{"id":146156,"date":"2022-08-23T10:52:45","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T17:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=146156"},"modified":"2022-08-23T10:52:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T17:52:45","slug":"amish-farmer-faces-fines-prison-time-for-refusing-to-comply-with-usda-regulations-patrick-carroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=146156","title":{"rendered":"Amish Farmer Faces Fines, Prison Time for Refusing to Comply with USDA Regulations ~ Patrick Carroll"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bird-in-Hand, PA…For nearly 30 years, Amos Miller has owned and operated Miller\u2019s Organic Farm, an all-natural Amish farm located in Bird-in-Hand Pennsylvania. Like many Amish farmers, Miller likes to do things\u00a0the old-fashioned way<\/a>. He doesn\u2019t use electricity, fertilizer, or gasoline, and he also stays away from modern preservatives.<\/p>\n

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The farm\u2019s reputation has grown over the years, and it now boasts a private buyers club of approximately 4,000 members. Miller has sold all sorts of food to his buyers, such as organic eggs, raw milk, grass-fed beef and cheese, and fresh produce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey use it as a medicine,\u201d Miller said in a\u00a02021 interview<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s very healing to the body because it\u2019s raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good people,\u201d said one of his customers. \u201cTheir place is very clean, and their produce is excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, however, the farm has found itself in the crosshairs of the US Department of Agriculture because of its failure to comply with federal farming regulations.<\/p>\n

It all started\u00a0in 2016<\/a>, when two listeriosis illnesses\u00a0that occured in 2014<\/a>\u00a0were traced back to raw milk sold by Miller\u2019s Organic Farm. Both infected people had to be hospitalized, and one tragically died from the illness.<\/p>\n

The USDA has been trying to bring the farm into compliance with federal regulations ever since, but it\u2019s been\u00a0a long hard series of court battles<\/a>, in part because Miller has been,\u00a0by his own admission<\/a>, less than fully co-operative with the government. Miller is facing\u00a0fines and jail time<\/a>\u00a0for his actions.<\/p>\n

The story reached a climax in March of this year when a federal judge\u00a0ordered<\/a>\u00a0Miller to cease and desist all meat sales and\u00a0authorized<\/a>\u00a0armed US marshals to use \u201creasonable force\u201d to gain access to Miller\u2019s farm so a court expert could inspect it. The expert\u2014accompanied by the armed marshals\u2014took an inventory of all Miller\u2019s meat, and federal inspectors\u00a0are now returning every few months<\/a>\u00a0to make sure he hasn\u2019t sold any of it.<\/p>\n