CONGRATULATIONS. YEA ! VICTORY ! Soooooo happy for you. I watched the raid on youtube and have been following the goings-on. It was just ridiculous. Is your farm open to the public for visits ?

Congratulations. Can we talk ?

Super Congrats Michael and friends!! This is great news. I met you last May at the CSNN Conference. Look forward to trying raw milk soon...been way too long. I sell a raw product too and so happy that raw is getting the attention it deserves. Raw is great! Once again, SUPER CONGRATS!! Your strength is something grand. Thanks. Cheryl Millett BSc RNCP CCIr

So where exactly is the freedom of choice for the cows forced into this? Michael Schmidt could have simply chosen a different way to earn a living before any of this came to court, whereas the cows involved in the dairy industry (and let's not kid ourselves; Schmidt IS in the dairy industry) are confined from birth, forcibly inseminated (also known as "rape") year after year to ensure they lactate at their highest capacity, and have their babies stolen from them (typically within the first day or two of birth) to be either sold to the veal industry if male or sent off to the same fate as their mother's if female (after all, the milk that baby drinks is not able to be sold). This torturous and degrading cycle repeats for some 4-6 years at which point the cows are so spent from the strain put on them that they no longer produce milk at capacities that are deemed to be profitable. At that point they're murdered for their flesh which is typically considered of such low grade in the industry that it's only fit to be ground up for such things as hamburgers and hot dogs.

I honestly can't see how anyone who enslaves, tortures, and facilitates the murders of living, feeling, beings could ever be considered a symbol of freedom and I would encourage anyone who disagrees with the above to answer one question: Would you willingly submit yourself, or a loved one, to the same treatment that the cows enslaved to produce milk are subjected to?

Brilliant! Thanks for the efforts - hopefully this will lead to easier access to proper milk.

This was a long overdue and very necessary wake up call for the CROWN. They really do believe in a limitless power over the people, and unless or until more people stand up and push back, the CROWN will know no boundaries. Today Michael exposed an important boundary between PRIVATE rights of people, and COMMERCIAL regulations designed for corporations.

Now that the destructive crown case has been put to bed, I am happy that you will now be free to carry on with creative endeavors and look forward to your next symphony in the barn!!!

Thanks as always for your strength !!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congratulations !! Just goes to show that every so often the justice system works as it should !!

Congratulations! Your conviction and strength are admirable. We need more folk like you in our world.

Woo hooo!!!
Thanks Michael for seeing this through. You're a stronger man than I. You have helped the food freedom movement immensely.
Thank you.

I have little doubt that the government would have crushed Michael had he been alone or only with a handful of poor farmers supporting him. There is strength in numbers and even far greater strength when those numbers include high quality and well organized individuals acting in unison.

This is a good day. Less laws (especially unfair and outright corrupt laws) means more freedom. Congratulations to you Michael and to your supporters. Thank you for giving us more freedom, or more appropriately for this case, thank you for restoring our ancient freedom that was unjustly taken away from us by 'our' government. (For me it's not over, there are more freedoms, even more important than the right to sell raw milk, which were taken away from us that must be restored.)

Congratulations!

Please provide details about how to join the co-operative.

I just want to congratulate you Mr. Schmidt on your legal win. Fantastic work. Good on you for sticking with it and pursuing something so important as healthy food and consumer choice.

Thank you Michael for your courage and fortitude. I have been very interested in this story. My grandmother was brought up on raw milk and when she went to the doctor at age 65, her doctor told her that she had the bones of a 40 year old. My husband and daughter are lactose-intolerant and I believe it's because the milk in the grocery stores has had all it's digestive enzymes destroyed through pasturization. I would like to have access to raw milk that has been produced on a clean farm with healthy animals and I am glad that my right to choose has been held up in court. The milk section in the grocery store literally stinks.

Congratulations and Victory for the small farmer! Can I work for you! The greatness of a Nation lies in its stewards of the land, the farmer, small in international size but mighty in spirit, armies may move and run, but producers of life, steadfast to the land, bravely feed the world!
I drink whole raw milk and believe it is a key element in my avoiding illness.

Paul, regarding your comments about enslaved cows:

These sort of rants come from reading about things, not living them.

Do you have many wild and feral cattle in your neighborhood? Would you welcome them there?

Domestic cattle and humans have had a symbiotic relationship for many thousands of years; we take care of them and vice versa.

Assuming your agenda were fulfilled, how many cattle would you expect to see? Do you think the whole population of dairy animals should just go away?

Yes there are abuses in industrial agriculture; farming does not fit with the industrial model. I don't think this farmer treats his animals as the industrial inputs you describe. No farmers that I know do, and I know quite a few. Confined from birth? That is just silly and shows you have no experience on a real dairy farm. You have read some propaganda and are repeating it. A man selling raw milk from a herd he cares for is not your industrial model.

Just wondering if you have the same attitude towards the poor exploited vegetables that are ripped up by their roots and eaten raw and alive?

Michael Astera

Congratulations!
And how does one join the co-op?

So is Micheal going to get awarded legal fees and damages or is the courts going to screw him.

Congratuiations Michael and your family and all who share in your co-op!!!

It's about time the truth comes out on the health and safety of raw milk vs the unhealthy factory farmed product they sell as milk in stores. As a co-op member in the US I support all Canadian and American's rights to choose healthy, unadulterated food and milk produced by family farms as nature intended without harmful chemicals, gmo's, or hormones.

Sending you all prayers and blessings.

Very nice. Now perhaps we can be rid of the ridiculous law as well. This journal would hazard a guess more people died from choking on chicken bones than the evil raw milk

http://statismwatch.ca/2010/01/21/court-approves-raw-milk-co-op/

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST PIECES OF NEWS IN THE LONG TIME!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I always admired people who live up to their principles and fearlessly face the Matrix.
It is very inspiring to know that wisdom and common sense prevails and brainless uptight fearful bureaucrats, the "what if" gang, lost their game.

WAY TO GO!!!!

I was talking to a friend a few days ago and at some point the Michael Schmidt case came up. We started to talk about farming and at one point he told me that to be able to sell milk 'legally' to the 'milk board' (whatever that really is) you must purchase a quota, where one quota for one cow costs about $1,000,000. The milk farmer who sells to the board must also give them very precise amounts of milk otherwise there are fines whether you are above or below some amount. Is this true? If so, that would be EXTREME EXTORTION (sanctioned by 'our' government).

Herzlichen Glueckwunsch Michael. Das sind super Neuigkeiten. Ich freue mich sehr fuer Dich und Deine Familie. Ist doch schoen, dass ich ein deutscher Dickschaedel durchsetzen kann ;-)
Toll!

zinn would be proud!

This is the best news I've woken up to in a long time!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Michael, Family and Friends!

(Remember me? I'm the daughter of that Turkish couple who used to visit your bakery and attend your operas in the barn. My parents live in Southampton, Ontario full time now and were wondering if they could buy any of your cheese and yogurt products anywhere in the region. Perhaps others can help me too.)


Ayse

Congratulations from Norway!! I fight for the right to sell raw milk in Norway and your work and victory is very important for us too. Thank you!

Whoo Hoo and Moo Moo!
Congratulations Michael and everyone.
Will this apply in BC?
Sorry about this great cost and injustice to Michael and all of us.

my most sincere congradulations to the schmidt family .. this was truly the best possible news.
i am currently doing a cow share in michigan but am hopefull that now i will be able to find a farm in lambton county which will allow me to cow share closer to home.
thanks for all your work and sweat throughout this horrible ordeal.
If anyone can help out with a lambton location i would appreciate an e-mail
thanks
ron
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

CONGRATULATION
I always drank raw milk and I just cant understand the goverment.

I will look for your farm and support you

This whole story is astounding. I heard about it first from my parents in Texas. They are small organic farmers there and had been buying raw milk from a co-op (my father loves it!). They mentioned how on edge everyone there is because of similar irrational persecution. I cannot believe it... it is jaw dropping and ridiculous when you really think about it. Anyway, thank you for enduring and fighting this wrong. You and your family are an inspiration to people everywhere who want the simple right to eat whole, natural-state foods. JUSTICE WAS SERVED!

I was also wondering if I could get more information about your co-operative. Feel free to contact me through email.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DESERVED THIS VICTORY!

Amazing victory. Have been watching the food debate for the last few yrs. Just stumbled upon this article on atlanticfarms.com. Great site with news of all farming issues. Congratulations Mike! I worked on a traditional family beef farm with my grandfather and uncles and cousins. I would not have the values or be the man I am today without that wonderful place of sanctuary. Recently I worked as a herd manager for a 100 head dairy farm in Antigonish, NS. What an amazing industry, we had our milk raw from the tank every morning and I miss it terribly. Keep up the fight, you are definitely on the right track. I smell a speaking tour if we can fund it.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! And thank you for your perseverance and commitment for fighting this battle. You have won a tremendous battle, not just for yourself, but for the many who want access to REAL food. We are truly grateful.