Island of Distrust—Why Distrust?
by Karin Bergener

So how did USDA become the agency no one trusts? The creation of the NAIS, without a statute or regulations, and without informing the public, has gone a long way toward ruining whatever trust had existed. Other incidents have increased the distrust.

Both the USDA and state departments of agriculture have slaughtered entire herds or flocks whose owners knew the action was unnecessary. News of these incidents has spread through the internet and anti-NAIS gatherings. This sharing of information emboldens others to tell about their experiences. A brief look at these stories reveals why neither federal nor state agriculture agents are respected by independent farmers and ranchers.

Mad Sheep is a book chronicling the Faillace family’s creation of a sheep herd, imported from Europe in complete cooperation with Vermont state and federal agriculture agents. But then the USDA created a new disease, a variant of TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy or scrapie, a disease related to mad cow, which is not transferred between animals by contact). The USDA claimed this new disease was contagious and the Faillace’s sheep had it. Repeated testing, including clinical observation, consistently showed the sheep to be disease-free, but ultimately the USDA used a procedure that had a high rate of false positives. Based on false positives, the Faillace’s farm was quarantined. The family filed a lawsuit to challenge the quarantine, but were in compliance with the quarantine agreement when USDA arrived sometime between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. and took away all their sheep to be killed. Once the flock was destroyed, the Faillaces legal case to stop USDA’s quarantine no longer had a purpose. They were left with attempting to recover the value of their sheep from the government. While their book differs substantially from USDA’s account, USDA has made no attempt to contradict their assertions.

The Henshaw’s awoke at 5:00 a.m. on September 12, 2006, to find USDA officials and the local game warden entering their Virginia hunting preserve to destroy their pigs. For many days the Henshaws were held under what amounts to house arrest, while the killing went on. Pigs that weren’t shot were trapped and starved. In the end, the family was left with the smaller pigs the agents could not kill, and were instructed to finish the job. People who visited the site reported finding dead animals and blood everywhere, along with human feces and trash left by the raiders.

In a New England state, a horse breeder was visited by a state agriculture agent and an agent from the USDA. The breeder asked the USDA agent to cover her feet prior to stepping out of her truck and onto his property. The state ag agent agreed with the breeder. The angered USDA agent left, and then quarantined the horse breeder’s farm for many months. The breeder lost a season’s worth of sales because no horses could leave his property.

In another eastern state, a poultry breeder who had long questioned state agriculture authorities, decided to have his flock tested for avian influenza (bird flu), in order to sell birds at local auctions. The test came back positive. The breeder requested repeat testing, and while that occurred, his flock was quarantined. So much, so good. However, getting back each set of test results should have taken days, but in fact took several weeks. The results of tests number two and three were negative, but the quarantine kept the breeder from selling birds the entire summer, leaving him with a huge flock to feed through the next winter.

Last year Longhorn cattleman Darol Dickinson of Ohio sold a cow. On a section of the official state health paper that said, “eartag no. or other official identification, name or description,”  the veterinarian issuing the health paper wrote the cow’s registered name. A year later a USDA official arrived at Darol’s farm and cited him for failure to put an identifying number on the form. He was required to fill out numerous forms admitting guilt and detailing each fact for further prosecution. Although Darol had never had a USDA violation in Ohio, the next time something happens he will be treated as a second time offender, which is someone USDA considers to have “wanton, habitual disregard of the law.” His offense is that a veterinarian wrote the cow’s name on the form instead of a number. The USDA agent told Darol the vet will have a hearing and may lose his license. Never was a question raised about the animal’s health or protection of other farmers, only choosing the “wrong” option on a Health Certificate form.

Most of us know additional tales of abuse, as well as stories of USDA agents who are incompetent to advise about farming or livestock. A stable owner up East asked the local Extension office to help her decide if she should apply for pasture improvement funds. Two USDA agents came to her stable and inspected her property. They told her that they could fund assistance for one-quarter acre. Then, they said, she should take her 30 horses and rotate them through that quarter acre, in pairs, 30 minutes each. She told them her boarding stable offers turn-out six days a week, eight hours a day. They were unfazed. She asked if either of them had ever owned horses. Neither had.

• Who Controls USDA?
• Island Mentality

Karin Bergener of Freedom, Ohio, is an attorney and a cofounder of the Liberty Ark Coalition dedicated to defeating NAIS. This article appeared in The Evener 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.