“The small farmers I have talked to wonder why the DNR is singling out their pigs and is joining forces with the Michigan pork producers on this issue. They believe the association wants all pigs to be raised in confinement facilities, and the best way to achieve that is to make it illegal to raise certain swine, especially those offering alternatives to the white pork raised in confinement.” ~ Michigan State Senator Darwin Booher, The Manistee News Advocate, February 27, 2012
By Pete Kennedy
Over the last two years, we’ve been witnessing a growing trend: the distortion of language and of the meaning of words. Purchasing food at Walmart is considered an “essential activity,” whereas going to a mom-and-pop restaurant is not. Gambling at a casino is also rated an essential activity; worshipping at a church is not. People dying within two weeks of receiving the Covid “vaccine” are counted as unvaccinated; vaccinated individuals testing positive for Covid are called “breakthrough” cases. These are just a few examples.
My guest for this Solari Food Series interview is Mark Baker. Mark went through a similar case involving distortion of language when a swine Invasive Species Order (ISO) issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) threatened to shut down his heritage breed hog operation. The DNR interpreted the order in a way that would make it illegal to raise heritage breed hogs as Mark was doing. This was a direct threat to the livelihood of farmers who had opted for this more nutrient-dense type of pork, but it promised to expand the market share of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Mark owns and operates Baker’s Green Acres in Marion, Michigan, with his wife Jill. In this interview, Mark talks about his battle with the DNR, the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and the Michigan Attorney General to defend his right to make a living. The attack on his business and that of other heritage hog farmers was a forerunner of developments to put producers of real high-quality meat out of business. Mark also discusses Anyone Can Farm, an educational program he has created, which includes classes on meat cutting—a trade in high demand due to the current state of our slaughterhouse infrastructure.
For Let’s Go to the Movies, I recommend a short video, Baker’s Green Acres vs. Michigan DNR—Family Farm Under Attack, explaining what is at stake in Baker’s Green Acres’ legal challenge to Michigan’s swine Invasive Species Order.
In Money & Markets this week, John Titus and Catherine will review current events and continue to discuss the financial and geopolitical news to watch for until the end of the year and beyond. E-mail your questions for Ask Catherine or post at the Money & Markets commentary here.
Please join me this Thursday, November 18th, for this interview with Mark Baker.
Talk to you Thursday!
Related Links
Michigan DNR Going Hog Wild, March 15, 2012
After 2-Year Court Battle Baker’s Pigs Now Legal, March 4, 2012
Heritage Pig Farm Embargoed, USDA and DNR Close in, Activist Post, January 4, 2013
Family Farm Threatened with $700,000 Fine for Raising Pigs, July 8, 2013
Baker’s Green Acres website
Catherine, where did you get this picture?!?!
My fiancee is in the center next to Mark and I’m sporting the blue jacket to the far left almost out of frame 😉
…and now that I look closer, that’s my father in the orange ball cap!
Learned a lot from everyone present at that seed swap and made some lifelong friends in the process. Cool to see it used as the header here.
How cool is that! Will check with Pete on where he got it.
Carbon Capture is a nightmare. The billionaire “environmentalists” are taking over destroying small family farmland to build giant pipelines for transporting carbon waste and store it somewhere.
This is a land grab designed to put small organic farms out of business and force public to buy GMO industrial food.
Controlling what we eat and if we eat is the goal of the Great Reset.
11/9/21 Ice Age Farmer Farmers’ land across the midwest is being confiscated to make way for construction of a massive, 1300-mi long Carbon Capture & Sequestration Pipeline. Town halls in hundreds of counties are full of angry farmers, as county officials announce, “There’s not much we can do.” As the world enters a food crisis, plowing under tens of thousands of acres of the best soil in America is complete madness…or is it a flawlessly calculated attack? Christian breaks it down in this critical Ice Age Farmer broadcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaO1asFmVx8&t=1s
FYI, the “Anyone Can Farm” link above is a bad link. Seems that going to the “Baker’s Green Acres website” link will get you to the info. 😉
Asked a team member to check and they say it is working and is correct.
OK, Catherine, they figured it out and have corrected. Thanks so much for letting me know. Sorry it took two tries.!
This’ll be a good one! Mark is a Michigan farming legend. I’ve had the privilege of visiting his farm – an impressive operation and wonderful family.
I’d implore Solari subscribers who are aspiring or active homesteaders to tune into his Anyone Can Farm weekly livestreams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeZKFIZGJGeo0ijo5MLObtQ
Mark’s a wealth of knowledge, especially in the animal husbandry department, and his wife Jill is a talented herbalist in her own right. Being able to pick their brains on a weekly basis has greatly accelerated my skillset as a young and inexperienced farmer.
Joshua:
Thanks! Good to know.
Of course!
The Bakers are (unsurprisingly) having issues with GooTube as of this week, so they can also be found at https://www.bakersgreenacres.com/show/
Thank you for this. This is great.