes from. Big Brother should NOT be in my refrigerator. In Wisconsin, I can pay a farmer to board my horse and be able to ride it whenever I want. I cannot pay a farmer to board my cow and get milk from it.
After I heard about the initial visit on the Hershberger Farm, I drove out and obtained all the butter, cream, yogurt and buttermilk that I could. My son is thrilled that we are having homemade ice cream tonight that he can eat. He hasn't had this since we moved from Michigan, as obtaining raw cream has been near impossible.
We will still obtain organic, pastured based, fresh, unprocessed milk however we can. This raid will not stop raw milk consumers and we will support the farms who have supported our health.