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The fact that CDC was moved to send the letter to state officials can be interpreted as an indication that the federal
government realizes that its fight to further restrict or prohibit raw milk sales has not gone well. Demand for raw milk
continues to increase and there has been little or no call for further restrictions on raw milk sales or distribution even in
states where there have recently been foodborne illness outbreaks attributed to raw milk consumption. The law more
likely to fall now isn’t any state law allowing the sale of raw milk but rather the federal law prohibiting it from crossing
state lines.

MINNESOTA – MICHAEL HARTMANN
On June 29 a pretrial hearing was held for Gibbon farmer Mike Hartmann in connection with nine criminal charges
brought against him for alleged violations of the state food and dairy code. Hartmann’s wife Diane, his brother Roger
Hartmann, and alleged dropsite coordinator Linda Schultz all face the same charges but none was at the hearing (see
Wise Traditions Summer 2012 issue for background). Diane Hartmann was scheduled to appear for the hearing; when
she did not show up, Judge Perkins issued a warrant for her arrest and incarceration. The judge had previously issued
an arrest warrant for Roger Hartmann and Schultz after neither appeared for a May 3 hearing in the case.
At the June 29 hearing, the judge entered a not-guilty plea for Hartmann when the farmer refused to enter a plea
himself. Judge Perkins scheduled Hartmann’s trial to begin on August 28 in the Sibley County District Court. Mike Hart-
mann and the other defendants are charged with one gross misdemeanor and eight misdemeanor counts. Maximum
penalties are one year in jail and/or a $3,000 fine for the gross misdemeanor and ninety days in jail and/or a $1,000
fine for each misdemeanor.

MINNESOTA – ALVIN SCHLANGEN
Trials for criminal charges against Freeport poultry farmer, Alvin Schlangen, in Hennepin and Stearns Counties, were
rescheduled. The Hennepin County trial for four alleged violations of the state food and dairy code was rescheduled
to begin on September 17, 2012; the Stearns County trial on six alleged violations of the food and dairy code is set to
begin October 9 (see Wise Traditions Summer 2012 issue for background). In addition to the criminal trials, Schlangen
is also a party to an administrative hearing in which the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is seeking an order
suspending Schlangen’s sales for eleven alleged violations of the state food and dairy code; a hearing on the matter has
been scheduled for December 4. The discovery phase of the case has been underway since the winter with MDA trying
to get information from Schlangen relating to the operation of food buyers clubs the farmer has managed in the past and
present. Schlangen requested a stay of the case from administrative law judge, Manuel Cervantes, on the grounds that
evidence disclosed in the administrative matter could be subsequently used against him in the criminal case, destroying
his fifth amendment privilege; the judge denied the request and, instead, issued a scheduling order for the case. MDA
would likely use an order suspending Schlangen’s sales as a pretext for seeking fines or possibly further criminal charges
for future conduct the department regarded as violating the food and dairy code.
MDA’s treatment of Schlangen and Hartmann amounts to nothing more than bullying farmers who have stood up
to the department’s efforts to restrict food freedom in the state in an attempt to discourage other farmers from doing
the same. Minnesota remains the most draconian state in terms of raw milk enforcement.

NEW HAMPSHIRE – RAW DAIRY BILL
On June 7 a bill was signed into law providing that “a milk producer-distributor who daily produces for sale less than
20 gallons of raw milk or processes less than 20 gallons of raw milk into cheese aged at least 60 days, yogurt, cream,
butter, or kefir shall not require a milk producer-distributor license, provided these products are offered as direct sales
from the producer-distributor’s own farm, farm stand, or at a farmers market to the food consumers within the state of
New Hampshire only.” The dairy amendment creates an opportunity for producers to increase their income by selling
value-added products, something very few other states allow. It is difficult to see why states have not legalized the sale
of raw dairy products other than milk and cheese aged sixty days because in the states where the sale of raw butter,
cream and yogurt have been legal there are few, if any, cases of foodborne illness attributed to the consumption of
these products. The sale of aged raw cheese is legal in every state but even small-scale cheese producers are subject to
burdensome dairy plant requirements to be in compliance.
In addition to expanding the kinds of raw dairy products that can be sold, the bill also allows the sales to take
place at farmers markets. Most states that have legalized the unlicensed sale of raw milk have limited sales to the farm,
decreasing the producer’s potential customer base. The bill (HB 1402) is a significant step in opening up new markets
for small-scale raw milk producers.

For the latest developments on raw milk issues, go to www.thecompletepatient.com.

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