Two Raw Milk Hearings Yield Different Results

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Two farmers who were recently found guilty of selling raw milk are now contemplating whether they will appeal their cases in a higher court.

On May 5, Mark Nolt, a Newville, Pa. farmer, was found guilty by a magisterial judge in Cumberland County on four counts of selling raw milk without the state-required permit last year.

Nolt, who had his farm raided twice by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), has not had a raw milk permit since August 2006.

Last month, PDA came to the farm and confiscated products and equipment after Nolt allegedly sold raw milk to undercover PDA food agents on two separate occasions and he was taken into custody for not responding to the summary citations that had been sent to his farm.

He was fined $4,300.

Jonas Stoltzfus, a close friend of Nolt's who has been designated as his spokesman, said Nolt plans to appeal to the state's Court of Common Pleas.

Stoltzfus said a large crowd gathered outside the courtroom in Nolt's defense and that some money has been raised on his behalf.

A call this week to Magisterial District Judge Day's office revealed Nolt had yet to file an appeal. He has 30 days to do so.

Ryder, PDA spokesman, said additional citations are pending in relation to the two most recent incidents in which Nolt sold raw milk and cheese to undercover PDA agents this year.

Meanwhile, a Lancaster County farmer was found guilty on May 6 on one count of selling raw milk without the state required permit after he was initially charged with three counts.

Glenn Wise, a Mennonite minister who farms 23 acres just outside of town, Pa., was ordered to pay a fine of $50 in his case.

Wise, who spoke by phone on Tuesday, said he sold raw milk to an undercover PDA agent on three separate occasions after the agent signed a contract to become a member of Communities Alliance for Responsible Eco-Farming (CARE), an organization of which Wise is a member.

CARE was started in 2005 with the idea of connecting farmers to consumers through "private contracts" and members of the organization feel they are protected under the state's Constitution to have private sales without government intervention.

Customers who become members pay a fee and sign a contract which bars them from taking legal action against a farmer in the event they get sick from drinking raw milk.

Wise, who is one of the original members of CARE, claims he doesn't knowingly sell raw milk to non-CARE members and only sold milk to the undercover agent after they signed a contract to become a CARE member.

On April 2, Wise received three citations in the mail along with a hearing notice. Two of the citations were dated back to November and January. Wise believed it was unfair that he was notified months after the citations and felt he didn't have ample time to answer the charges in time for the May 6 hearing.

Judge Jayne Duncan dropped two of the charges. The maximum fine on the third charge was $300, however it was dropped to $50.

Wise claims PDA's actions were deliberate and unfair since he does all of his business through the private contracts he makes with his customers.

"If the consumer comes to the farm to buy something, that's a private sale," Wise said. "We still feel there is the right to a private contract, private sale. That's our understanding of it."

He said he hasn't decided whether he will appeal his guilty verdict.

Pennsylvania's Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff defended his department's actions Tuesday, stating it has the responsibility to uphold state laws and treat all farmers fairly.

"It doesn't matter if you're selling raw milk or pasteurized milk, people need to follow the state's laws," he said. "We'll do anything we can to help someone get in compliance and follow state laws. There is no big crackdown out there. This is not personal in any way. This is about a statute that's in place in Pennsylvania."

Wise has been farming for close to 25 years, but only started his milking operation seven years ago — with one Jersey cow.

He took the state's one cow exemption, which allows farmers to sell products from the cow without retaining a state permit.

But after demand increased, he expanded his herd size, eventually milking 13 Jerseys.

"As consumer demand picked up, we kept adding a few more cows," he said.He initially thought about getting a permit after he increased the herd. But he claims his customers wouldn't have been satisfied with getting just aged cheese and milk.

"We felt the permit didn't allow for products that customers wanted" such as butter, yogurt and kefir, he said.

When he joined CARE two years ago and became one of its first member farmers, he did it based on principle and the fact he believed what he was doing was legal.

Wise said he would contemplate getting a permit if raw milk sales were expanded.

But in the end, just like with many other farmers, his belief in his principles are what guides him.

"All that we're really asking for is the right to use private contracts direct to consumers," he said.Staff Writer