I just returned from the post office, where I dropped in the mail to Richard Hebron of Family Farms Co-op a couple copies of my BusinessWeek.com column about Michigan’s assault on his farming business. I promised him I’d send the copies, since the Michigan Department of Agriculture agents seized his computer, with its built-in fax, in their raid on his home last Friday, and thus cut him off from the Internet and fax communication.
I guess the act of dropping the envelope into a mailbox reminded me again of just how ruthlessly the government went after him. First, when state police stopped his truck last Friday morning, they gave him a choice: he could turn over his truck with its thousands of dollars worth of produce for co-op members to them and find his way 120 miles back home to Vandalia, or he could drive them to their office in East Lansing, and from there make his way home. He decided to drive them 70 miles to East Lansing. (Gee, do I want to walk home or help these guys confiscate my goods?). Either way, they wanted his cell phone, along with his milk, butter, eggs and other produce and, no, he couldn’t make a call home to let his wife know what had happened (not to mention the 100 or so co-op members waiting for him and the produce in Ann Arbor) before he turned over the cell phone.
Then, when they raided his home, they took all additional forms of communication, except his house phone. I know the agents would say they needed to review his business records in connection with their investigation, but I have to think that one of their goals was to limit the co-op’s ability to communicate with the outside world and let others know about this travesty.
The seizure of the co-op’s communication and business tools makes this assault on raw milk producers seem in certain respects more devastating than what happened to Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures in Fresno, CA, last month. While his farm was quarantined, and that’s pretty brutal, at least he could post alerts on his web site and correspond with his customers, who bombarded him with 3,000 emails of support. Richard Hebron is cut off from the world. Hebron has lost all this, including the list of his customers, even though he’s not been charged with any crime.
While many individuals might be prepared to run out and purchase another computer, the Hebrons aren’t that well off financially. Richard dreamed of becoming a farmer ever since he was in high school. After graduation, he worked for a number of years as a cabinetmaker to save up enough money to make a down payment on some farm land in Vandalia 17 years ago, when he and Annette became engaged. He owns 40 acres, but still leases 70 acres to give him the acreage he needs. They live in a tiny three-room house with their two children.
So when people ask me what they can do to support the Hebrons and the other farm families in their co-op, I suggest making as much noise as possible. The government enforcers who went after these farmers want not only to destroy their livelihood, they want to silence them as well. They hate publicity because they want to do their dirty work out of public view.
Call the office of Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (this page has phone numbers) or fill out the email form on the "Share Your Opinion" link from the bottom of the page. Forward my column and the link to this blog to other blogs and sites you know might be sympathetic. If you have additional suggestions for making noise, post them here to alert others.
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