Government Overreach: Virginia Amish Farmer’s
Livelihood on the Line Following Government
Raid and Seizure of Property – Please
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Gateway Pundit,
by
Jim Hoft
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
8/28/2023 4:16:29 PM
The Fisher family farm, a source of healthy food for local consumers in Virginia, was raided by the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (VDACS).
Samuel B. Fisher, who runs Golden Valley Farms, lost his livestock and meat-processing facility as the state condemned and seized his property. The act has resulted in not just loss of income but also a crisis of trust in a community that prides itself on independence and sustainable farming.
Golden Valley Farms has been serving around 500 consumers through its farm’s membership program.
From their website:
We are a family farm located in Farmville, Virginia in Cumberland County.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Flyball Dogs 8/28/2023 4:29:30 PM (No. 1544612)
I read about this last week. This is in Virginia, with a Republican governor.
Communism is here and taking root.
25 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Felixed 8/28/2023 4:31:34 PM (No. 1544615)
On multiple fronts, the criminals who now control our government strive to create flashpoints. Flashpoints where civil disobedience becomes violent as beleaguered citizens are pushed past the limits of human patience and normal fear.
In the hubristic confidence that such explosions as they may instigate can be contained and used to further strip us of rights and freedom, they will go to any lengths.
Truly, we have become a third world hothouse of tribal strife. Fed and fanned by those who understand all too well the "divide and conquer" method.
And a happy ending is probably many, many, bloody chapters away.
22 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
sunshinehorses 8/28/2023 4:33:29 PM (No. 1544616)
This is horse hockey. I used to take my chickens to the local Amish to butcher for me. I used to buy whole milk from them as well. We no longer live near any Amish or I would still be using their services.
19 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Jesuslover54 8/28/2023 4:50:52 PM (No. 1544627)
His vileness is near perfect.
9 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 8/28/2023 5:00:49 PM (No. 1544632)
The good news is the FBI wasn't involved. One can rest assured had the FBI been involved a predawn military assault would have been carried out with at least one adult dead and one child injured.
24 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Birddog 8/28/2023 5:06:33 PM (No. 1544636)
weird convergence, "Intersectionality" ,Farmville the phone game has been immensely popular, The viral singing sensation that penned "Rich men north of Richmond is from Farmville"....now THIS.
Flyover country with it's green acres and redneck/religious ways is getting more than mere mentions as of late. 4 of the top ten songs right now are "Country" , Yellowstone is one of the top shows, more rural, exburb county fairs are getting an increase in "1st timers"(people are terrified to take their kids to any urban gatherings), hope it sticks/lasts.
11 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 8/28/2023 5:32:59 PM (No. 1544655)
Freedom is NOT PERMITTED. Control is MANDATORY. You cannot choose to do things that the government doesn't approve of.
Soon, ALL things not prohibited will be MANDATORY. Zero free choice. Mostly we have an illusion of free choice today. You cannot buy ANY products which do not comply with government requirements. You are NOT free to choose your own products, whether food, cars, houses, anything.
13 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Ida Lou Pino 8/28/2023 5:57:56 PM (No. 1544680)
Didn't Stalin do the same thing to Ukrainian farmers? Refusing to let them eat their own food - - and starving millions of innocent people to death?
Yes - - I think he did.
23 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
chumley 8/28/2023 6:07:06 PM (No. 1544686)
I am really having trouble thinking of any authority I have respect for. Truthfully, I never was too impressed by military rank or corporate titles or civil service titles, but its worse now. I've found there are very few people who are truly honorable anymore. They will obey orders no matter how wrong or evil the order is.
15 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
LadyHen 8/28/2023 8:01:38 PM (No. 1544725)
This is something of which I am pretty well versed.
If meat is to be sold via retail cuts to the public, it must be processed in a USDA inspected facility.
IF however you BUY a whole, half, or quarter animal (you are buying a percentage of the animal itself) or you are having your own animals turned into retail cuts at a processor, the meat can be processed at a State inspected facility.
USDA inspecting costs approx 20 cents more per pound hanging weight which adds up on an 600-900lb carcass.
Now IF you buy a whole live animal on farm property and that property happens to have processing facilities, you YOURSELF can dispatch and butcher your own animal right there or take it home and do so... it is yours after all. Muslims and some ethnic groups do this especially with lamb, goats, and even poultry.
The big exception to all this government inspection is chicken and rabbits. A small farm can process themselves up to 1000 birds a year and sell them directly to the public without USDA or state interference. I am not sure of any limitations on rabbits as I have no experience with them.
I won't go into milk but let's just say we have done "cow sharing" and it is a perfectly legal way to get unpasteurized milk as the milk is going to the owners of the cow. You buy a percentage of a live cow so a percentage of her milk is yours.
If one sells retail cuts to the public say at a farmer's market, one also is subject to inspections of your storage facilities, that is your freezers and your food transport equipment and you must comply with their cleanliness, packaging, and temperature regulation rules.
I personally don't mind inspections but I have always failed to see why the USDA needed to get involved if the States themselves were completely capable (which they are) of inspecting and assuring quality control and humane treatment of animals. This is yet another states rights issue. The USDA inspected facilities weekly E Coli outbreaks are proof enough to me that they offer no extra added value for their upcharged services.
In the end, follow the money. State inspection is adequate and States can administrate effectively the farming activities of their own citizens. USDA inspection in the present day is just another TAX on your food.
All this said, the Amish farmer did break the rules if he sold retail cuts directly from his farm with no inspection of his processing facilities, the animals and their care during slaughter, or the meat itself. I don't like the way the rules are presently written but he broke them. Small producers should all know the rules if they plan to sell to the public. Breaking the rules gives him a very fiscally unfair advantage over other small producers in the area who follow the safety rules to the the letter and end up paying the upcharges for inspection.
7 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
pensom2 8/29/2023 1:57:11 AM (No. 1544872)
#10, thank you for your insights on many levels. I suppose the federal food inspectors justify their muscling in where State inspectors are adequate based on the possibility that the processed meats might occasionally enter into interstate commerce. They find ways to financially justify their existence and bloated bureaucracies.
3 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
mifla 8/29/2023 6:07:30 AM (No. 1544934)
You will do as you are told or your government will destroy you.
1 person likes this.
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