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By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter, May 5, 2008

Last updated: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 11:40 AM EDT

The crowd of about 75 people awaiting Mark Nolt outside the tiny office in Mt. Holly Springs Monday morning was worthy of a movie star.

There were posters. There were costumes. There were visitors from afar. There was even a man arrested for “obstructing highways and other public passages” after he refused to move his protest away from the door.

But Nolt, a Mennonite farmer and father of 10 from Newville, didn’t play to the crowd. Instead he sat soberly by his wife at a table in the courtroom of Cumberland County Magisterial District Judge Susan Day, wearing a blue dress shirt, suspenders and black pants as he spent the minutes before his summary trial studying handwritten notes on yellow legal paper.

Although the hearing Monday was for unpaid citations dating back to last year, Nolt’s case drew public attention when his farm was raided and equipment seized twice — most recently on April 25.

Day opened the trial by asking if Nolt, who was not represented by an attorney, had copies of the five citations issued against him for selling raw milk and raw milk products at Carlisle Farm Market on three occasions last year.

Nolt said he did, but asked that all five be dismissed because of “various defects” in the citations.

Brook Duer, an attorney representing the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, withdrew one of that citations, saying that he had been intending to do so anyway but without further explanation. However, after 20 minutes of discussion over a technicality, Day ruled that the remaining four citations were valid and should stand.

Undercover purchases

Duer then called three witnesses, all from the department, who said they had gone into the market on four occasions in May and July and purchased raw milk, cream, kefir and buttermilk from Nolt’s stand. Microbiologist Anthony Russo said he went twice and chatted with Nolt both times about the milk and how the products were processed.

“I really don’t like doing that kind of stuff,” Russo said of the undercover purchase, which he said he performed at the behest of his supervisor. Speaking to Nolt, he said the second time, “I was hoping maybe you weren’t there because I really didn’t want to buy any samples.”

But, Russo said, Nolt was and he did, later taking the products back to the lab and determining that they had, indeed, been made of milk that had not been pasteurized or homogenized.

“Did you drink any of this kefir?” Nolt asked. “Have you been injured by me in any way?”

“I’ve been an insulin-dependant diabetic all my life,” Russo replied. “I would not drink raw milk.”

“Are you aware of anybody who has been injured by me?” Nolt asked. Duer raised an objection and Day sustained it, directing Nolt to a different line of questioning.

The last witness, Mike Hydock, also addressed the permit issue. Anyone in Pennsylvania who sells milk, whether pasteurized or unpasteurized, is required to have a permit, he said, noting that Nolt did until September 2006, when his previous permit expired and he failed to renew it.

As for the raw milk products, Hydock said they do not have a legal identification and are therefore always “illegal diary products” that cannot lawfully be sold.

Nearly two hours into the proceedings, Duer said he had no further witnesses to call. Nolt did not call any witnesses or present a closing argument, merely making a motion to dismiss all the cases based on lack of personal and subject jurisdiction.

Day denied the motion, finding Nolt guilty and ordering him to pay a $1,051 fine on each of the four counts.

Reaction

Neither Nolt or any of the dozen or so supporters who squeezed into the room with members of the media reacted visibly to the news.

Afterward, however, Kimberly Hartke of Virginia said the phrase “lamb led to slaughter” came to mind.

“I felt like Mark was naive and innocent and totally ill-prepared to defend himself,” Hartke said. “I wanted him to stand up and make an impassioned speech.”

But, Hartke said, she did a lot of praying during the trial, and decided that “it was very Christian the way Mark did it.”

Hartke said she became a believer in drinking raw milk after it helped her avoid a knee replacement surgery. She made the trip to Pennsylvania, she said, because she wants raw milk products to be legalized in Virginia, and she fears that if Pennsylvania doesn’t legalize milk, her state won’t either.

Safety

Government officials have said raw milk is a potentially dangerous product, especially if unregulated, and noted that the number of liquid-borne illnesses has plummeted since pasteurization was introduced near the turn of the century.

But Hartke said she thinks the issue of contamination arose from factory farms, not small family farms like Nolt’s.

Kathy Cook, a Dillsburg resident, said she thinks large corporations are scared of losing profits to farms like Nolt’s and are urging the department to crack down on them.

Deb Emlet, a Carlisle resident who held a sign saying, “Real Milk Heals,” said she has bought raw milk products from Nolt and that they have helped her husband, who suffers from Crohn’s disease.

“He’s a good friend and he and his family are just trying to make an honest living,” Emlet said of Nolt. If people are allowed to decide whether or not they wear motorcycle helmets while riding, she said, they should be able to decide what food they want to buy.

Emlet said she wasn’t sure how she and her family would get raw milk products now.

Optimism

Nolt did not speak to the media after the trial, exiting through a back door. However, Jonas Stoltzfus, a Loysville resident, said Nolt is a friend of his and asked him to speak for him.

“I’m sure he will appeal,” Stoltzfus said. “He is still going to sell milk.”

He asked Nolt’s permission to organize the rally, Stoltzfus said, and believes that Nolt appreciated the support. People came from as far as North Carolina, Stoltzfus said.

“I’ve had people call me from Australia,” Stoltzfus said. “I had a farmer call and say Mark is representing us: We have too much government interference in our country also.”

Estimating that 75 people showed up for the rally, Stoltzfus said he was happy with the turnout and optimistic about the legal fight.

“We’re going to change the law,” Stoltzfus said. “We’re in this for the long haul, so long as it takes.”