A Wisconsin farmer hears good news as the court decides whether his actions of selling products made with raw milk are punishable by law.
Vernon Hershberger is a 41-year-old farmer located in Loganville, Wisconsin. His farm has been under investigation for almost four years; but the courts found him mostly innocent, which is a big win for small farmers across the country.
Hershberger was charged with illegally selling raw milk and products made from raw milk to friends and neighbors. Raw milk can have harmful bacteria, so it is pasteurized; however, others claim that pasteurizing raw milk removes beneficial nutrients. In many states, including Wisconsin, raw milk can legally be consumed on a farm but cannot be sold.
The lawsuit charged Hershberger with many offenses, but he was found guilty on only one charge. He was found innocent of producing milk without a license, selling milk and cheese products without a license, and operating a retail establishment without a license. His one guilty charge was one count of breaking a holding order issued by Wisconsin in 2010 that barred him from moving any of the food that he produced without a license.
Supporters of the farmer feel that the charges were brought against him simply because he was competition. The suit claims that his products were dangerous, but Hershberger was not hiding the fact that it was raw milk. In fact, most people wanted his items over his competitions because of the raw milk. This leads people to believe that the suit was filed in an attempt to decrease the opposition.
The milk was also sold to only about 200 people that Hershberger calls “co-owners” of the farm, and therefore would not be violating any laws.
Though overall this verdict is in favor of Hershberger, he will still have to pay the penalties of the one conviction. Sentencing has not occurred yet, but he faces up to one year in jail and $10,000 in fines.
Advocates of small farmers feel that this is a major victory for the small businesses. Because the state could not cease Hershberger’s productions, other small farming businesses should feel inspired to sell their own natural, homemade products to their communities.
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