A Missouri Department of Conservation representative told some 100 property rights advocates last week that he would like to work out an acceptable agreement on a boundary dispute with neighbors joining the Massengill property the department was given in eastern Douglas County. The news came at the Ozarks Property Rights Congress meeting last Thursday.
The property rights group also heard from a Laclede county man who has been charged by the Missouri Attorney General for selling ray milk to undercover agents. They were also updated on apparent efforts to implement National Animal Identification System premise registrations through sale barns.
Tom Draper, forestry regional supervisor for MDC, told the group that in addition to his desire to meet with the neighboring landowners, he would recommend that in future transactions MDC study established boundaries and accept or reject the property acknowledging those boundaries rather than doing surveys later. These statements were greeted by applause from the property rights group. Draper gave a brief overview of the department’s purpose but devoted most of his one hour plus time to taking questions and sometimes pointed comments from the crowded audience. His responses were considered by OPRC president Russell Wood as candid and “showed he was listening to their concerns.”
Armand Bechard told OPRC about the lawsuit charging him with selling raw milk in an unlawful manner by offering it from a parking lot at a natural market in Springfield. State law requires milk sold from stores or farmers markets be pasteurized, Attorney General Chris Koster says.
The law says raw milk may be sold from a farm or delivered directly from a farm. Bechard has refused to sign a consent decree, and Koster is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction against Bechard and to require him to pay the cost of the lawsuit.
Doreen Hannes spoke to the group about a development indicating that “some veterinarians at some sale barns” are starting to put National Animal Identification System tags in some cows replacing the metal eartag used for decades to track diseased cows. It was pointed out that the NAIS tag has to be connected to a premise number assigned to the producer. This appears to be in violation of Missouri state law that prohibits forcing premise registration upon animal owners. Even if an animal owner discovers his property has been given a premise number because of the NAIS tag applied at the sale barn and wants it removed, he could be deemed as “part of an ongoing disease investigation or disease monitoring or control program” and denied exclusion under state law. She also warned about the food safety acts moving through congress that would put home grown food under federal control.
Two of the neighbors joining the Massengill tract were at the meeting and huddled with Draper afterwards to set a time for them to all get together to come up with a solution to the boundary question.
Wood called the meeting very productive and was glad MDC came and listened to property rights concerns. “Tom Draper is to be commended for his response to our concerns and his providing cooperation and information,” he said.
He also praised the large crowds who have turned out at meetings to voice their concerns with MDC and show their support for the affected neighbors. “These folks give of their own time and pay their own expenses traveling sometimes from quite a distance to attend these meetings,” he said.