Local Farmer Prosecuted By State

A Newville farmer is being prosecuted by the State for selling raw milk without a permit. Police and officials from the Department of Agriculture raided Mark Nolt's farm in Newville, Pennsylvania confiscating thousands of dollars in product and equipment and threatening Nolt with jail if he did not stop producing raw milk.

Here's the story from WITF:
"Support voiced for midstate farmer being prosecuted for illegally selling raw milk 08/23/2007Scott Gilbert(Newville) -- Some Cumberland County farmers are rallying around one of their colleagues who's being prosecuted by the state for selling raw milk without a permit. Agriculture Department officials recently raided the farm of Mark Nolt in Newville, confiscating unfinished product and packaging. Authorities say Nolt had sold the milk and products made with it even after his license expired about a year ago. Jonas Stoltzfus, a neighbor and customer of Nolt and fellow producer, says recent highly-publicized crackdowns on raw milk farmers are misguided. 00006_stoltzfus1.mp3 The state says the milk is regulated because it can be harmful if it's mishandled. But Stoltzfus says that factor is outweighed by the need for consumer choice, adding he supports Nolt for defiantly selling the milk without a permit. Stoltzfus is organizing a rally for this Saturday at noon at Nolt's farm at 401 Centerville Road in Newville."

The Sentinel covered the story and has some great input from local people in support of Mr. Nolt: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/08/18/news/news632.txt

Here's a second story just published in the Sentinel that at least partially answers one of my questions below: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/08/23/news/news581.txt

Supporters of Mr. Nolt are organizing a rally on Saturday at noon on his farm: 401 Centerville Rd. Newville, Pa. 17241. Please bring a dish to share for a raw milk product picnic, signs, posters and a friend. Media coverage is expected.

After spending a few hours researching Pennsylvania's raw milk regulations, I have a few questions that I can't easily find answers to.

What is the cost of a permit for producing raw milk in PA? Why was Mr. Nolt's permit expired? He had been warned on at least two occassions by the state. It sounds like an act of civil disobedience to me. Is there something inherently wrong with the state requirements or permitting process? Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states that even allow the sale of raw milk products. At this point, wouldn't it be wise to follow the law? I believe peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience are the responsibility of the citizens of a democracy, but what exactly is Mr. Nolt protesting?

When I look around at the condition of agriculture in Pennsylvania, my intuition tells me that there is something wrong. I see family farms struggling to survive and going under only to be replaced by shopping centers and developments. The only operations that appear to thrive are what I would call factory farms: those operations in which the animals (typically cows, chickens, or hogs) live in cramped, squalid conditions and are treated like machines that produce milk, meat, and eggs for our supermarkets. We have very few small-scale farmers who take pride in the quality of food they produce, care for their animals and consider themselves stewards of the land. My last questions: Is the state really protecting our health by prosecuting Mr. Nolt? Or is it protecting the financial interests of large-scale agribusiness by squeezing the little guy?