Wisconsin Court Dismisses NAIS Charge Against Amish Farmer

Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, which represents independent farmers, ranchers, homesteaders and local consumers, as well as like-minded people interested in protecting a traditional way of life, is pleased to announce that a State of Wisconsin Circuit Court has dismissed the Federal charge against an Amish farmer who refused to register his premises under NAIS. NAIS is the Federal Government’s recent initiative, the National Animal Identification System, which would have required all farm animals to be registered and tracked.

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, organized as a non-profit 501 c (4) based in Austin, Texas, with members in 45 states, advocates and lobbies to prevent unnecessary regulation. FARFA and 22 other organizations had filed an amicus brief in support of Emanuel Miller, Jr. an Old Order Amish farmer in Wisconsin who was charged with failing to register his premises under sec.95.51 and ch. ATCP 17, Wisconsin law.

Miller argued that Article I, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution protected him as follows: “The right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed……nor shall any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience be permitted.”

The following are the arguments of Miller and the Bishop, Noah Schwartz, of his community, to registration:

1. That premise registration already is, or is a strong lead to, the “Mark of the Beast” contrary to the Book of Revelations in the Bible and that it is the path of the antichrist;
2. That premise registration requires Amish to put their faith in the protection of government as opposed to believing that God will protect them;
3. That premises registration would violate the Amish belief that they should remain isolated and separate from the modern world; and
4. That premise registration requires Amish to participate in and/or promote a modern computer based system, with the issuance of a number.

The defense was able to prove that there were several viable alternatives to premise registration, and the State was not able to prove that mandatory registration was essential for animal disease prevention.

The Miller Decision handed out March 9, 2010 stated that the Federal government had met up with such stiff resistance to the National Animal Identification System that it had dropped its program:

“In this regard, the court observes that the United States Federal Government is dropping/severely curtailing its requirements for the National Animal Identification System. New York Times, February 5, 2010, “USDA Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock.”
The lead sentence of the article is:

“Faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration has decided to scrap a national program intended to help authorities quickly identify and track livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak.”

The inference reasonably drawn from this action is that mandatory premises registration and animal identification is not “essential” to disease prevention and tracing.” (Miller Decision Case No. 08-CX-5)

Although the USDA has ended its mandatory NAIS program, it apparently intends to continue the fight by applying the rules to animals moved in interstate commerce, seeking to administer the rules through States and Tribal Nations and implementing the rules through further Federal regulation. See the March 1, 2010, article in Beef Magazine Online.

@ The Red Mountain Post