Colonel’s Blog, Earthdate 26 March 2024…
Hey Y’all!
Good morning and happy Tuesday from Air2Ground Farms! We awoke to temps in the mid-30s with windchills in the mid-20s, escorted into the area by over 2 inches of rain yesterday. Needless to say, the creek is flowing! The pics today are the dairy herd. I’m not sure how many cows are required to be considered a herd, but I’m going with it anyway. The top 2 pics are Stella (right) and Artois (left). They are both doing very well. Our plan is to get Stella in with the bull next month to ensure she will have a calf around the time she turns 2. Artois should have her calf in the October timeframe. The bottom pic is Happy, still pregnant and looking WIDE! Shelley is going to be out of town starting tomorrow until Monday, so…. Yeah, I’m sure calves and lambs are going to happen while she’s gone. The beef chicks are doing amazing! We ordered 51, 52 showed up in good condition and 52 are still with us a week later. We have them inside a small brooder in our garage where they are better protected from the cold. We put together a bigger brooder in the barn for them to move into in a few days. We’ll probably start the next batch, arriving next week, in the garage also. We are about to leave to pick up the pork from the hogs we delivered last week. It’s always an awesome feeling to load half a ton of meat into the truck!
I’ve mentioned before that we are in the process of establishing a Private Membership Association or PMA. There are legal reasons, to include taking the exchange of goods and services out of the realm of “commerce” and “public.” It moves the relationship between producer and consumer into the “private” realm of “citizens.” There are legal precedents for this type of contract, to include the most famous case of the State of Alabama vs NAACP, where the state sued the NAACP (which is a PMA) for their membership roles. The courts found that the PMA did not have to share their private roles with the state. There is also precedent of this type of relationship being used in the exchange of foodstuffs, like raw milk products. You may also be familiar with an ongoing case where the state of Pennsylvania is attacking the “Amish Farmer” Amos Miller for providing goods to the Private Members of his PMA that the state deems he should not be providing. His case has been covered by many news organizations and YouTubers. This week, here in Missouri, the owner of a PMA outside St. Louis served 48 hours in jail for questioning the state’s authority to inspect his facility. He was held in contempt of court for “not allowing inspection” and was taken into custody with a $100,000 bail (with no option for a 10% bond) until he agreed to allow the inspection. It would seem that the state and county inspectors deemed his PMA to be a “Public” establishment because he has an “Open” sign, posted open hours, and an unlocked door allowing entry. Once they determined his establishment was “Public” they had the “legal authority” to inspect the goods offered to ensure the safety of the public. He believed the establishment to be “Private” and even in court, questioned the authority to inspect a private establishment. The judge disagreed with his assertion, agreeing with the health inspection agencies, and took him into custody until he agreed to allow the inspection. Upon inspection, the agencies poured raw milk down the drain and confiscated many other items to include bread and syrup. He finds himself in the position that he can no longer offer these items to his Private Members. I plan to continue to gather information and engage with our state and national politicians. We are carefully studying what’s going on and taking notes for our operation. So far, the biggest takeaway is Don’t Appear “Public.”
Yesterday, we released a fun video of “Fighters to Farmers, From Air to Ground | Our Story” wherein we discuss the who/what/when/where/why of Air2Ground Farms, to include our YouTube journey. We had a good time making this one!
Cheers!
Psycho & Shelley
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