VANDALIA, Mich. — Richard Hebron felt the heavy hand of the law on Oct. 13 as he was driving towards Ann Arbor, Mich., his truck loaded with milk and other dairy products.

Armed with a search warrant obtained from the Michigan Depart-ment of Agriculture (MDA), state police seized his load of goods, worth several thousand dollars. In addition, police seized his computer and other items at his home in Vandalia, Mich. in the southwest corner of the state.

Hebron has stopped talking to reporters, but two weeks ago told Business Week that he and his wife were shaken by the whole experience.

“They treated us pretty much like we were drug dealers,” Hebron said.

The MDA is claiming that Hebron broke the law by distributing unpasteurized milk through a licensed retail establishment, according to Katherine Fedder, director of the food and dairy division of the MDA.

“Our top priority is food safety,” Fedder said. “Most of the population has certain expectations” regarding the labeling and processing of food.

This incident involves the idea of cow-shares or herd-shares, the theory that a person may drink unpasteurized milk legally as a part-owner of a cow or herd of cows, rather than as a retail customer.

According to Fedder, the MDA hasn’t taken enforcement actions against people who engage in this practice, even though Michigan law doesn’t mention cow-shares or herd-shares. Fedder said clarification in the law is needed.

Hebron has distributed unpasteurized milk to members of his own Family Foods Cooperative for a fee of $6.25 a gallon. Until the milk bust, Hebron used the Morgan & York wine and specialty shop in Ann Arbor as one of his distribution sites, but the store has been told to stop.

“When there is distribution going on at a licensed retail food establishment, we believe the law is very clear,” Fedder said.

This story stretches across the state and into Indiana, because Hebron has been getting some or all of his product from a farmer who’s located in Indiana. Right now no one is saying who the farmer is.

Denise Derrer, public information director of the Indiana Board of Animal Health, said the authorities have identified the farmer.

She also said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become involved in the case, because unpasteurized milk has been moved across state lines.

According to Derrer, federal law bars the interstate transport of unpasteurized milk. As of Friday it was unclear where the FDA was at in its investigation.

Fedder refused to provide any more details about the MDA’s investigation, except to say that it involves more than just the distribution of unpasteurized milk. She said that other dairy products may be involved.

Cynthia Chelius, one of the original members of the Ann Arbor group to join Hebron’s cooperative, believes that the MDA is being heavy-handed.

“They could have come to us at any time and told us that it isn’t a good idea and we would have moved,” Chelius said. “We didn’t realize we were doing anything illegal by using the back of the store. We have a new location, a private residence.”

Chelius said an undercover agent with the MDA affiliated himself with the Ann Arbor group, tried to buy milk from Hebron without actually joining the cooperative, but wasn’t allowed to do so.

Fedder said she is concerned about the fact that Hebron’s belongings are in police custody, and stated they should be returned to him “within a matter of weeks.” The MDA is working with the Cass County prosecutor to bring charges against Hebron.

This Michigan farm news was published in the Nov. 8, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.