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April 24, 2010
Feds Invade Farm For 5 a.m. Inspection
Feds invade farm for 5 a.m. inspection
Federal agents invaded an Amish farm in Pennsylvania at 5 a.m. to inspect cow-milking facilities then followed up the next day with a written notice that the farmer was engaged in interstate sale of raw milk in violation of the Public Health Services Act.
A failure to correct the situation could result in "seizure and/or injunction," the warning letter from Kirk Sooter, district director of the Philadelphia office of the Department of Health and Human Services, told farmer Dan Allgyer of Kinzers, Pa., on Wednesday.
The farm invaded Tuesday is the one agents visited in February, driving past "Private Property" signs to demand Allgyer open his property for their inspection, saying, "You have cows. You produce food for human consumption."
The case is being publicized by the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, which promotes traditional methods of linking farmers with consumers.
Spokeswoman Deborah Stockton told WND Allgyer "is the type of farmer who exemplifies what we are trying to restore." On her organization's website is the commitment "to promote and preserve unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home-produced food products."
She reported she got details directly from Allgyer of Tuesday's early-morning inspection, which highlights the growing conflict between farmers who want to provide health food locally and federal regulators.
Allgyer could not be reached immediately for comment.
The farmer told NICFA he came out of his house about 4:30 a.m. for his milking routine and noticed a lot of traffic on Kinzer Road.
Shortly later, the cars were coming up his lane.
"I stood back in the dark barn to see what they were going to do. They drove past my two 'Private Property' signs, up to where my coolers were, with their headlights shining right on them," Allgyer reported.
He called to the five men as they were preparing to knock on his home, where his wife and family remained asleep.
"Two were from the FDA, agent Joshua C. Schafer who had been there in February and another. They showed me identification, but I was too flustered to ask for their cards. I remember being told that two were deputy U.S. marshals and one a state trooper. They started asking me questions right away. They handed me a paper, and I didn't realize what it was," he said.
"Schafer told me they were there to do a 'routine inspection.' At 5:00 in the morning, I wondered to myself? 'Do you have a warrant?' I asked, and one of them, a marshal or the state policeman, said, 'You've got in your hand buddy.' I asked, 'What is the warrant about?' Schafer responded, 'We have credible evidence that you are involved in interstate commerce,'" the farmer reported.
WND telephone calls and e-mails to the FDA requesting comment did not generate a response.
Allgyer said he confirmed his identification but then said he wouldn't answer anything further.
He said he questioned their arrival at his farm at 5 a.m. when the warrant clearly stated it was valid during "reasonable times during ordinary business hours," but one of the agents said "ordinary business hours for agriculture start at 5 a.m."
The agents spent their time "rooting around, like a couple of pigs, in the freezer and cooler area and took many pictures," Allgyer reported.
"They came in the dark, shining bright flashlights while my family was asleep, keeping me from milking my cows, from my family, from breakfast with my family and from our morning devotions, and alarming my children enough so that the first question they asked my wife was, 'Is Daddy going to jail?'" Allgyer said.
The subsequent warning letter was an all-inclusive notice that federal regulations prohibit "the delivery into interstate commerce of milk and milk products in final package form for direct human consumption unless they have been pasteurized."
"It is your responsibility to ensure adherence with all requirements. … Failure to make prompt corrections could result in regulatory action without further notice," the letter said.
The letter directed Allgyer to notify Compliance Officer Richard Cherry of the corrections.
Stockton warned the requirement now is for federal agents to claim they have "credible evidence" regarding a case, but a proposed federal change would strike those words in the law and replace them with "reason to believe."
"The phrase 'reason to believe' would be inserted 14 times into the code with S. 510," she said. "If this bill goes through, the FDA will have control of farms. They will not need 'credible evidence' to act. They will essentially be given a free hand to act as they want. And look at how they already act, even with the existing constraints in place."
Allgyer previously had told the officers that as a private farmer, he does not sell to the public.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Sheesh.....those Amish radical jihadists.At least to Obama's government anyway.
I never had raw milk and so am not familar about it at all. But this kind of thing in the article we need to know about I think because they can do this with other things too.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at April 24, 2010 05:48 AM
Comments
The inspection may be valid but to show up at 5am is harassment. They know that early morning time is critical to dairy farmers.
Posted by: BobF at April 24, 2010 07:39 AM
My first question is, Where is the local Sheriff. It's his county, and he should be present at this Federal inquisition. By obama thugs. And Why is this one farmer being singled out ? Pennsylvania like all other farm States with Dairy Farms have their own inspectors and visit these farms on a regular basis, so why are the Feds involved ? Another violation of the 10th Amendment.
Sounds like an ATF drug raid, against a poor defenseless farmer. 5 O'clock in the morning. Look out the Nazi's are coming to look at your Milk.
Posted by: Mark at April 24, 2010 08:38 AM
I have had raw milk. When I lived in Austin, TX we got our milk from a small dairy farmer who had registered Jersey cows. It was some of the best milk I had ever had--and I grew up in Kansas, in farm country! My wife would skim the cream and make butter in her KitchenAid mixer, and we still had the richest, creamiest milk ever!
Yeah, the NAZIs have taken over. The police state is here.
Posted by: harry at April 24, 2010 09:02 AM
Harassment and abusive exercise of power by the Feds. Ditto Mark's observatons about no local deputies and ATF type action.
Posted by: TomR at April 24, 2010 10:02 AM
I was raised on Raw Milk, and it turned me into a raving, America Loving, Conservative, Patriot, Veteran. No flippin' wonder that Obummer is afraid of this Radical Amish farmer. Look how he makes his family live- full of love, of togetherness, of living off the land rather than the dole. What in hell took gummint so long to raid this guy. Fer cryin' out loud, he could be contaminating dozens with his ways.
Stupid bastards, the bunch of them feds, of EVERY department.
Nuf Sed
Posted by: Frankly Opinionated at April 24, 2010 11:26 PM
Thanks everyone so much and thanks for sharing about having raw milk before too.
I agree Mark, thanks for pointing those things out.
Posted by: Wild Thing at April 25, 2010 12:32 AM
