TodayRally supports raw dairy farmer
Dozens gather at Newville farm to send message to state
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Customers of dairy farmer Mark Nolt rally outside his property on Saturday. Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel
As dozens of supporters gathered on his farm Saturday, bearing signs and raw milk products, Newville farmer Mark Nolt observed from a distance.
“It was the voice of our supporters,” said Nolt later in the day, explaining why he and his family decided not to take part in the rally. “We wanted it to be their voice, because that voice needs to be heard.”
What that collective voice was saying, according to rally organizer Judy Stoltzfus, was this: “I want to eat what I know is good for me. Why must a farmer go to jail because he's supplying me with something that I need for my health?”
So far, Nolt hasn't gone to jail for selling unpasteurized milk, yogurt and cheese. But several weeks ago, state officials seized Nolt's supply of the dairy products, and the farmer says he could face jail time if he resumes selling them.
At issue are Pennsylvania regulations that allow the sale of raw milk only with a permit. That permit does not allow the sale of other unpasteurized dairy products under any circumstances. Nolt used to have a permit but has said he refuses to get another one because it would not allow him to sell raw yogurt, soft cheeses and other dairy products.
“This was a springboard to say, ‘Look, this is happening too many times,'” Stoltzfus said. She estimated that 120 to 150 people, ranging from college students to families to older individuals, showed up for the rally - despite temperatures in the 90s.
“It was a pretty big, nice mix of people,” she said, estimating that three-quarters of them knew the Nolts.
Of those attending, she said, 101 signed a petition that will go to Dennis Wolff, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and other officials, asking that the law be changed. Only those at least 18 years old signed the petition, Stoltzfus said.
“Mark is trying to make a point that if people come to the farm and want to buy for their own use, that there shouldn't be a raw milk permit needed,” she said. Although she understands why farmers need a permit to sell raw milk to restaurants or stores, Stoltzfus said there should be a place for small farmers to be able to sell their items without a permit to people “who are willing to take their health into their own hands, knowing full well of the minute health risks.”
Nolt has said that government officials shut his operation down in part because they claimed three people had gotten sick from his milk - evidence Nolt has not been able to see for himself.
But Chris Ryder, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said Nolt's products were seized because he was selling them illegally, not because he made anyone sick.
On Saturday, though, Stoltzfus said the benefits of drinking raw milk, not the risks, were the main topic of conversation.
“We had different people come up to the mike and say how much raw milk had benefited them as far as health,” she said. They also acted on that belief, she said, sharing a picnic lunch that included several items made from raw milk. Stoltzfus said she took tomatoes from her garden and feta cheese she made from raw goat milk.
“It was very good,” she said.
A number of people stayed for several hours, she said, with the numbers starting to drop shortly before 3 p.m. She hopes the rally will send a message to officials, as well as encouraging people who don't know about raw milk to do some research on it.
“There's lots of places that will give you the statistics about what we've done to milk,” she said, lamenting that so many people drink pasteurized, homogenized milk believing that doing so is healthful. “Really, if you do your homework you realize that people are being duped, all the good in milk ... has been killed.”
As for Mark Nolt, he said he feels the truth needs to be exposed.
“We depend entirely on our private contracts with our private people,” he said, noting that he has encountered nothing but support.
“I will tell you 100 percent of them back us up with this. They are infuriated.”
Asked what he and his family intend to do, now that their primary cash flow has been cut off, Nolt said: “It's all up to a higher hand,” adding that he did not mean government.
