Authorities Keep Heat on in Michigan Raw Milk Investigation–Agents Visit Amish Farmer

The Amish farmer whose dairy produces the raw milk distributed to Family Farms Cooperative members in Michigan is actually located just over the state’s southern border, in Indiana. So while Michigan agriculture authorities can interfere with his milk being sold by the co-op in Michigan, they’ve been unable to harass him at home–until now.

The Michigan authorities apparently called in allies from Washington and Indianapolis. Four inspectors from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Indiana Board of Animal Health paid a call on the farmer on Friday to obtain milk samples, according to Annette Hebron, who along with her husband, Richard, manage the Family Farms Cooperative. The Amish farmer has requested the Hebrons to speak on his behalf, since he has no phone and prefers not to be interviewed.

According to Annette, the inspectors said they would return today (Monday) with results of their testing. I made calls and sent emails to spokespeople for both the FDA and the Indiana Department of Agriculture at mid-day today, but neither one responded by the end of the day. I’ll renew the effort tomorrow. It seems strange that the inspectors would visit now, since the Michigan undercover agent who joined the co-op presumably has had the milk tested over the past five months he was a member.

In the meantime, the co-op is seeking an alternative distribution site in Ann Arbor. According to Annette, the authorities have intimidated Morgan & York, the food retailer whose storage area the co-op used for the last two years as a distribution outlet to members each Friday, arguing that distributing even from its storage room violates the state’s prohibition on retailing raw milk. There was talk of setting up a tent in its parking lot, but apparently authorities said that still amounted to a retail outlet. Members have offered their homes as outlets, but there is concern about having enough parking for the 100 to 200 people who come for their food. One option may be to do what the co-op does in Detroit: use a church for distribution.