[T]he Vermont Agency of Agriculture has fined Enosburg farmer Greg Finch $24,800 for violating livestock importation laws after an eight-month investigation. The agency found that Finch put Vermont pigs at risk of contracting a contagious virus.
Meanwhile, an ongoing federal investigation is examining whether Finch engaged in fraud and consumer deception. The Agency of Agriculture has referred questions about whether he violated Vermont origin regulations to the Vermont Attorney General’s office.
Finch sold and marketed Vermont-born livestock under his company Vermont Family Farm. As first reported by WCAX, the state found he imported 1,546 pigs from Pennsylvania between January 2014 and February 2015.
Finch’s pork was distributed to Vermont Smoke and Cure. One of the company’s brands, 5 Knives, purports to only sell Vermont-raised animal products. Vermont Family Farm was the sole source for Vermont Smoke and Cure’s 5 Knives line of pork products, which were sold in grocery stores, delis, and gourmet restaurants throughout New York and New England.
Vermont Smoke and Cure was not aware that Finch was using out-of-state pork until state officials raised questions. In February, the 5 Knives products were pulled from retail stores.
Finch’s pork commanded a premium price because he claimed the meat came from Vermont-born and pasture-raised pigs without the use of farrowing crates, hormones or antibiotics.
The Agency of Agriculture factored in animal health risks as well as Finch’s financial rewards for the violations into their decision. Finch was able to charge an inflated rate for his pigs, without incurring the financial burden of birthing and raising them under the expensive conditions listed in his claims. He was also able to forgo the costs associated with proper certification and permits. With lowered operating costs and an increased volume of pigs, Finch grew his business significantly without challenge from other Vermont pig farmers who simply couldn’t produce the volume and couldn’t compete on price. These health and financial considerations led to the steep $24,800 fine, which nearly reaches the maximum allowed penalty of $25,000.
Finch told VTDigger that he has a hearing request filed in response to the notice of violation, and therefore couldn’t comment for this story. The Agency of Agriculture said the same. A date for the hearing has yet to determined.
“I think it’s good that the state is taking this seriously,” said Vermont Smoke and Cure CEO Chris Bailey. “It’s a fine that emphasizes that they’re serious.”
The state findings highlight the industry’s struggle to maintain standards while attempting to meet growing demand for Vermont pork.
The state investigation
According to documents obtained by VTDigger, Finch purchased the pigs over the course of 31 bimonthly trips to a livestock auction in New Holland, Pennsylvania. He brought the animals to Vermont in loads of about 50, transporting 25 of them per week to Vermont Livestock Slaughter and Processing in Ferrisburgh, where they were killed and cut before the were transported to the Vermont Packinghouse in North Springfield.
The Vermont Packinghouse, which is a joint venture of Black River Produce, processed the carcasses for distribution to customers including Vermont Smoke and Cure.
The state investigation focused on food safety. Any livestock brought into Vermont from out of state must obtain a certificate of veterinary inspection as well as an import permit from the Agency of Agriculture. Finch didn’t seek either certification, according to the report. State law also mandates that the importer individually identify each animal, which he neglected to do, according to the documents.
By skipping these steps, Finch put Vermont livestock at an elevated risk of contagious disease, the agency found. Pennsylvania has had ongoing problems with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), a virus that is often deadly for young pigs but cannot infect humans. The pigs Finch bought at the New Holland auction had an amplified risk of exposure to PED because they had commingled with other pigs from Pennsylvania and beyond.
Finch, who participated in a recent Swine Health Task Force meeting and is a member of the Vermont Livestock Care Standards Advisory Council, was well aware of the proper procedures as well as the potential health risks of forgoing them, according to an agency report. “The potential impact on public health, safety, and welfare from these violations cannot be overstated,” a state official wrote in a notice of violation.
Emails written during the investigation by Finch to Dr. Kristin Haas, state veterinarian and director of food safety consumer protection, indicate that Vermont Smoke and Cure, Black River Produce, and Vermont Livestock will no longer work with Finch.
“My entire business has been built around my relationship with [Black River Produce] and I have no other markets,” Finch wrote. “So now after 14 years of hardship, blood, sweat, and tears building this farm, my dream has been destroyed. My family is devastated and my livelihood is gone.”
Greg Finch and Black River Produce had worked together since 2011 to produce the only high volume supply of Vermont-born pigs in the state. Their production grew from less than five pigs per week to 25, eclipsing other Vermont farmers who bring three or four pigs to slaughter weekly.
Black River, which connected Finch to Vermont Smoke and Cure for the development of 5 Knives, has incurred serious financial damage, following the revelation of Finch’s practices, according to one investigator’s email.
Thomas Collaro, an investigator with the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) who worked in conjunction with the state on the incident, estimated in an email to Vermont investigator Mike Mitchell that the “episode will cost [Black River Produce] close to $100,000.”
The loss in future income likely goes far beyond that figure. Before the import practices came under fire, Finch had endeavored to move even more of his business to Black River and their Vermont Packinghouse slaughter and processing facility in the coming year. He was planning to move his farm from Franklin County to the eastern side of the state in 2015, according to Black River President Sean Buchanan. Rather than continue to split slaughter and processing between the western Vermont Livestock facility and the eastern Vermont Packinghouse, as he had done since the latter opened in 2014, he was to transition the entire operation to Vermont Packinghouse. This would have streamlined the process by which his pigs could be killed, cut, and processed under one roof before Black River distributed the pork product.
“It has created a void for us, our chefs, and our retailers, “ Buchanan wrote to VTDigger in an email, “but in the long run we want legitimate Vermont pork and we would all rather take the time and do it right than look the other way.”
USDA inspectors grew suspicious of Finch’s pork supply in June 2014. Inspector Eric Holmgren, who monitors the operations of Vermont Packinghouse, wrote in a June 18 report that that he noticed a piece of removed pig skin with a “NH01” tattoo in an inedible container under the cutting bench while Finch’s pigs were being processed under Vermont-grown, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free claims. According to the report, Holmgren mentioned to Black River manager Dominic Barone that it was a strange marking for a Vermont-born pig. Barone explained that the tattoo stood for New Holland, Pennsylvania, and that he wasn’t sure how the Vermont-grown label could be applied to the product either.
Holmgren looked at the paperwork and determined that Barone and Black River were still in compliance with labeling regulations because they were simply transferring claims that were already signed off by Vermont Livestock, the original slaughterhouse. Although it was acknowledged that at least some of the pigs were probably coming from New Holland, the onus to substantiate claims was placed on the first slaughterhouse and the farmer rather than the processing plant.
An email later that day from USDA-FSIS official Craig Koscielski indicates that Koscielski explained to Barone that they found no reason for regulatory action at the time, but that “shipping misbranded product is a matter of non-compliance and could result in regulatory actions further down the line.”
Another email on June 18 from state Meat Programs Chief Randy Quenneville to state and USDA colleagues reveals another issue at Black River’s Vermont Packinghouse. “It seems there is no individual animal ID protocol for pigs,” he wrote, “only a blanket letter coming from the slaughter facility. As such there is no way to tell which hogs in the plant came from VT and to the best of our knowledge all of the hogs are receiving the VT label with no antibiotic claims, etc.” Quenneville’s email indicated that a pork product could possibly receive a Vermont-grown or Vermont-born label even if only a portion of the meat used for the product came from a pig with the necessary proof of claims.
On July 4, not quite three weeks after New Holland tattoos at Vermont Packinghouse were questioned, Black River Produce and Finch changed their protocol. According to Buchanan, the protocols were changed because Finch said he was selling his farm and moving his operations to the eastern side of Vermont.
The two parties revised the agreement so that Finch could now bring feeder pigs from out of state to his farm, so long as they spent either 90 days or half of their life in Vermont. The change was not disclosed to Vermont Smoke and Cure, which continued to market 5 Knives as made with Vermont-born pigs. Finch’s records from the auction indicate that he had bought 700 pigs from the Pennsylvania auction before the protocol was changed. After the July agreement through to the February incident, he had bought 846 more.
The protocol change wasn’t enough to assuage investigators’ concerns, and USDA Inspector Julie Aebi reported suspicious tattoos on Finch’s pigs at Vermont Livestock on Feb. 5, according to documents. She inquired with slaughterhouse owner Carl Cushing about the tattoos and found documentation for the pigs to be insufficient. Cushing removed the Vermont-born claims, as well as the other husbandry claims such as antibiotic-free and hormone-free.
That particular load was still shipped to North Springfield, where Holmgren noticed on Feb. 9 that this time Vermont Packinghouse was adding the Vermont-grown, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free claims after processing the pork, which came from Vermont Livestock.
When Holmgren inquired again with Vermont Packinghouse as to how they could add new claims in the middle of the process, managing partner Arion Thiboumery provided him with the shipping record from Vermont Livestock and the grower proof form from Black River that accompanied the pigs in question. The Black River form supported the claims, but the document was not signed by anyone at Vermont Livestock, according to Holmgren’s report. Holmgren learned that Cushing filed a corrective action form declaring a withholding of the usual claims due to “insufficient documentation” from Finch, in response to Aebi’s inquiry. A corrective action form from Vermont Livestock followed on Feb. 10, in which Thiboumery pledged to remove all labeling claims from Finch’s pork as well.
Several days later, Vermont Smoke and Cure and Black River Produce agreed to a voluntary market withdrawal. They pulled all 5 Knives products from shelves and restaurants, and shut down the 5 Knives website.
Unable to determine the origin of Finch’s pigs, the Agency of Agriculture issued a since-lifted quarantine on his farm as well as an official investigation into his interstate commerce practices. The USDA launched an investigation, and the Attorney General’s Office is examining the incident and reconsidering the “interface between state and federal law” when it comes to origin claims for meat, according to Assistant Attorney General Naomi Sheffield.
Vermont Smoke and Cure CEO Chris Bailey told VTDigger that he is working to revive the 5 Knives program, though he doesn’t know yet whether they will contract with Black River for it.
“It’s still in the early stages,” Bailey said. “We’re not sure exactly how it will work.”
The “Born in Vermont” claims will not be applied to the revived subbrand.
The company is relying exclusively on out-of-state pigs. Finch was the only Vermont farmer from whom Vermont Smoke and Cure bought pigs. There isn’t anyone else who can provide the same volume, according to Bailey.
Demand outstrips supply
Demand for Vermont pork has increased along with demand for all local foods. The University of Vermont Extension and Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Vermont have teamed up to develop Vermont’s swine industry with the help of a Working Lands Enterprise Grant. Sam Fuller of NOFA Vermont explained that the state is struggling, however, to meet the need.
“Vermont doesn’t have the same history of pork production as it does with something like maple and dairy, or even organic vegetables,” Fuller said. “All of that has a much stronger footing in the landscape in Vermont than pork production. It’s really only been about 10 years that we’ve seen an increase in people looking to commercially produce pork.”
Fuller works with a small team to educate Vermont farmers on how to find new markets, connect with fellow swine farmers, find feeder stock, and eventually level up in size. One of their key initiatives is to establish a digital hub where farmers who breed pigs can connect with those who buy feeder pigs and raise them, as well as connect finishing operations with restaurants, purveyors, and other consumers in a sort of crowd-sourced alternative to traditional distribution chains, according to Jenn Colby of UVM Extension. “That’s the real bottleneck,” she said.
While Colby wouldn’t comment specifically on Greg Finch, she noted a common theme with farmers in Vermont when it comes to growing while maintaining claims and quality. “There’s a real tension,” she said, “between the growth of farms, the ability to satisfy the market demand and adhere to labeling, and the additional balance of trying to farm in a way that is economically viable. There are farms that are making less money and that are very strict with their protocols, and then there are other farms that are finding a way to be viable by doing different protocols. I think we’re going to have that tension for a while.”
Colby also explained that gray areas emerge when common labels like Vermont-grown or pasture-raised don’t necessarily come with standard protocols across farms. Whether a Vermont-grown animal had to have spent two years or two months in the state currently depends on the internal protocol. “In my opinion,” Colby said, “there should be a standard protocol that fits each label so that when someone purchases a product with a particular label or claim, the consumer knows exactly what they are getting.”
Reps. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, and Chip Conquest, D-Orleans-Caledonia, agree that this lack of distinction is at the crux of the issue. Both livestock farmers themselves, Partridge and Conquest say they will look to engage the Attorney General’s Office in either drafting new legislation or new rules that would set a standard for Vermont-grown claims.
Partridge, who chairs the House Committee on Agriculture and Forest Products, says it’s an issue of both fairness and branding. “There are people who buy calves from out of state and raise them on Vermont pasture all summer,” she said. “Is that Vermont, grass-fed beef? I think it probably is. But when you’re getting pigs from out of state that are full-grown and saying it’s Vermont pork, I don’t think that that’s accurate. … We’d like to think that the Vermont brand is important and we definitely want people to feel like they’re getting what they’ve been promised.”
Conquest reiterated the need for clear policies and laws. “We really need to be careful to define this well enough that people continue to have faith in it,” he said. “If we don’t address it, this won’t be the last time that we see this kind of scandal or controversy.”
Sam Fuller of NOFA isn’t sure more regulation is the answer, pointing instead to consumer education and realistic expectations regarding what a label means and what you can expect to pay for it.
“[The Greg Finch incident] highlights the fact that there is a demand for this kind of local pork, but to do that at the price point that we as consumers want to pay at the end doesn’t always match up and our values aren’t being backed up with our dollars,” Fuller said. “I think that as we grow as a food system we will always be trying to figure out how to meet those demands while doing it with integrity and transparency. If anything, it reminds everyone to look closely at what our values are and how we can clearly document and communicate those values.”
With Finch’s request for a hearing formally submitted, the USDA investigation ongoing, and actions by the Attorney General and Vermont Legislature expected, there will likely be plenty more opportunities for contemplation.
