May 8, 2023 • 41 mins
This week, I ran across the story of Paul Strobel, a farmer in Western NY who had a run-in with some animal rights activists that left him shaken and worried that they might try to steal his livestock.
His story reminded me of a farmer near me several years ago name Joshua Rockwood who did have his animals taken under the guise of animal rights. He was able to fight and get his animals returned to him.
On this episode, we talk about how we as homesteaders should be vigilant and how we can take steps to avoid problems with animal rights activists.
Enjoy!!
Brian!!
Story of Paul Strobel:
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/livestock/rescue-or-theft-animal-welfare-activists-have-new-york-farm-community-on-edge/article_7614d3b2-e44d-11ed-b2fd-efaf86e867d8.html
Story of Joshua Rockwood:
https://www.bedlamfarm.com/2021/09/08/the-joshua-rockwood-story-a-good-man-a-happy-ending-a-father-of-the-army-of-good/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brian (00:03):
I'm your host, Brian Wells, and I'm a fourth
generation homesteader Since2008, my family and I have been
homesteading here in beautifulupstate New York.
In 2019, I launched theHomestead Journey Podcast to
help people just like you getstarted and find success on
their journey towardsself-sufficiency, self-reliance,
(00:24):
and sustainability.
This is the Homestead journeyand this.
Is season four.
Well, hello everyone and welcometo another episode of the
Homestead Journey podcast.
My name is Brian Wells.
I am coming to you from three BFarm and Homestead here in
(00:47):
beautiful upstate New York.
This is in fact season four, andthis is episode 155 of the
Homestead Journey Podcast.
So if you are a longtimelistener, well thank you so much
for spending part of your weekwith me, and if you're brand new
to this podcast, well, I'm gladyou found us and welcome, and I
(01:09):
hope that you do find ithelpful, you find it enjoyable,
and that we have a longrelationship, one with another.
And if there's any way I canhelp you, and this goes for you,
old timers as well, but you knowthis, of course, reach out to me
via email,brian@thehomesteadjourney.net.
I would love to hear from you ifthere's any way I can be
(01:31):
helpful, if there's questionsyou have that you would like my
take on.
Well, certainly I am alwaysavailable.
You can also reach out to me onall of our social media sites.
The links are in the show notes.
But if you just go to Instagramor Facebook and look for the
Homestead Journey podcast, I amsure you will find me there.
(01:53):
But folks, it has been a very,very busy week here on the
homestead.
It's that time of the year whenthings are really starting to
ramp up and we finally got somegood weather, which meant I was
actually able to get out intothe garden and spend quite a bit
of time this week.
So I'm excited to tell you allabout that.
I am also looking forward tosharing with you today's topic.
(02:17):
We're gonna be talking about acurrent event, which is not
something that I do very often,but there was a news article
that I ran across with regardsto a small scale farmer out in
Western New York who had a runin with some, animal rights
activists.
And so we're going to talk alittle bit about that.
And we're also going to talkabout a situation that took
(02:40):
place with a farmer here locallya few years ago that I actually,
I don't wanna say witnessedfirsthand, but I did go to some
court dates for that farmer.
So anyhow, looking forward tojumping into that topic.
But before we do so, as always,let's jump on over to this
week's homestead happenings, andI will bring you up to speed
(03:02):
with what we've been doing here.
On three B Farm in Homestead.
So as I said, busy, busy weekhere on the homestead and also
off the homestead.
We'll talk a little bit about acouple of things that, uh, I did
away from the homestead thisweek as well.
(03:24):
First of all, let's just jumpinto one of those things.
This week started the practicesfor Washington County.
Concert band now.
That's something that I was apart of pre Covid in 2019.
Both my son and I joined theWashington County concert band.
He was in eighth grade at thetime.
Uh, I had not played mytrombone, I think since from
(03:47):
about the time he was born.
So we're talking, it was 14years about, I think, That it
had been since I played atrombone, but I got it out,
joined the band, had an absoluteblast.
It was so great for him too.
It really stretched himmusically, and it was just a, a,
a great experience for him.
Unfortunately, COVID happened,and so for the last three years,
(04:09):
he and I have not been able tobe a part of it.
But this year I decided, I'mgetting back into it.
Unfortunately, due to hisschedule, he's not able to join
me.
But it's just a lot of fun toget involved in things like that
with within your community and,and folks, the reason why I
bring that up on a home settingpodcast is because I want you to
(04:30):
realize that there is more tohomesteading than just hanging
out on your homestead.
I really do feel like.
Home setting thrives within thecontext of community, and so
whatever it is that brings youjoy in your life.
Outside of homesteading, uh,pursue those things and make
(04:51):
those connections with, withpeople.
You never know where thoseconnections are going to lead.
They may lead right back tohomesteading and they may not
lead back to homesteading atall.
And it's all good.
In fact, I think it's veryimportant for us to have hobbies
and activities outside ofhomesteading.
To help us avoid getting burnedout.
(05:13):
And so for me, I love music.
I'm involved in the choir at ourchurch.
I sing on the praise team at ourchurch.
There's a community choir that Ising in in the fall.
I I, I love music.
And so this is just another way,another avenue for me to pursue
that and meet people in mycommunity form those
(05:34):
relationships and just really,really have, uh, a lot of fun.
And it's just something for methat is really a great stress
relief.
And so I would, I would justhighly encourage you, whatever
it is, If you enjoy softball andyou can get into some kind of a
softball league or Frisbee golfor whatever it is, um, something
(05:56):
that brings you joy and gets youoff the homestead, I would
strongly encourage you to dothat.
I just wanted to bring that upand really strongly encourage
you to not neglect those thingsthat feed your soul.
I think that's just a great wayto say it.
For me, music feeds my soul, andso I'm just so excited to be
(06:20):
able to get back into that.
But on the homestead, it was avery busy week.
The, the first part of the weekwas very rainy.
We'd had.
Probably a week and a half ofrain, which I'm not complaining
about.
I jokingly said to a friend ofmine at work that in August
we'll be begging for that rain.
So I, I'm, I'm not complainingat all, but it, it certainly
(06:40):
does make it hard to get intothe garden and get things done.
And so finally this week, Ithink it was Wednesday evening,
maybe it was Thursday evening, Ijust said, enough is enough.
I don't care how wet I get.
I'm going out and I'm plantingpeas now.
It honestly is a bit late to beplanting peas for me.
Not to say that I'm not going toget a, a harvest.
(07:04):
But.
The point I'm making is thatusually by now I have so much
more in the ground and thatreally was the first thing that
I had gotten planted besides mygarlic, which I planted last
fall.
So I got the peas in the groundmidweek, and then Friday evening
and Saturday, I really was ableto get a lot of things in the
(07:25):
ground.
I got lettuce and arugula.
And spinach and beets andradishes all planted and it felt
so good to have my fingers inthe dirt.
Now again, for me, I'm a bitlate getting those things
planted.
It is what it is and it's gonnabe what it's gonna be, but
(07:47):
certainly it does feel good tohave garden 2023 well underway,
and we'll just keep attacking itas we can.
Another thing I, I did onSaturday around my raised beds
was really starting to getoverrun by grass and creeping
(08:07):
myrtle and a few other weedsthat just were driving me nuts.
And so what I ended up doing isjust taking down all of the
fencing around my garden.
I had put up some snow fencingand a few other bits and and
pieces of fencing to try to keepthe deer out, but that also made
it very difficult for me to weedwhack and to keep those weeds
(08:27):
down.
And so I pulled all of that downon Saturday and I just went to
town with the weed whacker and Iweed whacked all down to bare
ground.
And then I started going down tothe local town barn and getting
scoops of wood chips andbringing them up and, I just
can't wait to get that allspread out and looking nice and
(08:51):
refreshed, and hopefully I'll beable to stay ahead of the weeds
that have just popped up aroundthat garden in the last couple
of years.
Speaking of weeds and gardens,I.
And moved my piglets up to theRuth Stout bed to weed there a
little bit.
I had had some weeds kind of getahead of me up there, and folks,
(09:13):
they did such a wonderful jobjust really turning over the
soil up there.
I had them up there about aweek, and they did exactly what
I wanted them to do.
And so Friday evening after Igot home from work, I was able
to get.
New pen set up for them inanother area on our property and
(09:34):
move those pigs.
And then I was able to levelthings out.
Tomorrow evening after choir,I'm picking up some mulch hay
from a friend of mine and we'llget some hay put down and then
the roost out bed is gonna beready to rock and roll.
And I am so excited about that.
But those pigs just did awonderful job.
Of just really disturbing thatsoil.
(09:56):
I was very intentional aboutwhere I put the feed.
So there were some areas that Ireally wanted disturbed, and so
that's where I threw the feedand that really encouraged them
to really go to town in thoseareas.
And it worked out very, verywell.
And certainly that's gonna beone of the things that I'm going
to miss once all of the pigs aregone is having them.
(10:17):
Available for me to kind of putthem to work and do some of that
work that would've beenbackbreaking and really would've
caused me to spend probably thebetter part of a Saturday out in
the blazing sun, trying to getthose weeds pulled and
everything leveled out the way Iwanted it to.
Just having those pigs up therefor a week, putting feed in the
(10:39):
areas that I wanted greatlydisturbed, worked out very, very
well.
Another thing I wanted to sharewith you, and I will keep you
posted on this, so if you don'tfollow us on social media, make
sure you do.
Uh, I was honored to beinterviewed for another podcast
yesterday morning, and so assoon as that episode is
(11:01):
released, I will be sharing thaton all of my social media
accounts.
So if that's something thatyou're interested in taking a
listen to, certainly make surethat you give us a follower
alike on Instagram, Facebook,you know, all of the places.
I will also.
Let people know via ournewsletter.
So if you haven't already signedup for that, if you head on over
to our website, the homesteadjourney.net/newsletter, you'll
(11:26):
be able to sign up for that, andthat will also keep you abreast
of other things that we havecoming up.
today I spent some time off thehomestead up at my mom and dad's
homestead.
So my dad had knee replacementsurgery a couple of weeks ago,
and he is doing very, very well.
But we also wanna make sure hekeeps doing very, very well and
(11:47):
he doesn't overdo things.
And so I went up there today andhelped him get some guttering
hung up on the side of hishouse.
He has some water barrels thathe is getting set up to catch
rain water so that he can waterhis garden.
And so I was able to get theguttering hung up, although, to
be honest with you, um, it'sjust good enough.
(12:10):
And we, we jokingly refer tothe, the jobs that we do as good
enough contractors.
Certainly I am not aprofessional.
Anybody who does guttering for aliving would be very
disappointed in what I did, butit is up.
It does catch water.
Water runs in the correctdirection, and so we're gonna
(12:31):
take all of that as winds andpositive things.
So that's what we've been up tohere on three B Farm and a
homestead.
Certainly it has been a busyweek and it will continue to be
busy here on the homestead.
So much stuff going on thisspring.
We've got my Son's last springconcert coming up this coming
(12:53):
week.
It's Mother's Day this comingweek.
So many, just so many thingsgoing on and, uh, just trying to
get homesteading in, uh, youknow, in and around the cracks.
Fill in the cracks with whateverwe can get.
Some garden planted here andsome gardened planted there.
And, uh, just doing the best wecan with the time that we have
(13:15):
allotted.
Certainly I do want to remindyou of the upcoming Southern
Adirondack Home SettingFestival.
So if you do live in the GreatNortheast and you are available
May 19th, 20th, and 21st, it'sgonna be a great time.
We have a great lineup ofspeakers, and it certainly is
gonna be a great opportunity foryou to connect with other
(13:37):
like-minded individuals here inthe great Northeast.
So if that is something that isof interest to you, head on over
to the homesteadjourney.net/festival.
You'll be able to find out moreinformation and get signed up
there.
One other thing I do want tomake note of is that we.
Are now offering single daytickets.
(14:00):
So we had people say, Heylisten, I can't make it to both
days.
Would you be willing to offersingle day tickets?
We heard the people, we listenedto the people, and we are now
offering a single day ticket.
So if you wanna come for theentire weekend, it's$75.
And then you can sign up foradditional workshops.
(14:20):
I believe the workshops are like10 bucks a piece.
And if you just want to come fora single day, then those tickets
are$45.
And again, head on over to thehomestead journey.net.
Slash festival.
Well, that's it for this week'sHomestead.
Happenings a busy, busy week,but a very fulfilling week here
(14:43):
on the homestead.
So excited to have Garden 2023well underway, and hopefully
things keep going in the rightdirection.
I do hope things are going wellwherever.
You are at.
All right, let's jump on over tothis week's charting the course.
(15:12):
A couple of weeks ago, I ranacross an article on lancaster
farming.com that details anencounter that a small producer,
a small uh, farmer had with someanimal rights activists.
And as I read through thatarticle, It reminded me of a
situation that took place notlong ago.
Now when I say not long ago, itwas back in 2015, so we're
(15:34):
talking almost eight years ago.
And I guess depending on how youlook at things, that's a little
bit ago.
But, uh, certainly it did happenhere locally with another small
farmer.
And as I thought about both ofthose situations, it really got
me to thinking about how we ashomesteaders.
Need to keep in mind that thereare those who are very, very
(15:58):
active and activist type animalrights people who can cause us
serious problems on ourhomesteads if we're not careful.
And so I wanna look at both ofthose situations on this episode
and then talk about a few thingsthat we can do as homesteaders
to try to mitigate those risksas best we can.
(16:21):
So first of all, the articlethat I read in lancaster
farming.com and I will have a, alink to the entire article in
the show notes.
I'm just gonna read a little bitfrom the article.
I'm not gonna read the entirething, but just to kind of give
you an idea of what took placewith this farmer.
Paul Strobel had just poured acup of coffee on the morning of
(16:43):
April 16th when he spottedsomething from his kitchen
window that shattered thetranquility of the day.
Strobel, who operates a smallmarket on his family beef farm.
In New Fein, New York saw twopeople, a man and a woman
standing in his driveway withcell phones.
They appeared to be taking videoof his cattle, Barnes gates and
locks.
Strobel ran to confront theintruders, but they jumped into
(17:06):
a car and fled.
Later that day, a vehicle of thesame description drove by the
farm, slowing down in front ofthe barn before speeding away
when Stroble and his family werein sight.
We're a small farm that raisesbeef, pork, and vegetables for
our retail market.
It's very unsettling to seepeople on your property taking
video of your animals andbuildings.
(17:26):
He sent.
Strobel still doesn't know whothose people were, but he has an
idea of what they were up to theday before the incident at
Strobel's Farm.
The group Project Vegan 716,held a meeting at its vegan
center in nearby Tonawanda,California based attorney Wayne.
Hes young who moderated a paneldiscussion at the meeting, said
(17:49):
the event was held to promoteopen rescue, which he says is
the act of openly giving aid toanimals who are suffering.
From neglect or abuse.
Strobel, however said the groupopenly advocates for people to
enter farms and steal livestockunder the guise of rescuing them
from abuse.
It's no coincidence he said thata day after the meeting is when
(18:12):
the two individuals were spottedvideoing on his farm.
The Niagara County Sheriff'sOffice documented the incident
and Strobel learned that anotherfarmer in the area reported two
people with the same vehicledescription.
I've barely slept since thisstarted.
I'm wound like a spring all thetime, suspicious of every car
(18:32):
and noise.
Strobel said I go out and patrolmy farm at night because I don't
know what these people are goingto do.
A Facebook post on that WesternNew York vegans connections page
offered further details aboutthe April 15th meeting.
Saying his young.
Will take us through the stagesof animal rescue from
(18:53):
researching facilities towinning at trial.
Whether you want to plan yourown high impact, open rescue, or
simply be a supporter, thisworkshop will inspire and
empower you to make a differencein the lives of animals.
In an emailed response, hissingsaid no one from the meeting
conducted surveillance on farmsin the new Fein area.
(19:13):
When asked the purpose of themeeting was to recruit
individuals to surveil farms andenter properties to rescue
animals.
He said animals are routinelyabused in industrial animal
agriculture.
And transparency into this abuseis a service to the community.
Consumers have the right to knowwhat's happening in factory
farms.
Hissing said there are manyscenarios in which people are
(19:36):
entitled to give aid to sick andsuffering animals under the
right to rescue.
And juries in Utah andCalifornia have supported the
acts.
However, Brooke Duer, staffattorney at the Penn State
Center for Agriculture and ShaleLaw said in the absence of
actual consent, a privatecitizen has no legal right to
enter private property due toperceived abuse or neglect of an
(19:59):
animal.
A press release issued byNiagara County Sheriff's Office
after the incident at Strobel'sFarm said the group that held
the April 15th open rescuemeeting is actively recruiting
people to research farms as partof animal rescues, the sheriff's
office advised farmers in thearea to remain alert for
suspicious activity related tothe meeting, noting that people
(20:19):
arrive by vehicle to conductsurveillance of a farm, and the
intent is to gather informationfor potential rescue of farm
animals.
And I'll go ahead and stopreading that there.
There's certainly more, uh, thatthey detail here with regards
to, um, a particular individualin that area who has actually
(20:40):
been charged with regards toopen rescue of animals.
But the point is that we need tobe very, very vigilant as
homesteaders because there arepeople like this who I believe
are well-meaning, but certainlythey are also very ignorant with
regards to.
(21:00):
What it means to raiselivestock, and I don't mean
saying that they're ignorant asbeing disparaging.
It just simply means that theydon't know what they don't know.
In fact, I had a friend who is aanimal lover who commented to
me, Uh, a while ago with regardsto a farmer up the road from her
(21:22):
who has beef cows, and it was inthe middle of the winter, it was
snowing, and she drove by andsaw these cows standing out in
the middle of the pasture, andshe was like, well, why doesn't
he have'em in a barn?
And why doesn't he have this,and why doesn't he have that?
She missed the fact that thereis actually a windbreak shelter
(21:42):
that the cows could go into, butthey would prefer to be out in
the open because that's just howthey are.
They had the shelter there.
They just opted not to use it,and so she was going to call
animal control on this guy.
And I told her, Hey, number one,it's none of your business.
(22:03):
Number two, you don't know whatyou're talking about.
Number three, there's shelter,there's water, and there's feet
available to those animals, soyou really don't have a leg to
stand on anyhow.
But she was not being malicious.
She meant well, but she couldhave caused that guy a whole lot
of grief and heartache becauseof it.
(22:23):
The other story that I wanted toshare is a story of a farmer by
the name of Joshua Rockwood, whois a farmer, fairly local to me.
This happened back in 2015, Ibelieve, was actually when this
started.
Now there is an article onbedlam farm.com which details
(22:46):
the, the journey that Joshuawent through.
I will again link to that in theshow notes.
It does have the date as being2017.
I know for a fact that it was in2015 when this all started, so
there is a bit of a, I'll callit a typo there.
But other than that, thedescription of what took place
is very accurate.
(23:07):
And I'm gonna start at themiddle of the article where it
says this, when Joshua wasarrested on charges of animal
cruelty in 2017, it was actually2015 in part because his water
tank froze in a bitter stretchof sub-zero weather.
A farmer emailed me and said agreat injustice had been
committed.
He asked me to write about it.
To help a man.
He knew to be good ind decent,fight for his animals, his
(23:29):
reputation, and his farm.
For me, that became a mission.
I don't generally write aboutpeople or things I don't know,
but something about the arrestbothered me.
All our water buckets and tanksfroze in that winter, and so did
the pipes of the Glenville CityHall where the charges against
Joshua had been filed.
(23:49):
It seemed wrong to me.
Just a feeling.
Joshua then 28 was arrested inMarch of 2017, actually March of
2015, and charged with 13misdemeanor accounts of failure
to provide proper sustenance.
After Glenville, New York policeraided West Wind acres.
They claim to find animals inunheated areas without access to
(24:11):
unfrozen water, three of hishorses were compensated.
It was apparent to me and othersliving with farm animals that no
small farm could withstand theoverzealous judgment of the
police and their animal rightsadvisors.
No small farms I know, includingmine, have heated barns.
Every farm including mine, dealswith frozen water tanks in the
winter, especially when theelectricity goes out.
(24:33):
I had also learned some hardlessons about animal rights
movement when writing about theNew York City carriage horses
and their fight to fend offsimilar charges, almost all of
which turned out to be true.
I was stunned to see how someelements of that movement,
including pita.
S P C A and the Humane Societywere lying and distorting
(24:54):
reality to raise money and waragainst working domestic animals
and the people who owned andloved them.
I had never in my life seennonprofit institutions lie so
brazenly and shamelessly toraise money and get away with
it.
The day after I learned of theraid and Josh was arrest, I
drove two hours to Glenville andWest Wind Acres Farm to meet
(25:16):
him.
I was shocked by this young,very open, courteous, and
idealistic man.
His animals were not abused inany way.
One pig appeared to have a frostbitten ear.
He doted on his two dogs, eseguard dogs.
None of his animals weredehydrated.
The police took his horse awayand he was determined to fight
the charges against him, inpart, to protect other farmers
(25:39):
from the police and animalrights raids on his farm.
He had some wobbly fences, butwhat farmer doesn't, everything
about Joshua is open andtransparent, including West Wind
Acres Visitors were and arewelcomed anytime.
His mission was to buy and selllocal, ethically raised meats.
He wanted people to see the meatthey bought and eat and know
(26:01):
where it came from.
He is a champion of smallsustainable family farms.
To me and many others, it seemeda government and animal rights
overreach.
I've been hearing these horrorstories from farmers from for
some time, police showing upwhen a cow lies down to take a
nap.
Animal rights activist openingup gates at night because
someone told them it was abusefor working animals to work
(26:23):
again and again.
Farmers told me they were hidingthe animals from the road
because animal rights vigilanteswere patrolling to look for
signs of.
Animal cruelty and abuse, eventhough they knew little about
either thing.
Joshua decided to fight thecharges all the way.
I agreed to raise money for hisdefense.
Joshua was able to hire a firstrate attorney with the money he
(26:44):
raised from the GoFundMe site.
Farmers all over the countrywanted to help.
He was offered cushy dealsrepeatedly by an increasingly
rattled district attorney, buthe refused to enable what he
felt was ranked injustice.
I came to admire Joshua.
He never lost his temporarydetermination.
I never heard him any callanyone a bad name.
We became good friends 10 monthsafter the arrest on.
(27:07):
January 30th, all animal neglectcharges against Rockwood were
dismissed.
Ending what was a grueling,frightening, and unjust ordeal
for him and his family.
Rock Wood's horses were returnedto his farm and to settle.
He paid$5,000 for veterinarycost to a horse rescue farm that
had agreed to take care of hisanimals, even though there were
(27:28):
no signs at all that they wereill.
And there's certainly more inthat article.
Again, I'm not reading theentire thing, but this is a
story that I witnessed.
Actually, I, I don't wanna sayfirsthand because I didn't go
visit the farm, but I did go tothe courthouse, uh, a couple of
times.
In solidarity with him because Ifelt like what was going on was
(27:51):
very, very wrong.
In part what happened to him ishe was located in a place that
had been a traditional farmingcommunity, but urban sprawl had.
Taken place and now all of asudden you had a bunch of
suburbanites that were butted upagainst a working farm.
And not only was it a workingfarm, but it was a farm that was
(28:13):
focused on pastured animals.
He had pastured pigs, he hadpastured beef cows.
He had a couple of horses.
He had some livestock guardiandogs.
And so people did not understandwhat he was doing, the ways in
which he was raising animals,and they made some really,
really poor assumptions withregard to what was taking place.
(28:36):
Now, in part what happened isthe waterers froze, but as I
read in the article, even thewater lines in the.
Town office where the chargesagainst him were filed, froze
the same night that the waterlines to his animals froze.
(28:56):
My water buckets freeze everynight where I'm at.
I have to bust out ice every dayfor my animals.
Does that mean I'm abusing them?
Well, maybe I need to becareful, or the animal rights
activist will come after me.
But the fact is, in the middleof the winter, in beautiful,
upstate New York, frozen watersin the best of circumstances is
(29:18):
still a reality.
People that don't raise animalsdon't understand this.
Or maybe they do and they don'tcare.
But the fact of the matter iswhen you have people who are now
up against farms, And they don'tunderstand what they're looking
at.
It can lead to difficultsituations for farmers and
(29:43):
homesteaders who are trying todo their best by their animals.
But life circumstances happen.
Acts of God, lots of rain thatmight lead to muddy pens, super
cold weather that might lead tofrozen waterers.
All of that takes place.
And when you have a subset ofpeople who have bought into a
(30:06):
narrative and who are veryignorant to the facts, it can
lead to very, very complicatedsituations.
And so what are we to do ashomesteaders?
Because the fact of the matteris this could happen to any one
of us.
If you are raising animals, andespecially if you're raising
animals the way manyhomesteaders do, you're looking
(30:28):
to pasture.
Pigs, you're looking to pastyour poultry.
Maybe you have a family milkcow, but you're, you're doing
things a little bit outside thenorm.
You're going to have people whodon't understand what you're
doing and may make accusationsagainst you that could end up in
(30:50):
legal proceedings.
So here are a few things that Ithought about with regards.
To preventative measures that wecan take to do our best to try
to avoid the situations ofJoshua and Paul.
The first thing I would say is,Be very careful where you put
(31:13):
your animals.
Now, certainly you may findyourself in a situation where
you have to put your animalsnear where people can see them,
but if you have an option to putyour animals in a spot where
people cannot see them, myrecommendation is to do that.
(31:34):
Why go looking for problems?
Yeah, you may be dead.
Right?
But are you wanting to have thatbattle?
Do you want to have animalrights activist picketing you?
Do you want to have them tryingto break onto your pro?
Are you looking for that fight?
Now, if you are and you'rewilling to fight that, fight,
(31:54):
more power to you.
But I would say that most of usprobably just wanna raise our
animals and do our thing inpeace.
And so if you can.
My recommendation is to be verycareful with regards to where
you put your animals and don'tput them where they can be seen
(32:16):
from the road or from a publicarea.
The second thing I would say isbe very, very careful about what
you post online.
Certainly we want to be honestwith regards to what we face as
farmers and homesteaders.
Homesteading is not always a bedof roses.
And I've talked about mydislike, actually almost hatred
(32:40):
of the whole cottage core, uh,type approach to homesteading,
you know, the d in the hairfrolicking, the, in the fields.
It's not realistic.
And so there is a sense to whereI think we all desire to be
authentic, but sometimes maybewe don't need to be as
authentic.
(33:01):
If you know what I'm saying.
So be careful about what youpost online as you look at
things.
Maybe ask yourself, couldsomebody twist this?
Could somebody take this out ofcontext?
Could somebody use this againstme?
And just really think twiceabout what you're posting and
(33:24):
what you're sharing, especiallyon your farm.
Facebook or Instagram sites.
I also think you need to becareful with regards to who you
tick off in your town, andthat's not always been something
that I've been great at.
There are a couple of communityFacebook sites here in our area
(33:46):
where I've been known to kind ofstir the pot, uh, a time or two
with regards to some people, andthere have been times when I
thought Brian.
You never know what these crazypeople might do to retaliate, so
just think about that.
Be careful about how youinteract with your neighbors,
(34:07):
both in person and onlinebecause you want them to be your
greatest allies, not yourbiggest enemies, and they
certainly can make your lifemiserable, especially if you are
maybe, I'm not gonna say.
Uh, operating outside the boundsof the law, but maybe you're
(34:29):
doing things that aren'tnecessarily 100% in compliance
with the law, if you know whatI'm saying.
If you've gone rogue a littlebit, then you definitely don't
want to have your neighbors asyour worst enemy because they
will make your life miserable.
So don't go there.
The third thing I would say isbe careful who you invite onto
(34:51):
your property, especially Ifyou're selling meat, if you're
selling eggs, if you really, ifyou're selling anything off of
your farm.
But if you list anything onFacebook marketplace, just be
very, very careful of who youinvite onto your property,
because sometimes people cancome onto your property under
the guise of buying meat, underthe guise of buying animals, but
(35:15):
really looking for.
Problems to create.
And so especially if you'redealing with Facebook
marketplace or you're dealingwith, you know, something where
you can research somebody'sprofile, you might wanna do
that.
Or instead of having them cometo your farm or homestead, maybe
(35:35):
you meet them at the localWalmart parking lot or the local
post office parking lot orsomething like that.
But again, just being very, veryaware.
Of who you are inviting ontoyour property to ensure that you
aren't inviting in problems.
(35:55):
The fourth thing you may want toconsider is adding either game
cameras or security cameras.
Now, depending on the size ofyour homestead, you may not be
able to get a security camerathat's going to reach to where.
Your front gate is, so in thatcase, maybe a game camera that
(36:16):
runs off of batteries is goingto be a, a better option.
But whether it's ring doorbellsor ways can there, there's just
a whole bunch of options outthere of things that you might
wanna consider adding to ensure.
That if somebody does mess withyour animals, mess with your
(36:37):
homestead, mess with yourfences, that you can capture who
that is, and then you have proofof whatever violations they have
done.
The final thing I would say isknow your rights.
And also know yourresponsibilities.
Now, a a a bit ago I did mentionabout going rogue.
(37:00):
You know, um, let's say you livein an HOA and they say, no
chickens.
Maybe they say no animals atall, and maybe you sneak a few
rabbits into your garage, oryou've got a few quail in your
garage or something like that.
You need to understand that ifyou get caught.
There could be consequences, soknow your responsibilities if
(37:20):
you're going to operate in thatgray area.
Understand what might happen asa result.
Also know your rights.
You know, if you live in a townwhere maybe they say no
roosters, but you can havechickens, and so you get
chickens and then somebodystarts giving you a hard time
about having chickens, you know,I have the right to have
(37:41):
chickens where I live, there areright to farm laws, and so I
know that I have the right to dowhat I'm doing.
I have the right to raiseanimals for meat.
I have the right to.
Process chickens and sell them.
I have the right to do thatbecause of certain laws that are
in place.
I have certain rights.
(38:04):
Also understand that there aretimes when what we think we
should be able to do and what weare able to do under the eyes of
the law are two very differentthings.
And so how are we going tochallenge that?
Are we going to openly defy it?
And look to create a problemwith the hope of creating
change.
(38:26):
Are we going to work to changethe law so that we can do what
we want?
I think that's going to be anindividual decision.
Certain people are, are gonnawant to take the fight to, to
them and, and kind of thumbtheir nose at the law and, and.
(38:46):
Deal with the consequences laterand other people may take a less
confrontational approach.
I don't think either one isright or wrong.
It just depends on how you as anindividual want to approach it.
But certainly, Knowing yourrights and responsibilities is
going to be key, so that if youare challenged by an animal
(39:08):
rights activist or you'rechallenged by somebody who says,
no, you're not allowed to do X,Y, or Z.
You know, yes, I'm able to do X,Y, or Z because of this, or, ah,
okay, yeah, you're right, whatyou're gonna do about it, and
then you kind of go from there.
But that's certainly up to you.
Certainly, I want to be clear asI wrap this up that I am not
(39:30):
defending animal abuse or animalneglect.
But I also do strongly believethat the vast majority of
homesteaders got into this thingbecause they actually were
concerned about how animals aretreated within the corporate
large AG type facilities, andthey wanted to do better.
(39:51):
They also understand that thebetter an animal is treated, the
better that animal is going togrow and thrive.
The better that animal is goingto be for them.
And so my strong belief is thatthe vast majority of
homesteaders, the vast majorityof small scale farmers are
(40:13):
involved in this because theywant to do better.
But having said that, in themiddle of the winter, Water
freezes, electricity goes out,rain happens, snow comes.
There are a lot of things thattake place that are outside a
farmer's control, and so we tryto do the best we can with what
(40:34):
we've got, but there are alwaysgoing to be people who don't
think it's good enough and whoare going to challenge us.
And so the question is how do wehandle that?
And in my opinion, an ounce ofprevention is certainly worth a
pound of cure.
But if you're somebody who'slooking for a fight, then you do
(40:57):
you.
And when you got a GoFundMe pageup, let me know.
I'll blast it out and we'llsupport you.
All right folks.
That's it for this episode.
Again, links to both of thearticles that I read from will
be in the show notes.
If you have any questions orconcerns, if you're aware of a
situation that I shouldhighlight, let me know.
(41:19):
brian@thehomesteadjourney.net ismy email address, and until next
time, everybody, keep up thegood work.
I'm your host, Brian Wells, and I'm a fourth
generation homesteader Since2008, my family and I have been
homesteading here in beautifulupstate New York.
In 2019, I launched theHomestead Journey Podcast to
help people just like you getstarted and find success on
their journey towardsself-sufficiency, self-reliance,
(00:24):
and sustainability.
This is the Homestead journeyand this.
Is season four.
Well, hello everyone and welcometo another episode of the
Homestead Journey podcast.
My name is Brian Wells.
I am coming to you from three BFarm and Homestead here in
(00:47):
beautiful upstate New York.
This is in fact season four, andthis is episode 155 of the
Homestead Journey Podcast.
So if you are a longtimelistener, well thank you so much
for spending part of your weekwith me, and if you're brand new
to this podcast, well, I'm gladyou found us and welcome, and I
(01:09):
hope that you do find ithelpful, you find it enjoyable,
and that we have a longrelationship, one with another.
And if there's any way I canhelp you, and this goes for you,
old timers as well, but you knowthis, of course, reach out to me
via email,brian@thehomesteadjourney.net.
I would love to hear from you ifthere's any way I can be
(01:31):
helpful, if there's questionsyou have that you would like my
take on.
Well, certainly I am alwaysavailable.
You can also reach out to me onall of our social media sites.
The links are in the show notes.
But if you just go to Instagramor Facebook and look for the
Homestead Journey podcast, I amsure you will find me there.
(01:53):
But folks, it has been a very,very busy week here on the
homestead.
It's that time of the year whenthings are really starting to
ramp up and we finally got somegood weather, which meant I was
actually able to get out intothe garden and spend quite a bit
of time this week.
So I'm excited to tell you allabout that.
I am also looking forward tosharing with you today's topic.
(02:17):
We're gonna be talking about acurrent event, which is not
something that I do very often,but there was a news article
that I ran across with regardsto a small scale farmer out in
Western New York who had a runin with some, animal rights
activists.
And so we're going to talk alittle bit about that.
And we're also going to talkabout a situation that took
(02:40):
place with a farmer here locallya few years ago that I actually,
I don't wanna say witnessedfirsthand, but I did go to some
court dates for that farmer.
So anyhow, looking forward tojumping into that topic.
But before we do so, as always,let's jump on over to this
week's homestead happenings, andI will bring you up to speed
(03:02):
with what we've been doing here.
On three B Farm in Homestead.
So as I said, busy, busy weekhere on the homestead and also
off the homestead.
We'll talk a little bit about acouple of things that, uh, I did
away from the homestead thisweek as well.
(03:24):
First of all, let's just jumpinto one of those things.
This week started the practicesfor Washington County.
Concert band now.
That's something that I was apart of pre Covid in 2019.
Both my son and I joined theWashington County concert band.
He was in eighth grade at thetime.
Uh, I had not played mytrombone, I think since from
(03:47):
about the time he was born.
So we're talking, it was 14years about, I think, That it
had been since I played atrombone, but I got it out,
joined the band, had an absoluteblast.
It was so great for him too.
It really stretched himmusically, and it was just a, a,
a great experience for him.
Unfortunately, COVID happened,and so for the last three years,
(04:09):
he and I have not been able tobe a part of it.
But this year I decided, I'mgetting back into it.
Unfortunately, due to hisschedule, he's not able to join
me.
But it's just a lot of fun toget involved in things like that
with within your community and,and folks, the reason why I
bring that up on a home settingpodcast is because I want you to
(04:30):
realize that there is more tohomesteading than just hanging
out on your homestead.
I really do feel like.
Home setting thrives within thecontext of community, and so
whatever it is that brings youjoy in your life.
Outside of homesteading, uh,pursue those things and make
(04:51):
those connections with, withpeople.
You never know where thoseconnections are going to lead.
They may lead right back tohomesteading and they may not
lead back to homesteading atall.
And it's all good.
In fact, I think it's veryimportant for us to have hobbies
and activities outside ofhomesteading.
To help us avoid getting burnedout.
(05:13):
And so for me, I love music.
I'm involved in the choir at ourchurch.
I sing on the praise team at ourchurch.
There's a community choir that Ising in in the fall.
I I, I love music.
And so this is just another way,another avenue for me to pursue
that and meet people in mycommunity form those
(05:34):
relationships and just really,really have, uh, a lot of fun.
And it's just something for methat is really a great stress
relief.
And so I would, I would justhighly encourage you, whatever
it is, If you enjoy softball andyou can get into some kind of a
softball league or Frisbee golfor whatever it is, um, something
(05:56):
that brings you joy and gets youoff the homestead, I would
strongly encourage you to dothat.
I just wanted to bring that upand really strongly encourage
you to not neglect those thingsthat feed your soul.
I think that's just a great wayto say it.
For me, music feeds my soul, andso I'm just so excited to be
(06:20):
able to get back into that.
But on the homestead, it was avery busy week.
The, the first part of the weekwas very rainy.
We'd had.
Probably a week and a half ofrain, which I'm not complaining
about.
I jokingly said to a friend ofmine at work that in August
we'll be begging for that rain.
So I, I'm, I'm not complainingat all, but it, it certainly
(06:40):
does make it hard to get intothe garden and get things done.
And so finally this week, Ithink it was Wednesday evening,
maybe it was Thursday evening, Ijust said, enough is enough.
I don't care how wet I get.
I'm going out and I'm plantingpeas now.
It honestly is a bit late to beplanting peas for me.
Not to say that I'm not going toget a, a harvest.
(07:04):
But.
The point I'm making is thatusually by now I have so much
more in the ground and thatreally was the first thing that
I had gotten planted besides mygarlic, which I planted last
fall.
So I got the peas in the groundmidweek, and then Friday evening
and Saturday, I really was ableto get a lot of things in the
(07:25):
ground.
I got lettuce and arugula.
And spinach and beets andradishes all planted and it felt
so good to have my fingers inthe dirt.
Now again, for me, I'm a bitlate getting those things
planted.
It is what it is and it's gonnabe what it's gonna be, but
(07:47):
certainly it does feel good tohave garden 2023 well underway,
and we'll just keep attacking itas we can.
Another thing I, I did onSaturday around my raised beds
was really starting to getoverrun by grass and creeping
(08:07):
myrtle and a few other weedsthat just were driving me nuts.
And so what I ended up doing isjust taking down all of the
fencing around my garden.
I had put up some snow fencingand a few other bits and and
pieces of fencing to try to keepthe deer out, but that also made
it very difficult for me to weedwhack and to keep those weeds
(08:27):
down.
And so I pulled all of that downon Saturday and I just went to
town with the weed whacker and Iweed whacked all down to bare
ground.
And then I started going down tothe local town barn and getting
scoops of wood chips andbringing them up and, I just
can't wait to get that allspread out and looking nice and
(08:51):
refreshed, and hopefully I'll beable to stay ahead of the weeds
that have just popped up aroundthat garden in the last couple
of years.
Speaking of weeds and gardens,I.
And moved my piglets up to theRuth Stout bed to weed there a
little bit.
I had had some weeds kind of getahead of me up there, and folks,
(09:13):
they did such a wonderful jobjust really turning over the
soil up there.
I had them up there about aweek, and they did exactly what
I wanted them to do.
And so Friday evening after Igot home from work, I was able
to get.
New pen set up for them inanother area on our property and
(09:34):
move those pigs.
And then I was able to levelthings out.
Tomorrow evening after choir,I'm picking up some mulch hay
from a friend of mine and we'llget some hay put down and then
the roost out bed is gonna beready to rock and roll.
And I am so excited about that.
But those pigs just did awonderful job.
Of just really disturbing thatsoil.
(09:56):
I was very intentional aboutwhere I put the feed.
So there were some areas that Ireally wanted disturbed, and so
that's where I threw the feedand that really encouraged them
to really go to town in thoseareas.
And it worked out very, verywell.
And certainly that's gonna beone of the things that I'm going
to miss once all of the pigs aregone is having them.
(10:17):
Available for me to kind of putthem to work and do some of that
work that would've beenbackbreaking and really would've
caused me to spend probably thebetter part of a Saturday out in
the blazing sun, trying to getthose weeds pulled and
everything leveled out the way Iwanted it to.
Just having those pigs up therefor a week, putting feed in the
(10:39):
areas that I wanted greatlydisturbed, worked out very, very
well.
Another thing I wanted to sharewith you, and I will keep you
posted on this, so if you don'tfollow us on social media, make
sure you do.
Uh, I was honored to beinterviewed for another podcast
yesterday morning, and so assoon as that episode is
(11:01):
released, I will be sharing thaton all of my social media
accounts.
So if that's something thatyou're interested in taking a
listen to, certainly make surethat you give us a follower
alike on Instagram, Facebook,you know, all of the places.
I will also.
Let people know via ournewsletter.
So if you haven't already signedup for that, if you head on over
to our website, the homesteadjourney.net/newsletter, you'll
(11:26):
be able to sign up for that, andthat will also keep you abreast
of other things that we havecoming up.
today I spent some time off thehomestead up at my mom and dad's
homestead.
So my dad had knee replacementsurgery a couple of weeks ago,
and he is doing very, very well.
But we also wanna make sure hekeeps doing very, very well and
(11:47):
he doesn't overdo things.
And so I went up there today andhelped him get some guttering
hung up on the side of hishouse.
He has some water barrels thathe is getting set up to catch
rain water so that he can waterhis garden.
And so I was able to get theguttering hung up, although, to
be honest with you, um, it'sjust good enough.
(12:10):
And we, we jokingly refer tothe, the jobs that we do as good
enough contractors.
Certainly I am not aprofessional.
Anybody who does guttering for aliving would be very
disappointed in what I did, butit is up.
It does catch water.
Water runs in the correctdirection, and so we're gonna
(12:31):
take all of that as winds andpositive things.
So that's what we've been up tohere on three B Farm and a
homestead.
Certainly it has been a busyweek and it will continue to be
busy here on the homestead.
So much stuff going on thisspring.
We've got my Son's last springconcert coming up this coming
(12:53):
week.
It's Mother's Day this comingweek.
So many, just so many thingsgoing on and, uh, just trying to
get homesteading in, uh, youknow, in and around the cracks.
Fill in the cracks with whateverwe can get.
Some garden planted here andsome gardened planted there.
And, uh, just doing the best wecan with the time that we have
(13:15):
allotted.
Certainly I do want to remindyou of the upcoming Southern
Adirondack Home SettingFestival.
So if you do live in the GreatNortheast and you are available
May 19th, 20th, and 21st, it'sgonna be a great time.
We have a great lineup ofspeakers, and it certainly is
gonna be a great opportunity foryou to connect with other
(13:37):
like-minded individuals here inthe great Northeast.
So if that is something that isof interest to you, head on over
to the homesteadjourney.net/festival.
You'll be able to find out moreinformation and get signed up
there.
One other thing I do want tomake note of is that we.
Are now offering single daytickets.
(14:00):
So we had people say, Heylisten, I can't make it to both
days.
Would you be willing to offersingle day tickets?
We heard the people, we listenedto the people, and we are now
offering a single day ticket.
So if you wanna come for theentire weekend, it's$75.
And then you can sign up foradditional workshops.
(14:20):
I believe the workshops are like10 bucks a piece.
And if you just want to come fora single day, then those tickets
are$45.
And again, head on over to thehomestead journey.net.
Slash festival.
Well, that's it for this week'sHomestead.
Happenings a busy, busy week,but a very fulfilling week here
(14:43):
on the homestead.
So excited to have Garden 2023well underway, and hopefully
things keep going in the rightdirection.
I do hope things are going wellwherever.
You are at.
All right, let's jump on over tothis week's charting the course.
(15:12):
A couple of weeks ago, I ranacross an article on lancaster
farming.com that details anencounter that a small producer,
a small uh, farmer had with someanimal rights activists.
And as I read through thatarticle, It reminded me of a
situation that took place notlong ago.
Now when I say not long ago, itwas back in 2015, so we're
(15:34):
talking almost eight years ago.
And I guess depending on how youlook at things, that's a little
bit ago.
But, uh, certainly it did happenhere locally with another small
farmer.
And as I thought about both ofthose situations, it really got
me to thinking about how we ashomesteaders.
Need to keep in mind that thereare those who are very, very
(15:58):
active and activist type animalrights people who can cause us
serious problems on ourhomesteads if we're not careful.
And so I wanna look at both ofthose situations on this episode
and then talk about a few thingsthat we can do as homesteaders
to try to mitigate those risksas best we can.
(16:21):
So first of all, the articlethat I read in lancaster
farming.com and I will have a, alink to the entire article in
the show notes.
I'm just gonna read a little bitfrom the article.
I'm not gonna read the entirething, but just to kind of give
you an idea of what took placewith this farmer.
Paul Strobel had just poured acup of coffee on the morning of
(16:43):
April 16th when he spottedsomething from his kitchen
window that shattered thetranquility of the day.
Strobel, who operates a smallmarket on his family beef farm.
In New Fein, New York saw twopeople, a man and a woman
standing in his driveway withcell phones.
They appeared to be taking videoof his cattle, Barnes gates and
locks.
Strobel ran to confront theintruders, but they jumped into
(17:06):
a car and fled.
Later that day, a vehicle of thesame description drove by the
farm, slowing down in front ofthe barn before speeding away
when Stroble and his family werein sight.
We're a small farm that raisesbeef, pork, and vegetables for
our retail market.
It's very unsettling to seepeople on your property taking
video of your animals andbuildings.
(17:26):
He sent.
Strobel still doesn't know whothose people were, but he has an
idea of what they were up to theday before the incident at
Strobel's Farm.
The group Project Vegan 716,held a meeting at its vegan
center in nearby Tonawanda,California based attorney Wayne.
Hes young who moderated a paneldiscussion at the meeting, said
(17:49):
the event was held to promoteopen rescue, which he says is
the act of openly giving aid toanimals who are suffering.
From neglect or abuse.
Strobel, however said the groupopenly advocates for people to
enter farms and steal livestockunder the guise of rescuing them
from abuse.
It's no coincidence he said thata day after the meeting is when
(18:12):
the two individuals were spottedvideoing on his farm.
The Niagara County Sheriff'sOffice documented the incident
and Strobel learned that anotherfarmer in the area reported two
people with the same vehicledescription.
I've barely slept since thisstarted.
I'm wound like a spring all thetime, suspicious of every car
(18:32):
and noise.
Strobel said I go out and patrolmy farm at night because I don't
know what these people are goingto do.
A Facebook post on that WesternNew York vegans connections page
offered further details aboutthe April 15th meeting.
Saying his young.
Will take us through the stagesof animal rescue from
(18:53):
researching facilities towinning at trial.
Whether you want to plan yourown high impact, open rescue, or
simply be a supporter, thisworkshop will inspire and
empower you to make a differencein the lives of animals.
In an emailed response, hissingsaid no one from the meeting
conducted surveillance on farmsin the new Fein area.
(19:13):
When asked the purpose of themeeting was to recruit
individuals to surveil farms andenter properties to rescue
animals.
He said animals are routinelyabused in industrial animal
agriculture.
And transparency into this abuseis a service to the community.
Consumers have the right to knowwhat's happening in factory
farms.
Hissing said there are manyscenarios in which people are
(19:36):
entitled to give aid to sick andsuffering animals under the
right to rescue.
And juries in Utah andCalifornia have supported the
acts.
However, Brooke Duer, staffattorney at the Penn State
Center for Agriculture and ShaleLaw said in the absence of
actual consent, a privatecitizen has no legal right to
enter private property due toperceived abuse or neglect of an
(19:59):
animal.
A press release issued byNiagara County Sheriff's Office
after the incident at Strobel'sFarm said the group that held
the April 15th open rescuemeeting is actively recruiting
people to research farms as partof animal rescues, the sheriff's
office advised farmers in thearea to remain alert for
suspicious activity related tothe meeting, noting that people
(20:19):
arrive by vehicle to conductsurveillance of a farm, and the
intent is to gather informationfor potential rescue of farm
animals.
And I'll go ahead and stopreading that there.
There's certainly more, uh, thatthey detail here with regards
to, um, a particular individualin that area who has actually
(20:40):
been charged with regards toopen rescue of animals.
But the point is that we need tobe very, very vigilant as
homesteaders because there arepeople like this who I believe
are well-meaning, but certainlythey are also very ignorant with
regards to.
(21:00):
What it means to raiselivestock, and I don't mean
saying that they're ignorant asbeing disparaging.
It just simply means that theydon't know what they don't know.
In fact, I had a friend who is aanimal lover who commented to
me, Uh, a while ago with regardsto a farmer up the road from her
(21:22):
who has beef cows, and it was inthe middle of the winter, it was
snowing, and she drove by andsaw these cows standing out in
the middle of the pasture, andshe was like, well, why doesn't
he have'em in a barn?
And why doesn't he have this,and why doesn't he have that?
She missed the fact that thereis actually a windbreak shelter
(21:42):
that the cows could go into, butthey would prefer to be out in
the open because that's just howthey are.
They had the shelter there.
They just opted not to use it,and so she was going to call
animal control on this guy.
And I told her, Hey, number one,it's none of your business.
(22:03):
Number two, you don't know whatyou're talking about.
Number three, there's shelter,there's water, and there's feet
available to those animals, soyou really don't have a leg to
stand on anyhow.
But she was not being malicious.
She meant well, but she couldhave caused that guy a whole lot
of grief and heartache becauseof it.
(22:23):
The other story that I wanted toshare is a story of a farmer by
the name of Joshua Rockwood, whois a farmer, fairly local to me.
This happened back in 2015, Ibelieve, was actually when this
started.
Now there is an article onbedlam farm.com which details
(22:46):
the, the journey that Joshuawent through.
I will again link to that in theshow notes.
It does have the date as being2017.
I know for a fact that it was in2015 when this all started, so
there is a bit of a, I'll callit a typo there.
But other than that, thedescription of what took place
is very accurate.
(23:07):
And I'm gonna start at themiddle of the article where it
says this, when Joshua wasarrested on charges of animal
cruelty in 2017, it was actually2015 in part because his water
tank froze in a bitter stretchof sub-zero weather.
A farmer emailed me and said agreat injustice had been
committed.
He asked me to write about it.
To help a man.
He knew to be good ind decent,fight for his animals, his
(23:29):
reputation, and his farm.
For me, that became a mission.
I don't generally write aboutpeople or things I don't know,
but something about the arrestbothered me.
All our water buckets and tanksfroze in that winter, and so did
the pipes of the Glenville CityHall where the charges against
Joshua had been filed.
(23:49):
It seemed wrong to me.
Just a feeling.
Joshua then 28 was arrested inMarch of 2017, actually March of
2015, and charged with 13misdemeanor accounts of failure
to provide proper sustenance.
After Glenville, New York policeraided West Wind acres.
They claim to find animals inunheated areas without access to
(24:11):
unfrozen water, three of hishorses were compensated.
It was apparent to me and othersliving with farm animals that no
small farm could withstand theoverzealous judgment of the
police and their animal rightsadvisors.
No small farms I know, includingmine, have heated barns.
Every farm including mine, dealswith frozen water tanks in the
winter, especially when theelectricity goes out.
(24:33):
I had also learned some hardlessons about animal rights
movement when writing about theNew York City carriage horses
and their fight to fend offsimilar charges, almost all of
which turned out to be true.
I was stunned to see how someelements of that movement,
including pita.
S P C A and the Humane Societywere lying and distorting
(24:54):
reality to raise money and waragainst working domestic animals
and the people who owned andloved them.
I had never in my life seennonprofit institutions lie so
brazenly and shamelessly toraise money and get away with
it.
The day after I learned of theraid and Josh was arrest, I
drove two hours to Glenville andWest Wind Acres Farm to meet
(25:16):
him.
I was shocked by this young,very open, courteous, and
idealistic man.
His animals were not abused inany way.
One pig appeared to have a frostbitten ear.
He doted on his two dogs, eseguard dogs.
None of his animals weredehydrated.
The police took his horse awayand he was determined to fight
the charges against him, inpart, to protect other farmers
(25:39):
from the police and animalrights raids on his farm.
He had some wobbly fences, butwhat farmer doesn't, everything
about Joshua is open andtransparent, including West Wind
Acres Visitors were and arewelcomed anytime.
His mission was to buy and selllocal, ethically raised meats.
He wanted people to see the meatthey bought and eat and know
(26:01):
where it came from.
He is a champion of smallsustainable family farms.
To me and many others, it seemeda government and animal rights
overreach.
I've been hearing these horrorstories from farmers from for
some time, police showing upwhen a cow lies down to take a
nap.
Animal rights activist openingup gates at night because
someone told them it was abusefor working animals to work
(26:23):
again and again.
Farmers told me they were hidingthe animals from the road
because animal rights vigilanteswere patrolling to look for
signs of.
Animal cruelty and abuse, eventhough they knew little about
either thing.
Joshua decided to fight thecharges all the way.
I agreed to raise money for hisdefense.
Joshua was able to hire a firstrate attorney with the money he
(26:44):
raised from the GoFundMe site.
Farmers all over the countrywanted to help.
He was offered cushy dealsrepeatedly by an increasingly
rattled district attorney, buthe refused to enable what he
felt was ranked injustice.
I came to admire Joshua.
He never lost his temporarydetermination.
I never heard him any callanyone a bad name.
We became good friends 10 monthsafter the arrest on.
(27:07):
January 30th, all animal neglectcharges against Rockwood were
dismissed.
Ending what was a grueling,frightening, and unjust ordeal
for him and his family.
Rock Wood's horses were returnedto his farm and to settle.
He paid$5,000 for veterinarycost to a horse rescue farm that
had agreed to take care of hisanimals, even though there were
(27:28):
no signs at all that they wereill.
And there's certainly more inthat article.
Again, I'm not reading theentire thing, but this is a
story that I witnessed.
Actually, I, I don't wanna sayfirsthand because I didn't go
visit the farm, but I did go tothe courthouse, uh, a couple of
times.
In solidarity with him because Ifelt like what was going on was
(27:51):
very, very wrong.
In part what happened to him ishe was located in a place that
had been a traditional farmingcommunity, but urban sprawl had.
Taken place and now all of asudden you had a bunch of
suburbanites that were butted upagainst a working farm.
And not only was it a workingfarm, but it was a farm that was
(28:13):
focused on pastured animals.
He had pastured pigs, he hadpastured beef cows.
He had a couple of horses.
He had some livestock guardiandogs.
And so people did not understandwhat he was doing, the ways in
which he was raising animals,and they made some really,
really poor assumptions withregard to what was taking place.
(28:36):
Now, in part what happened isthe waterers froze, but as I
read in the article, even thewater lines in the.
Town office where the chargesagainst him were filed, froze
the same night that the waterlines to his animals froze.
(28:56):
My water buckets freeze everynight where I'm at.
I have to bust out ice every dayfor my animals.
Does that mean I'm abusing them?
Well, maybe I need to becareful, or the animal rights
activist will come after me.
But the fact is, in the middleof the winter, in beautiful,
upstate New York, frozen watersin the best of circumstances is
(29:18):
still a reality.
People that don't raise animalsdon't understand this.
Or maybe they do and they don'tcare.
But the fact of the matter iswhen you have people who are now
up against farms, And they don'tunderstand what they're looking
at.
It can lead to difficultsituations for farmers and
(29:43):
homesteaders who are trying todo their best by their animals.
But life circumstances happen.
Acts of God, lots of rain thatmight lead to muddy pens, super
cold weather that might lead tofrozen waterers.
All of that takes place.
And when you have a subset ofpeople who have bought into a
(30:06):
narrative and who are veryignorant to the facts, it can
lead to very, very complicatedsituations.
And so what are we to do ashomesteaders?
Because the fact of the matteris this could happen to any one
of us.
If you are raising animals, andespecially if you're raising
animals the way manyhomesteaders do, you're looking
(30:28):
to pasture.
Pigs, you're looking to pastyour poultry.
Maybe you have a family milkcow, but you're, you're doing
things a little bit outside thenorm.
You're going to have people whodon't understand what you're
doing and may make accusationsagainst you that could end up in
(30:50):
legal proceedings.
So here are a few things that Ithought about with regards.
To preventative measures that wecan take to do our best to try
to avoid the situations ofJoshua and Paul.
The first thing I would say is,Be very careful where you put
(31:13):
your animals.
Now, certainly you may findyourself in a situation where
you have to put your animalsnear where people can see them,
but if you have an option to putyour animals in a spot where
people cannot see them, myrecommendation is to do that.
(31:34):
Why go looking for problems?
Yeah, you may be dead.
Right?
But are you wanting to have thatbattle?
Do you want to have animalrights activist picketing you?
Do you want to have them tryingto break onto your pro?
Are you looking for that fight?
Now, if you are and you'rewilling to fight that, fight,
(31:54):
more power to you.
But I would say that most of usprobably just wanna raise our
animals and do our thing inpeace.
And so if you can.
My recommendation is to be verycareful with regards to where
you put your animals and don'tput them where they can be seen
(32:16):
from the road or from a publicarea.
The second thing I would say isbe very, very careful about what
you post online.
Certainly we want to be honestwith regards to what we face as
farmers and homesteaders.
Homesteading is not always a bedof roses.
And I've talked about mydislike, actually almost hatred
(32:40):
of the whole cottage core, uh,type approach to homesteading,
you know, the d in the hairfrolicking, the, in the fields.
It's not realistic.
And so there is a sense to whereI think we all desire to be
authentic, but sometimes maybewe don't need to be as
authentic.
(33:01):
If you know what I'm saying.
So be careful about what youpost online as you look at
things.
Maybe ask yourself, couldsomebody twist this?
Could somebody take this out ofcontext?
Could somebody use this againstme?
And just really think twiceabout what you're posting and
(33:24):
what you're sharing, especiallyon your farm.
Facebook or Instagram sites.
I also think you need to becareful with regards to who you
tick off in your town, andthat's not always been something
that I've been great at.
There are a couple of communityFacebook sites here in our area
(33:46):
where I've been known to kind ofstir the pot, uh, a time or two
with regards to some people, andthere have been times when I
thought Brian.
You never know what these crazypeople might do to retaliate, so
just think about that.
Be careful about how youinteract with your neighbors,
(34:07):
both in person and onlinebecause you want them to be your
greatest allies, not yourbiggest enemies, and they
certainly can make your lifemiserable, especially if you are
maybe, I'm not gonna say.
Uh, operating outside the boundsof the law, but maybe you're
(34:29):
doing things that aren'tnecessarily 100% in compliance
with the law, if you know whatI'm saying.
If you've gone rogue a littlebit, then you definitely don't
want to have your neighbors asyour worst enemy because they
will make your life miserable.
So don't go there.
The third thing I would say isbe careful who you invite onto
(34:51):
your property, especially Ifyou're selling meat, if you're
selling eggs, if you really, ifyou're selling anything off of
your farm.
But if you list anything onFacebook marketplace, just be
very, very careful of who youinvite onto your property,
because sometimes people cancome onto your property under
the guise of buying meat, underthe guise of buying animals, but
(35:15):
really looking for.
Problems to create.
And so especially if you'redealing with Facebook
marketplace or you're dealingwith, you know, something where
you can research somebody'sprofile, you might wanna do
that.
Or instead of having them cometo your farm or homestead, maybe
(35:35):
you meet them at the localWalmart parking lot or the local
post office parking lot orsomething like that.
But again, just being very, veryaware.
Of who you are inviting ontoyour property to ensure that you
aren't inviting in problems.
(35:55):
The fourth thing you may want toconsider is adding either game
cameras or security cameras.
Now, depending on the size ofyour homestead, you may not be
able to get a security camerathat's going to reach to where.
Your front gate is, so in thatcase, maybe a game camera that
(36:16):
runs off of batteries is goingto be a, a better option.
But whether it's ring doorbellsor ways can there, there's just
a whole bunch of options outthere of things that you might
wanna consider adding to ensure.
That if somebody does mess withyour animals, mess with your
(36:37):
homestead, mess with yourfences, that you can capture who
that is, and then you have proofof whatever violations they have
done.
The final thing I would say isknow your rights.
And also know yourresponsibilities.
Now, a a a bit ago I did mentionabout going rogue.
(37:00):
You know, um, let's say you livein an HOA and they say, no
chickens.
Maybe they say no animals atall, and maybe you sneak a few
rabbits into your garage, oryou've got a few quail in your
garage or something like that.
You need to understand that ifyou get caught.
There could be consequences, soknow your responsibilities if
(37:20):
you're going to operate in thatgray area.
Understand what might happen asa result.
Also know your rights.
You know, if you live in a townwhere maybe they say no
roosters, but you can havechickens, and so you get
chickens and then somebodystarts giving you a hard time
about having chickens, you know,I have the right to have
(37:41):
chickens where I live, there areright to farm laws, and so I
know that I have the right to dowhat I'm doing.
I have the right to raiseanimals for meat.
I have the right to.
Process chickens and sell them.
I have the right to do thatbecause of certain laws that are
in place.
I have certain rights.
(38:04):
Also understand that there aretimes when what we think we
should be able to do and what weare able to do under the eyes of
the law are two very differentthings.
And so how are we going tochallenge that?
Are we going to openly defy it?
And look to create a problemwith the hope of creating
change.
(38:26):
Are we going to work to changethe law so that we can do what
we want?
I think that's going to be anindividual decision.
Certain people are, are gonnawant to take the fight to, to
them and, and kind of thumbtheir nose at the law and, and.
(38:46):
Deal with the consequences laterand other people may take a less
confrontational approach.
I don't think either one isright or wrong.
It just depends on how you as anindividual want to approach it.
But certainly, Knowing yourrights and responsibilities is
going to be key, so that if youare challenged by an animal
(39:08):
rights activist or you'rechallenged by somebody who says,
no, you're not allowed to do X,Y, or Z.
You know, yes, I'm able to do X,Y, or Z because of this, or, ah,
okay, yeah, you're right, whatyou're gonna do about it, and
then you kind of go from there.
But that's certainly up to you.
Certainly, I want to be clear asI wrap this up that I am not
(39:30):
defending animal abuse or animalneglect.
But I also do strongly believethat the vast majority of
homesteaders got into this thingbecause they actually were
concerned about how animals aretreated within the corporate
large AG type facilities, andthey wanted to do better.
(39:51):
They also understand that thebetter an animal is treated, the
better that animal is going togrow and thrive.
The better that animal is goingto be for them.
And so my strong belief is thatthe vast majority of
homesteaders, the vast majorityof small scale farmers are
(40:13):
involved in this because theywant to do better.
But having said that, in themiddle of the winter, Water
freezes, electricity goes out,rain happens, snow comes.
There are a lot of things thattake place that are outside a
farmer's control, and so we tryto do the best we can with what
(40:34):
we've got, but there are alwaysgoing to be people who don't
think it's good enough and whoare going to challenge us.
And so the question is how do wehandle that?
And in my opinion, an ounce ofprevention is certainly worth a
pound of cure.
But if you're somebody who'slooking for a fight, then you do
(40:57):
you.
And when you got a GoFundMe pageup, let me know.
I'll blast it out and we'llsupport you.
All right folks.
That's it for this episode.
Again, links to both of thearticles that I read from will
be in the show notes.
If you have any questions orconcerns, if you're aware of a
situation that I shouldhighlight, let me know.
(41:19):
brian@thehomesteadjourney.net ismy email address, and until next
time, everybody, keep up thegood work.
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