FIGHTING FOR YOUR RIGHTS
By Karen Brown
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance recently celebrated its first
year of operation. Established for the purpose of protecting the rights and
freedoms of America’s small farms and individuals involved in agriculture,
FARFA has become known throughout the country as a political organization with
clout. In less than a year, the organization has opened several state chapters
and joined individual members in 23 states.
Executive Director and Founder of FARFA, Judith McGeary, has worked tirelessly
in the past year to raise awareness about the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS). She has been at the helm of a ground swell movement that has
created enough political pressure in Texas and several other states to cause
bills opposing mandatory NAIS to be introduced in state legislatures. Those
bills are now being voted on with the freedom to own animals without government
intervention on the table.
McGeary’s success in fighting NAIS is due to her relentless search for
and representation of the facts surrounding the hidden agendas and money motives
of internationally powerful companies that have been secretly developing NAIS
for as long as 20 years. An eloquent speaker and lawyer by trade, McGeary stands
out as a calm and reasonable voice in political venues where her message is
often unwelcome.
Prior to establishing FARFA, McGeary practiced as an attorney doing a combination
of administrative law, litigation, and appeals. She and her husband live on
a small farm outside of Austin, with Quarter Horses, cows, sheep, and heritage-breed
chickens and turkeys. After seeing first-hand how government regulations benefit
industrial agriculture at the expense of family farms, she became convinced
that independent agriculture needed a voice. She quit her legal practice to
form FARFA in April 2006 after the Texas Animal Health Commission proposed regulations
to make premises registration mandatory in Texas.
While NAIS has been the main focus this past year, FARFA’s mission extends
to all issues that threaten the livelihood and lifestyle of the rural resident
and owners of livestock, including horses. Eminent domain, regulation of direct
sales, protection of small farm trade from being abolished by corporate agriculture
or from unnecessary financial burden, are just a few issues that FARFA will
focus on. FARFA also works together with other organizations that have similar
common interests, such as those fighting the Trans-Texas Corridor and the Weston
A Price Foundation.
FARFA, through its Board of Directors and its members, performs a variety of
functions to protect the rights of independent agriculture. FARFA works directly
with legislators at the State and National level to develop bills opposing mandatory
NAIS. A lobbyist has been hired to fight NAIS in Congress. Town Hall Meetings
have been hosted and organized all over Texas. McGeary has written dozens of
articles that appear in periodicals ranging from local to national distribution.
Informational materials have been developed and provided to the public in over
a dozen states to educate the public and state legislators.
Membership in FARFA is a vote for retaining individual rights and freedom from
overbearing government interference in agricultural operations. Whether a person
is directly affected or not, lending one’s support to this organization
is a step toward preserving the way of life of all Americans. For the price
of lunch, you can add your name to the thousands across the country that have
made the decision to stand up for their rights.
Go to www.farmandranchfreedom.org or call (866) 687-6452 (toll free) to learn
more about what this organization is doing and how to join. Membership starts
as low as $10. Becoming a member of FARFA helps the fight against the NAIS.
Your membership fees help fund FARFA's work - but even more importantly, more
members means the government pays more attention to what it has to say.
When FARFA testified in front of the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture,
one of the first questions the Senator asked was: "How many members do
you have?" In other words, he wanted to know why he and other senators
should listen to FARFA. FARFA bases its battle on truth and facts. But the number
of members any organization represents dictates how much the legislators will
heed the message. If you have even a small interest in agriculture or are concerned
about the continued violation of your Constitutional rights, take a few minutes
to join FARFA.
Every voice counts, and each is heard more clearly when in unison.
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