Urgent Action for Farmers/Consumers in Wisconsin

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM AN EMAIL FROM THE WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION.  The Good American Post stands behinds local farmers and producers who are providing sustainable nutritious food to its community.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has been on the farm of Vernon and Erma Hershberger (Grazin’ Acres) three times in the past week.  The Hershbergers have been selling products of the farm at their on-farm store to members of a private buying club.  DATCP is trying to shut down their operation and has referred the matter to the Sauk County District Attorney even though there have been no complaints against Grazin’ Acres nor any record of food produced at the farm ever making anyone ill.

The Hershbergers need your help in order to continue to provide healthy food to the many members of the buying club.

ACTION TO TAKE
1.  DATCP has referred the Hershbergers’ case to the Sauk County District Attorney, Patricia Barrett, for potential prosecution.  Everyone is urged to contact Barrett’s office and request that she not prosecute the Hershberger case.  Sauk County residents are especially encouraged to contact the District Attorney and inform her that you will not vote for her the next election if she pursues the Hershberger case.  The District Attorney has already taken so many calls on this case that they are no longer accepting them; but you can still contact the DA’s office by email, fax and/or postal mail.  Here is the contact information:

Patricia Barrett, Esq.
Sauk County District Attorney
Sauk County Court House
515 Oak Street
Baraboo, WI  53913
Phone (608) 355-3207
Fax (608)355-3282
patricia.barrett@da.wi.gov

2. Contact the Sauk County Sheriff’s office and urge them not to participate in any investigation of the Hershbergers.  Here is the contact information:

Randy Stammen, Sheriff
Sauk County Sheriff
Law Enforcement Center
1300 Lange Court
Baraboo, WI  53913
Admin Phone (608) 355-3207
Fax (608) 355-3598
rstammen@co.sauk.wi.us

3. Use the talking points at the end of this alert to persuade the County DA and the Sheriff not to pursue the Hershberger case.

4.  Enlist others to join in this campaign to help the Hershbergers and farms like Grazin’ Acres.

BACKGROUND
On June 2, DATCP officials, Jacqueline Owens and Cathleen Anderson along with Sauk County Health Department officials and deputies of the County Sheriff descended upon Vernon and Erma Hershberger’s dairy farm, Grazin’ Acres in Loganville, to execute a “special inspection” warrant. DATCP inspectors taped freezers in the Hershbergers’ farm store and placed a hold order on thousands of dollars of food in the store, mostly raw milk and raw milk products. Under the hold order, the Hershbergers were prohibited from selling or even moving any of the food in the taped freezers. DATCP sent inspectors out to the farm because the Hershbergers had refused to comply with an intrusive request by the agency for documents and information going back over seven years.

The Hershbergers’ on-farm store sold products only to members of the private buying club.  Vernon told reporters that under the Constitution, he was allowed to enter into private contracts and that DATCP had no jurisdiction over his operation. DATCP has referred the matter to the Sauk County District Attorney.

On June 8, Owens and Anderson returned to the farm without a warrant, attempting to conduct another inspection of the farm store.  Vernon refused the request for an inspection and the officials left his premises.  Before leaving, they served Vernon a ‘Special Order’ which could subject him to fines of up to $5,000 per violation if he is not in compliance with Wisconsin food and dairy laws.

On June 10, Owens and Anderson again returned to the farm, this time with a warrant but the store doors were locked; so, again they left without searching the store.

POINTS TO MAKE
1. The County DA and Sheriff should not be spending taxpayer money, pursuing cases like this in which there is no victim or injury.  There has been no complaint filed by anyone against the Hershbergers.

2. The only injury in a case like this occurs when the farmer or food distributor is prosecuted and consumers who were obtaining foods they deem best for their health and the health of their families have now lost their source of those foods.

3. The right of consumers to obtain the foods of their choice from the source of their choice is a political issue; cases like this in which there has been no injury do not belong in the courts nor should the Sheriff be participating in any investigation of them.  The County DA and Sheriff should exercise their discretion not to get involved in these cases.

4. With the tough economic times and all the cutbacks in government spending, the County DA and Sheriff should not be using their remaining enforcement dollars pursuing victimless crimes.

5. Let the County DA and Sheriff know how food direct from farms has benefitted your health and the health of your family.

PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL WHEN YOU CONTACT THESE OFFICIALS

TO BE REMOVED FROM OUR MEMBER EMAIL LIST, email info@westonaprice.org

OPINION: What’s Up With Rand Paul

Rand Paul is getting a whole lot of criticism for his recent statements concerning civil rights and racial discrimination.  A recent article from the Washington Post extracts: “Paul lives in Libertarian La-La Land, where a purist philosophy leads people to believe in the purest nonsense” (Robinson, 2010).

This, in my opinion, is reaction to a little thing we call “liberty” and “freedom of speech”.  America – meet a candidate that IS NOT HAND-PICKED FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT.  Meet a man who embraces libertarian ideals.  Meet a man who speaks his mind.  Meet a man that will not say everything that you want to hear… wait… doesn’t that mean he is like every other person in the world?  Can’t we agree that we NEVER agree with everyone 100%?  Isn’t this a normal reaction to something?  Why in the world is Rand Paul getting so much you-know-what for expressing his political philosophy?  I’ll tell you why – he is an American and he going to be a real American in his role as Senator.

Rand Paul is not your average politician.  That is something that any freedom-loving, truth-seeking citizen may admire and respect.  Are his ideals lofty?  Arguable.  I tend to want to believe in liberty to its fullest extent and to allow human beings to find their purist ideals by exercising love and truth – not being forced by the heavy hand of government.  Liberty, in its purist of forms, does not allow for people to be weak and it does not allow for people to make stupid business decisions.

Rand Paul expresses this, and I wish that the media that blasts him with charges of inhumane words and acts would stop their bashing and do a little more vetting.  The point of our political system is to have discourse, disagreements,  and checks and balances.  This shows that the system is working.

My fellow Americans, the system is working.

Reference:

Robinson, E. (2010). Rand Paul’s Libertarian La-La Land. The Washington Post.  Retrieved on May 26, 2010 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/24/AR2010052402991.html

- Tisha Casida

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Correcting The Cause – Genesis Soil Rite, PART I

By: Glen Rabenberg

Soil is an incredible creation; it has the ability to communicate. If you truly listen, it will tell you exactly what it needs. Is your soil telling you a story of poverty or prosperity?

When soil is tilled, disked, or plowed and it has hardpan, plowpan, compaction, or lumps, your soil is communicating that minerals are bonding together in unhealthy patterns and will not be available to the plants we want to produce.

Without exception, hardpan, plowpan, compaction, lumps and clumps are letting us know there is a deficiency of AVAILABLE calcium. When P.H. of soil is too high or too low, there is a deficient amount of available calcium. Balance the minerals in your soil and your soil’s P.H. will naturally balance itself.

Alkali or high salt soil is screaming for help. During the degradation of these areas your soil is telling you exactly what’s going on. For example: when dandelions grow, salt is starting to cause a problem. Next, if you notice along with dandelions, kochia is starting to grow, the salt content is steadily increasing. The next salt loving plant to move in will be foxtail. If foxtail cannot absorb the ever increasing salt content of you soil; the soil then goes dormant or alkali. Several things can be thanked for the increased salt in soil.

Many chemicals and fertilizers contain salt as a carrier, preservative, or safety agent. Wet years and irrigation also bring salts to the surface. The beneficial bacteria in the soil does not like salt and has trouble living in a saline environment. The benefits and jobs that these bacteria do are now negatively altered. Stalks, mulch, and organic matter are now being oxidized rather than being absorbed into the earth. This carbon is not being converted into sugar. When the sugar content of the soil decreases, the sugar content of the plant will also decrease. Low sugar soil and plants give off high infrared, which fits right into plant feeding insect’s vision. The high infrared can be seen up to eight miles away by plant feeding insects. When your insect problem increases, you apply more insecticide, which probably has salt, which now adds to your already existing problem.

Please Continue with Next Post “Correcting the Cause” – Genesis Soil Rite, Part II

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