I didn't realize that this was still going on. I assume you guys were
aware of this.

Joy

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [ok-sus] Update on Charles
Horn and the "Felonious Chicken Caper"
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:19:48 -0500
From: Robert Waldrop <bwaldrop@...>
To: <ok-sus@...>



I have received a lot of email over the last few
months about the situation with Charles Horn, but
I haven't had much to say in response because
there wasn't much to say. Charles and his lawyer,
Harlan Hentges, have been in discussions with the
Department of Agriculture for months, but those
discussions have now come to an impasse.

Charles Horn is the only certified organic poultry
producer in the state of Oklahoma. He is a member
of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative. His chickens
were the targets of the Dept of Ag in the
"Felonious Chicken Caper". Charles' family have
been farming their land since 1889. They are
members of the Mennonite Church. I mention this
because part of our history is that the Mennonites
sought refuge in western Oklahoma to escape from
European tyranny. Charles' two sons farm with
him, and this is important because it represents
the next generation of family farmers.

The Department of Agriculture has two accusations
against Charles: (1) They claim that he has not
registered with the Department of Agriculture as a
"Farm Poultry Slaughter Operation" under the
Oklahoma Poultry Inspection Act. (2) They claim
that he interfered with a lawful inspection by the
Dept of Agriculture.

Charles opposes both these allegations. According
to his attorney, regarding the first accusation,
Charles is not required to register with the state
because he processes fewer birds than the
threshhold required in the law for registration.

Charles opposes the second accusation because
ACCORDING TO THE DEPT OF AG'S OWN RULES,
inspections of facility and records can only occur
at a REASONABLE time and ONLY upon notifying him
of the inspection. Those are their rules. The
Department of Ag came to his farm during harvest,
while he was in the field, and without talking to
him began inspecting his facility and records.
There is no way that an inspection during harvest
can be considered to be a "reasonable" time. He
was not notified the inspection was beginning. So
the inspectors were in violation of their own
rules.

Charles discovered the inspection in process when
he returned to his barn to get a tool because his
equipment in the field was broken down. He told
the inspectors to stop. The Dept of Ag claims that
this constitutes "interference" with the "lawful
action" of their inspector.

Since negotiations have failed to produce an
amicable resolution of the situation, the case is
set for a PUBLIC hearing on July 24, 2006, at the
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture on North
Lincoln.

But as with anything else, there are going to be
expenses relating to this hearing, including
expert testimony and depositions.

I would therefore like to appeal for donations to
help pay for these legal expenses.. We have some
donations previously received, which will go
towards these out of pocket expenses, but they are
far short of what is needed (about $5,000 just for
expenses for expert testimony and depositions).
That is a shocking figure, no doubt, but that is
what the State is betting on. Farmers rarely have
the time and money needed to fight these illegal
regulatory actions, so over time precedents get
set and the noose closes even tighter on the small
independent family farmer. If we do not draw a
line in the sand, and say clearly "Thus far and NO
MORE", then that's one more nail in the coffin of
local food systems.

If somebody's house or barn had burned down, we
would pitch in to help, and this situation should
be no different. Nobody needs to mortgage their
farm or house to help, but if everybody pitches in
a little, then there will be a lot of help. You
can send a check, payable to the Oklahoma Food
Cooperative, to 1524 NW 21, OKC, OK 73106. Please
put LEGAL EXPENSES on the check so we know it is a
donation rather than a bill payment. All
donations will be used for legal expenses relating
to this.

THANKS to everybody for your support in this
matter.

Bob Waldrop, president
Oklahoma Food Cooperative
1524 NW 21
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405-613-4688
www.oklahomafood.coop

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