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# Raw Milk Trial Ends With Split Jury Verdict
- URL: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/05/raw-milk-trial-ends-with-split-jury-verdict/
- Published: 2013-05-26T04:28:15.000Z
- Updated: 2018-07-30T23:36:59.000Z
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Lawsuits & Litigation, Local Food, Nutrition & Public Health, raw milk, trial, Vernon Hershberger, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-25 08:58

A Sauk County, Wisconsin jury, meeting until 1 a.m. Saturday, acquitted Vernon Hershberger on three charges: operating a farm store without a retail food establishment permit, operating a dairy farm without a milk producer license, and operating a dairy plant without a license. But it found him guilty on a fourth count.

![](http://foodsafetynewsfullservice.marlersites.com/files/2013/05/raw-milk-bucket-406x250.jpeg "raw-milk-bucket-406x250")

That means when sentenced, the 41-year old Hershberger still could be jailed for up to one year and fined up to $10,000 for his conviction for violating a hold order placed on food on his farm in June 2010 by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Attorney Elizabeth Rich, vice president for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, said Hershberger’s acquittal on three of four counts is a “victory for the food right movement.” His supporters said farmer of Amish roots faced charges stemming only from his leasing cows to a private buyers club and providing raw dairy and other nutrient-dense foods to the club members. Prosecutors said the evidence clearly showed Hershberger’s club was a retail store, complete with product price list, a cash register, and a credit card machine. The week-long trial brought food freedom activists to the Wisconsin town of Baraboo where the court is located. Judge Guy Reynolds has not yet set a date for sentencing the dairy farmer. Wisconsin law prohibits the commercial sale of raw milk and raw milk products.