Trautman Family Farm

It's out of committee. It's being readied to vote on the floor. Then signed by the governor. Exciting times. Nerve wracking times. Time to farm: And I am distracted from the task at hand which is to seed hay, pasture, oats, oats&peas, spread compost, fieldwork, long days. And yet here I am.

The hard work has yet to be done.

How important the next 20 months are - to getting the permanent law we really want - NOW is the time we need to come together like never before - in safety, with pride and confidence.

Wisconsin's Proud Family Dairymen.

We have been, and we will - make all of Wisconsin proud; all the world, when Raw milk becomes legal.

We can do this safely. We can save farms. We can help people.

Stay tuned here. There is certainly more coming. There is leadership, there is more farmers, better farmers, a time like none you've seen before: Happy farmers, happy Wisconsin

PROUD WISCONSIN DAIRYMAN

Scott Trautman

Styx "Fooling Yourself"

Written by tommy shaw
Lead vocals by tommy shaw

You see the world through your cynical eyes
You’re a troubled young man I can tell
You’ve got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand’s wet with sweat and your head needs a rest

And you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it
You’re kidding yourself if you don’t believe it
How can you be such an angry young man
When your future looks quite bright to me
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man

You’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it
You’re kidding yourself if you don’t believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You’re the one they can’t beat and you know it
Come on, let’s see what you’ve got
Just take your best shot and don’t blow it

You’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it
You’re killing yourself if you don’t believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You’re the one they can’t beat and you know it
Come on, let’s see what you’ve got
Just take your best shot and don’t blow it

Time.

 Never enough! Wasted time. Valuable time. Learning time. Action time.

Once it goes by, it's gone. And we've all experienced "boy that's x amount of time I can't get back". Wasted time.

As farmers - just as I recognized as an entrepreneur - as others with a keen sense of the world - recognize and appreciate - and value - time.

We are coming into a new farming season. Every day is decision after decision, made through evaluation of all things; what help do I have, what resources do I have, and importantly, what weather - what in the realm of things I can't control - but can plan for - are coming up. Then make the best decisions you can and don't be too much of an armchair quarterback on yourself.

For many people, their work time is all valued the same. Talk to me now, later, it's all the same. Not for me. For me to stop for a day right now - and not, say, make that hay, or sow those seeds, that hour I take to talk to you could cost me thousands of dollars. It has, many times. An hour has made a difference. 15 minutes even!

And I am having to make those decisions - today for example - is beautiful - and I will be most of the day walking around with Glenn Goldschmidt, ace inspector for DATCP, attempting to get inspected and ducks in a row to get our milk off the farm - in 10 gallon cans mind you - crazy as that is - to be made into cheese. Yep, that's a good use of time.

Yet this is three weeks in the waiting, to get Glenn's time, he's just all booked up, and has so much more important on his schedule than to get this farmer back making money, after 5 months of not making money. All those items on Glenn's schedule: Way more important than that. You see how I rate with Glenn. Yet, in this three weeks he has had over five hours into arguing about getting milk into a cheese plant. Being a complete idiot about it, and after all that, we're right back where we started at and that's going to be fine.

Isn't that funny? Glenn doesn't have time knowing my money is on the line, but he does find time to argue nonsense, where it wastes someone else's time too. And I would love to see just what was so important on that schedule of his. Makes you wonder about the attitude of our public servants, doesn't it?  Every holiday off, best overall benefits package on the planet, as compared to a works 365 days a year, and especially in my case, dairy farmer with no income, I can wait. There you go! Of course I should crawl in on my belly and be grateful, right?

This story has a happy ending though (update- no it doesn't); that ending is going to be written today, but it's going to be happy because of a good egg -- within DATCP -- cutting through the cancer that is the arrogance, complacency and incompetence I and others have seen so very much of within DATCP.

I called Glenn's boss yesterday morning, and I lit into him. See, Glenn out and out lied to me the day before. I don't know how you feel about people lying to you, but it sends me straight to angry. I won't be treated like that. Glenn's boss, Mike Barnett, though, talked with me and took what I feel is a great attitude. I'm the customer. He took the time to understand - and appreciate my situation - and my time. He offered and has acted as a coordinator on this, and I believe, as much as a giant ego like Glenn Goldschmidt is capable of, given direction to Glenn to not be a giant ass like he has been - his compulsion of how to act against someone he thinks he can treat that way.

Mike gets it - most probably on a human basis - what is right and wrong - but also recognizing what a black eye on DATCP - knowing I write about all this stuff - and Glenn Goldschmidt, thinking he can treat people like crap with impunity would be.

And Mike gets that strategically - mainly because I explained it to him - how it is in everyone's interests for us to get back making money from milk - legally. Otherwise it sure strikes a person as a vendetta - punitive - and where's the place for that in government against it's citizens most especially by government employees, right? We should definitely find out more about that!

So today we will find out. I'm going to have my video camera with me. The deal is this - I won't make everyone uncomfortable filming the whole thing as long as Glenn isn't being the complete ass he has been to this point. Glenn takes a good attitude, does his job, works well with others, and we all get along just famously. Glenn can't control his compulsion to be an idiot, and I pull out the camera, and we can see how much of an idiot Glenn can be tomorrow on YouTube, he creates a crisis. Seems like we've played this all before.

I want to mention again the respect I have for the inspectors of DATCP. Every one I have met have been great, and they get it. Many others too numerous to mention - great - get it - have and show respect for their customers, the public.

Wish me well today - it is and has been my desire not to have to be 'rough' but to do what I love: Farm. Dairy. Help people. Building a brighter future for people - working towards more farms, not less. I am grateful there are those within government that do get it, and only hope eventually we will see more of them and less of the cancer.

I want very much to say here - tomorrow (tragically can't do it)- that Glenn was great. He was a professional, he did not lie to me, he worked through any issues with intelligence - and not belligerence - and that all of us accomplished something valuable today: getting one farm back to work. Any of your meetings and activities today that important?

PROUD Wisconsin Dairyman, Scott Trautman

Postscript: Glenn controlled himself at the dairy plant, but was unable to control himself at our farm. He put poor Patrick Zaffino through hell, who I think was embarrassed by what zeal Glenn, who wasn't even there to do a Grade A inspection, was pulling, and Glenn put extreme pressure on him - like as in his job, I'm sure, to fail us. We will be talking to lots of inspectors about just what they are passing and failing.

I'm here to tell you that my less than 2 year old facility, fully approved by DATCP, is a model milking operation. And Glenn, because of his inability to control his hatred of me in particular, and farmers/raw milk in general, found non-issues to punish me.

Again: A facility that has not changed in design or implementation since DATCP approved it 2 years ago, inspected it 4 times with no problems, as close as 2 weeks before Foremost Farms dropped us and DATCP went on the attack, and yesterday Glenn made 7 issues and forced our inspector (new guy to us, they rotate, as always, seems like a really nice fellow) to not allow our Grade A license. Tyranny people, tyranny, and a government official (Glenn Goldschmidt) going on a personal vendetta using his official position to punish a (if I do say so myself) great little Wisconsin Family Dairy Farm because the owner - me - would dare to speak against DATCP and for raw milk.

Mike, need your help bud. All of Wisconsin but especially DATCP needs your help. Glenn is out of control - like some others at especially Food Safety - who are bringing suffering to good family farms. Put them on a leash and make them treat their customers with respect and use common sense.

The March 10th hearing was a great day for

Farmers

               Consumers

                                 Democracy

                                                   Wisconsin

Best estimates are 800-1000 raw milk supporters. 300 in the main hall. 2 overflow rooms, bang! Immediately full, open up 2 more, bam! full.

A lot of familiar faces, a lot of new faces.

Margo Redmond - she's emailed me twice reaching out to me, I in my funk never responded until afterwards. She was on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal, and her fiery comments were right on, and a great way to start the hearing.

The committee chairpeople - outstanding - committee members - questions - outstanding. Sorry to keep you folks out so long, but we've been waiting a long long time for someone to listen to us.

See, we're the future. They - as in the Germaphobes, the Sterile Earth set, they are losing ground fast. And I think most of them see it coming. The remarkable thing about the opponents at the hearing - every last one - shared these characteristics -

1. They were paid to be there that day.

2. They were speaking someone else's words

3. Not a single one offered any kind of compromise or interest in working towards a solution other than theirs.

4. Had not looked at any materials other than their own. Ever.

5. FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR

There's more, but that's quite enough. Reflect on that.

The committee members asked great questions. I think every last one of them got in on it. Outstanding.

A question not asked of our dear sanitarians. What of the opposition - the many very good books, well cited, out there about this different opinion than yours - have you read any of that?

Answer: No. Why not? It's not scientific. A: Yes it is. Repeat ad nauseum.

Doesn't that strike you funny? No curiosity. Strong opinions (from "learned" "professionals") they know hurt other people and are unwilling to even consider other points of view or information. Hmmm. What kind of descriptive words do justice to that kind of person. Well one uppity farmer that feels pretty much lynched has an idea or two on that.

Senators & Assemblypersons: It is time for Legal Raw Milk. Make it happen. Soon. Without foolishness. Reasonable - responsible - safe - legal - and especially unhassled by DATCP. Legal Raw Milk Now.

We as farmers: We get it. We know you want to feel comfortable that we're going to do this thing safely. Thing is, we have been. It's just been in hiding. Now you get to see us in full sun - beacons - shining examples of the very best of Wisconsin Dairy. The Very Best: That's us. Not Dean Foods. Not Rosendale CAFO. The scrappy and definitely not dead Wisconsin Family Dairymen & women. We don't want handouts. We want our own customers and with that, a fair shake at making OUR OWN MONEY, not taking government charity.

This will be an interesting week readers. We're all going to see the best or the worst from DATCP. It's inspection week at Trautman Family Farm. Doing it 'their' way. Tune in here for whether I have new respect for the people of DATCP, or another new 'farmer being lynched' experience. I'd rather say 'respect' than 'lynch', but does anyone from DATCP think beyond their egos to see the value in helping rather than antagonizing? We shall see, we shall see.

Scott Trautman, PROUD Wisconsin Dairyman

COMING SOON: 10 ways to punish Dean Foods the Farmer Killers and not the farmers shipping to them (not for long).

 

I have taken time away from the raw milk movement.

We have much on our minds that needs our focus.

The survival of our farm. Money. Need it.

Working towards getting our milk paid for - into artisan cheese.

Got the milk; got the artist, got the tank, what we don't got are ze proper permits. So I have been busy.

I would have bet money the hearings would have been canceled.

I am very happy to be wrong.

"Only 2325 Wisconsin dairies call it quits last year". - Hoard's Dairyman Feb 1 2010

Whooo! Hoooo! Party! We got'r on the run now!

But Wait. What's that number going to do when milk prices come back, cows become worth something again? The bank goes Flick! Here's another one! According to Pete Hardin of The Milkweed, stacks of them go on the market. And the big get bigger. Think the poultry and pork industry. Very vertical. A handful of farms with mega thousands of cows. For each of them: 1000 family farms must die.

Legal Raw Milk really does stand in the way of a lot of good business done at the expense  of dairy farmers, doesn't it? With Legal Raw Milk, we can say Stuff your crappy price. $70/cwt with the equipment we have now. That's $6/gallon. Safe. Our own customers.

That's $4000 - 6000 per month our herd of 22 milk cows was contributing to our farm. But imagine if it was just $1000 per month. Or $500. Ask the local hardware store, ask the local grocery, ask the implement dealer, dairy dealer, restaurants, what they think about dairyman having more money to spend at their stores would mean. That contact with the customer - that is ALWAYS a good thing. You'll have higher quality raw milk.

Give us Legal Raw Milk, and I will paint a New Golden Age of Dairy for Wisconsin. Farmers Win : We All Win. Not a decline of a couple thousand being a good thing, but gaining dairy farms being a good thing.

Support this bill by coming out to Eau Claire March 10th. Let your presence show you stand with your farmer. You have drawn the line - no more rights being taken away - give us back our rights - the right to choose what we take in our bodies. The right to support good farms.

Wisconsin -- RISE UP AND SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR OUR DAIRY TRADITION. Be there, Eau Claire, March 10th 2010 : A historic day.

Scott Trautman