FSMA and the Homestead

So you bought your place and grow an abundance of vegetables and raise some animals for sell and to sell either as on the hoof custom or take it to the next step and offer packaged meats. In January 2018 the FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) fired its first real shots into agriculture. January was the compliance Month for farms grossing over $500,000 in sales. No big deal right! You don't even come close to $500,000 in annual sales. Read a little further into the FSMA and you will find compliance dates for farms with sales of more than $250,000 but less than $500,000. Dates for farms with sales of $25,000 but less than $250,000. And finally hidden away in there is a compliance date for sales that total $25,000 over the previous 3 years, this was put in for the express purpose of bringing small and very small farms under FDA regulatory control...Including your small hobby farm. At a conference in late 2017 I asked the FDA person leading the rules and regulation discussion "Will the FSMA rule impact people growing and raising their own food for personal use?" The answer was not really really what I expected and a bit alarming..... What I expected was a NO answer. The answer I got "Not at this time but we at the FDA envision a day when all food is safe through better regulation."

Now I am primarily a meat guy and heavily regulated by the USDA, FSIS, IDOA and the Health Department Jurisdictions I operate in. Since meat was not handed over to the FDA I was feeling pretty safe. Until I got the letter from the FDA informing me that I need to be inspected by them as a Facility and as a Transporter of food. Again I am already inspected 4 times per year by the IDOA and up to 6 times per year by my home jurisdiction health department at the Facility. The trailers I transport food in are inspected 2 times per year by the IDOA and LOL one year I had a stack of over 100 inspections of the trailers from 9 health departments (Lowest score was a 99% because there was a muddy foot print on the trailer floor). So now I learn that in addition to all of those already existing inspections, I am now subject to up to 4 more FDA inspections per year for both the facility and the trailers. My brand new $75,000 trailer with FRP walls and Ceilings, A 3 well sink, a handwash sink, 150 gallons of potable water, a 150 gallon grey water tank and on demand hot and cold water, a full stainless kitchen and a back frozen and dry storage area....... is not in FDA FSMA Compliance and needs around $7,000 in further upgrades to safely transport food. On the other hand the IDOA inspector finds it above and beyond saying "This is one of the finest trailers I have seen." My Frozen storage or the Facility as they call it, needs another roughly $15,000 in upgrades........ Since the entire building was gutted and renovated last fall with all new equipment and freezers, I am left scratching my head and have two options comply or appeal through the FDA administrative hearing process.

I fall in the category of more than $25,000 but less than $250,000 in yearly sales. And I don't have the taboo about saying what my sales are that many do...... On average I do $126,000-$140,000 in annual sales. And run about a 40% net profit margin $50,000 on a average year and $60,000 or so on a good year. So I am a long way from rich or a big operation and earn less than the the National median income, on the flip side I am largely self sufficient and have almost no expense for food, heat, and own everything outright with no mortgages or payments. So financially I am probably a lot better than the National Median. But if I want to stay in business and earning a living I have to drop an additional $22,000 in upgrades to a trailer and building that I just dropped $close to $200,000 that I saved over the last eight years and spent on major upgrades. $50,000 that I earned last year - $22,000 puts me down to $28,000 and making it not worth my time and labor to stay in business.

Now all of that is bad enough but then the FSMA also covers livestock feed and those rules come into play I believe in 2019 or 2020 and cover how you must store your feed and what additives and supplements can or cannot be added to the feed. None of which is really clear yet, but I can promise it will involve a high cost of compliance. Since the bulk of my feed is pasture, forage and corn produced, stored, ground and mixed on farm......

Even if small and very small you must register with the FDA and get a FSMA Farm Registration Number. I don't think most people realize the scope of the FSMA and the FDA Director commented that "This is not a sprint of regulations, it is a ongoing marathon." It covers from the smallest producer up to the biggest grocery store. It covers every restaurant, CSA, Farmers Market, and if the one FDA educator is to be believed will eventually encompass the private production of food for personal use. It is probably one of the most invasive pieces of legislation ever passed and largely went without notice or much press as everyone was focused on Obamacare. And yes the FSMA is one of the Obama legacies crowning achievements.

The FDA Field Agents and Investigators it seems are all armed with 9mm. These are the ones that sooner or later will visit your hobby farm up to big production farm. When I asked a agent why there was a need to for her to be armed, "Some resistance to the enforcement of the FSMA is expected and potentially could get violent."

For the first time in the 20 years since I started the Thunder 5 Ranch I am seriously thinking about closing up shop. I am not alone in this sentiment, the cost of compliance and the burden of regulations that are about 2% food safety and 98% BULL Pies simply are not worth it. LOL when the regulations state that "If wildlife is noticed or signs of wild life in a crop area are noted the area must be cordoned off and not harvested........." Yeah it might be time to retire and move to renegade sustenance level farming for myself and family........... until they get into regulating that.

I have seen numbers that suggest the total cost to all farms and businesses to get in FSMA COmpliance will cost between 500 billion - 750 billion dollars over the next 5 years and in return increase food safety 1%-3%.

I put this in back to basics because........ going back to basics is going to be getting real complex, regulated and probably expensive.

 

well that is not good news, it means every Gardner and home canner will have to be inspected? wow

 

There are probably a few big players trying to squeeze out the competition so they can create a monopoly. There are few things other than corruption manipulated regulations that can damage a free market. The FDA does provide a valuable service, mostly keeping substandard Chinese products from entering the ports but if you Google FDA corruption it is not pretty.

 

IDk that I would call it corruption, but certainly big brother control systems going in place that are not friendly to an independent way of life

 

As the Educator said "Not at this time" the language is in there though to go after home gardeners and canners in the future. Right now with them amending, retracting, and adding to the rules and regulations.......... I don't think anyone knows fully what is going on or what will come.

That has been the general consensus among most of us in my size range. Big Food is getting more into what we do or at least gives the illusion that they are. Getting rid of us via regulation and policy is not a new tactic, only instead of the USDA creating policy to kill the small family farms, it the FDA killing the modern upsurge in small local and regional farms. LOL there is a reason the biggest food companies have been buying up every organic farm and brand they can get their hands on.

The Government and Big Business do not like to hear that dirty word "Independent" they want conformity and dependence. Dependent people are much easier to manipulate and control

 

While I agree you have an excellent point, the recent deaths from contaminated lettuce (Yuma E Coli) will give the FedGov weenies the ammo to continue their present course of action.

The fols at the CDC breathlessly tell us:
We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths.

Key word to note - Estimated. could be low or could be waaay overstated.....

 

It seems fairly obvious to me: control the food and you control the people. I recently heard a documentary about how by 2023 we will not be producing enough food to feed the world given our current capabilities. My God, the power this would give them is enormous!

And, I certainly consider it corruption when they use laws to implement an agenda that most people don't need nor want. Look at the mandatory health care. They made a law you must have health care but do nothing to make it affordable and one is fined if you don't but not to worry as the courts said it is all perfectly legal. And, do they care the cost of maintaining such Health Care policy exceeds even one's house payment? No, of course, not. Next they will force us to purchase Ketchup by law.

I am deeply sorry to hear this has happened to you, T5R. I would hope with Trump's deregulation it will come into his sights but I fear the benefit to the controlling elites will allow it to continue.

@DKR "We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. "
Yep! That is exactly how they will justify it and sell it. Just like gun control...

 

e coli deaths, we all have e coli in us. and..... Dont people wash their veggies? basic hygene

 

List of U.S. Senators who voted for S 510 Food Safety Act

This story was very prophetic.

 

What the liberal effectively did was shift any responsibility away from the consumer and placed the entire burden on the producers, warehouses and retailers. We are basically responsible for how the end consumer handles the food once purchased.

And that estimate varies by tens of millions depending on who is peddling the BS. One fact that can be searched out is that the vast majority of foodborne illness is directly due to the end consumer mishandling or not cooking foods to safe temps. I was sued..... guess it has been 10 years ago now because a woman bought a package of pork steaks on a hot August day at according to her testimony was at 9:47 AM. Drove around all day with them on the passenger seat, went to her kids soccer game (If it was 98 degrees outside how hot do you think it was in a sealed car on a unshaded lot. Finally got home at 7:30PM and prepared them for the family. They like their pork medium rare (Did not cook to safe temp)....... Sorry but if pork is bleeding on the plate COOK IT SOME MORE!. And blamed me for her family being violently ill and hospitalized for 2 day receiving IV fluids to keep them hydrated since everything that went down came back up or squirted out the other end. I was being sued for $10,000,000 but they offered to settle for $6,000,000 and withdrew the suit after she rattled all of the above information off like it was perfectly normal and safe........ as her ambulance chaser sat there cringing every time she opened her mouth. Up until that deposition I was sweating bullets and figuring if this went to trial I was going to lose big. My product liability insurance at the time was only $4,000,000 now days I carry $30,000,000 just to be safe. On the bright side my insurance company attorney worked with my business attorney and really did a good job getting that gal talking in that deposition.

Fast forward to today and the FSMA in place and in force, I seriously wonder that even with her deposition testimony if the outcome would have been the same.........

I am deeply sorry that it is happening to every farm and food business no matter what their scale. It was slipped through as a rider on another bill (Something that should not be allowed, every piece of legislation should be voted on and passed on its own merits.) The very large operations can afford to comply, and the way it is rigged they can say it is not one size fits all, but it is. If you are exempt in one area there are 3 areas you are not exempt in.

 

Not only food, here in New Hampshire a small town near me has a town water department with about 300 customers and read or saw of a case where contaminants got back into the water supply by back flowing from an external source. They require twice annual back flow inspections at $50 a pop and now want a significant fine as some of their customers don't want to arrange to be home at the time they wish to inspect. As near as I can figure out it is a pi**ing contest and revenue enhancement operation. The entire food, water, automobile, etc safety issue usually starts out as some fool making a really stupid mistake, not fencing in a stock pond and using water from it to water crops and distributing to 30 states and rapidly escalates to a means of control and a source of revenue. Don't look good and the nanny state wins again.

 

what will an outlaw look like the future?....






OMG - and in the front yard!

 

I don't can lettuce It's all B.S. more control more invasion of privacy each sale not in cash tracks your personal interests we are becoming a race of lemmings and weenies.

 

I truly wish this all was a surprise for me, But, it's not.. Fed's have been directed to take control of the food sourcing for the populace since the 1930's or so. First during the depression, family farms are seized by the fed for not following the best farming management scheme as directed by the "experts" in the guvment employ.

Then the farm failures during the 70's because of defaults on farm loans from the fed's.. Who bought all those farms at pennies on the dollar?

Then, the scotus rules against a Montana rancher for growing wheat for his families personal use. Seems if you grow your own food that has an adverse effect on interstate trade and can be regulated by the guvment.

And then theres the head of the dep. of agriculture during Obumer's years.. A significant person from MONSANTO??
Hmmm? All those old, scary, futuristic movies depicting over crowded cities, and starving populaces subsisting on Soylent green or red while the rich and important consume fresh produce. Visions of a future coming true?

Still think the next revolt will be about things that spit high velocity projectiles?? Food. Water. Housing. Land rights!
Fire arms are a distraction in that every time some one mentions controlling them the involved groups panic. And no one notices what is going on in that great hall of pigs in dc.

It is all about control of the serf's, the slaves. It is about politicians and global industrialist claiming as much wealth and influence in the global control scheme to place themselves above the controlled.

 

But we don't need arms..
This is good 'ol fashioned .gov BS and I'm truly sorry for your troubles T5R.

and these are the ones that will be adding to my firearm collection and helping the ecosystem by feeding the local hog population. Old man up the road aways runs a scrap yard and he don't care much where the car you bring in comes from. A quart of shine will get anything you want crushed/shredded while you wait...

 

In about 2 to 5 years when there are food shortages, you now know why.

Just imagine they will be raiding houses if you grow your own food.

My wife thought it was odd that instead of cutting down all the elm trees and planting all fruit and nut trees I wanted to use the useless elm trees as concealment. Well as it turns out almost all of my paranoia almost always bears fruit.

 

In some areas that is already a outlaw renegade operation!

 

@Thunder5Ranch "...being sued for $10,000,000 but they offered to settle for $6,000,000..."
Having only been back a few years...of all the things that I am afraid of in the U.S. the #1 place holder is law suites. One can be sued for looking cross-eyed at a person in this country. It's like have Damocles sword hanging over your head. Your tree falls on the neighbor's cheap fence and even though you replace the fence you are suddenly sued for punitive damages of a million dollars. Refuse to bake a cake for someone and suddenly your life and livelihood is ruined. No, it is not the crack head or the terrorists or the threat of nuclear war; it is our court/legal system because justice is pretty much a coin toss. I have not seen this in any other country...and it damn well scares the hell out of me.

 

Justice used to be blind and fair to all, now it is a crack whore that panders to those with the most money and power. When two men of color can go into a coffee shop, refuse to leave, refuse to buy anything, refuse to follow a police officer's command to leave, then be arrested and taken to jail, can be hailed as hero's when all charges are dropped and they take a token payment of $1. When in fact they succeeded in bl**mailing Starbucks out of a college education, an undisclosed financial settlement, the city out of $200,000 for a financial aid package for young entrepreneurs, but still are racial heroes for their proof that Starbucks is a racist organization that treated them unfairly, yada, yada, yada. Here in New Hampshire we forced the gasoline companies to add MTBE to their fuel as it somehow was to reduce damage to the ozone layer or something, When instead it significantly damaged the underground water supply, we are forcing them to pay millions in damages and cleanup fees. Then we have the fishing expeditions of special task forces, prosecutors, class action suits, etc that make a mockery of any legal protection guaranteed in the Constitution. As ThunderSRanch has adequately put it, you will not lose your rights to a jackbooted thug from FEMA, it will be done in court by the USDA and all the other alphabet organizations and enforced by your local police with the government agents watching with their 9 mm, and the heavy stuff to support them on their speed dials. When a presidential order by the OBummer can be enforced on the next president as if it were a congressional act, stopping oil drilling, modifying the immigration system, creating wilderness areas, etc, and when in the name of trade they can stop you from growing food, in the name of food safety require you to grow, process, and store your food as they wish, control what firearms you own, how and where you store them, and where you can carry or shoot them, in the name of hate speech, discrimination, racial bias, etc they can control who you hire, who you can rent to or sell to, or what you say, or what your children are taught in school. With the tools of patent, trademark protection, zoning, licensing, racial inequality, etc, they can control your ability to start a business, save your own seeds or sell them to others, make and use things and sell them to others, in many cases to prevent you from selling something you already own to others, etc. There are already sufficient laws and presidential decrees in the books and court precedents to totally control the nation. There just hasn't been the ability of any one group to do so or the ability to prevent an armed populace from resisting such actions. A unholy collation of racial, social, political, and economic groups are trying their best thru modifying the educational system and what it teaches to accept their actions as legally and morally correct and disarming the minority and making their actions legally and morally wrong, to allow them to use the existing tools to reach their desired goals.

It is with profound sadness that I enter this post reply in the Back to basics forum and not the tinfoil hat forum, but while the facts I state are not written in stone yet, they do exist in both our mass media, our educational systems actions, and our law books and court decrees. As disturbing as the examples given by the different member of the forum have been, they are just the tip of the iceberg and each and everyone of us could add dozens of personal experiences.

Time to get to work in my greenhouse and garden while I still can. God Bless and Keep You All on a beautiful spring day that he or some other force of nature has given me and hopefully this nation will weather this period of madness and return to its greatness.