Your October FTCLDF Update: Leadership, Legal Wins, and Right to Farm

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Subject: Your October FTCLDF Update: Leadership, Legal Wins, and Right to Farm

Dear Friend,

As fall settles in, we have important news to share. This month brings a leadership update from FTCLDF, the latest on our member Grassway Organics’ fight to keep its dairy open, and a preview of our recent webinar on Right to Farm laws.

Thank you for reading, and for standing with independent farmers and the families who rely on them.

In good health,

Alexia Kulwiec

Executive Director

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund

Grassway Organics Cooperative

FTCLDF member Grassway Organics, a family dairy in Walworth County, Wisconsin, is fighting to stay open. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) suspended the farm’s milk license earlier this year and is seeking fines up to $10,000 plus $50 for each day the farm operates. DATCP seeks these fines although an administrative hearing is not scheduled until May 2027.

On September 28, Grassway Organics filed a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop enforcement until the farm has its day in court. Although the farm was not awarded the TRO, it has a hearing in November to request a preliminary injunction to stop DATCP enforcement until its hearing.

The community's response has been remarkable. Supporters have raised well over $100,00 yet the farm’s legal costs continue to rise.

FTCLDF has supported Grassway Organics every step of the way, and we will share updates as the case moves forward. If you would like to help with the farm’s legal costs, you can donate to FTCLDF or to Food of Choice, Inc. and note that your gift is for Grassway Organics. Both organizations have committed to contributing 100% of these donations to the farm’s legal team.

Donate

If you want to make a tax-deductible contribution, please consider donating to our sister organization, Food of Choice.

November Virtual Meetings with Congress

In our last newsletter, we let you know that our good friends at the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (“FARFA”) invited FTCLDF and its members to join them in a Virtual Fly-In on Thursday, November 10th, bringing farmers, advocates, and partner organizations together for online meetings with congressional offices without requiring any travel to D.C.

In these sessions, participants will meet with congressional offices to share their firsthand experiences and help lawmakers understand how federal policy affects farms and communities back home. These meetings are an effective way to bring farmers' challenges, stories, and concerns directly to the legislators crafting the laws that affect our nation’s farms. No prior advocacy experience is necessary; FARFA and FTCLDF will provide preparation, talking points, and support throughout the process.

Several members have asked to participate, and we thank you for stepping up! For anyone interested in joining us, please click here to register for these meetings.

We anticipate the event will include an initial hour-long meeting with the FARFA team to review advocacy tips, and another half-hour call with your district representative’s office that same day.

Please note that while we will make every effort to schedule a meeting with your congressional representative or their staff, neither FTCLDF nor FARFA can guarantee success.

Farm Bill Status

With the midterm elections nearing, politicians across the country are focused on that effort and so we face a lame-duck session or post-election negotiations to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the Farm Bill and pass a comprehensive package. We are hearing in some quarters that there is some appetite in the Senate to pass the Farm Bill (with some concessions), so we hope there will be movement soon. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, get out and Vote!

Right to Farm Webinar

Every state has a Right to Farm law, and most offer protection from allegations of public and private nuisance. In this member-exclusive webinar, recorded on October 8, 2026, the FTCLDF legal team explains how these laws shield farms from nuisance claims over noise, odors, and dust, and where those protections end.

The session covers common requirements, the protections for livestock guard dogs, and real cases, including the defense of a Michigan beekeeper and the Cottonwood Farms Right to Farm case. To close, we held a live Q&A on homesteads, agritourism, neighbor petitions, and more.

Our team was joined by MI lawyer Michelle Halley, with whom we partner, and a MI member using that state’s RTF law as a defense in an active matter to share insights on how these laws can help our members.

Learn more and watch a preview here.

If you are a member, you can watch the full recording here.

Not a member? Become one today.

Agricultural Data Laws

As you may know, Nebraska passed an Agricultural Data Privacy Act law earlier this year, the first of its kind. The law seeks to safeguard agricultural data and require data controllers to establish security practices and sign consent agreements with producers before providing, using, or selling agricultural data, defined as land, agronomic, weather, livestock, sustainability, and management data, that is created, collected, or produced in the state and is linked to an agricultural producer.

Key provisions state that food producers own operational data linked to their farming activities (excluding aggregated or public government data) and that they cannot sell such data without express written consent. The law took effect in July of this year and sets a deadline of January 1, 2027, by which new contracts must prohibit unauthorized data sales. Details of the new law are available here.

In addition, Missouri and Iowa also have pending bills seeking to protect agricultural data (Colorado introduced a similar bill that has been postponed). You can view Missouri’s bill here and Iowa’s here. We will monitor their progress through the legislative process.

Leadership Update

After seven years as Executive Director, Alexia Kulwiec is stepping down in that capacity. She will stay with FTCLDF as Senior Legal Advisor. Christine Dzujna, currently our Policy Director and Legal Services Manager, will serve as Interim Director beginning November 1 while we search for a new Executive Director.

“I am honored to step in and support FTCLDF while we undertake a search for a new Executive Director. The entire FTCLDF team is committed to maintaining the high level of support and services our members and partners have come to rely on and to ensuring a smooth transition. ” Christine said.

Alexia added, “I have immensely enjoyed and learned a great deal as Executive Director of FTCLDF. I am more committed than ever to the creation of a more just food system in which consumers have the ability to find healthy food grown and produced in their community, and in which small independent producers can flourish.”

We are now accepting applications for a full-time Executive Director. To view the position description and apply, visit this page.

Read the full press release here.

FTCLDF Events and Drawing!

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund was so pleased to be present at the Wise Traditions Conference in Washington, D.C., October 16 - 18, 2026. FTCLDF again thanks our sponsors, Meadows Bee Farm and Green Pasture!

In addition, FTCLDF held a drawing for a two-night stay at Inn the Ground in the beautiful Willamette Valley, Oregon. We are so grateful to Tabula Rasa Farm and The Ground for their incredible generosity. On October 27, 2026, FTCLDF notified the drawing winner of their gift of an amazing farm stay.

As this newsletter goes out to the FTCLDF community, Board President Peter Ruddock will arrive at the Regenerate Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Come on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, to hear Peter speak about responding to regulatory notices received by producers selling directly to consumers. And if you are at Regenerate, be sure to stop by the FTCLDF Booth!

That's all for this month! Feel free to reach out if you need anything, and as always, we appreciate your support.

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www.farmtoconsumer.org | 703-208-FARM (3276) | info@farmtoconsumer.org

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Subject: Your October FTCLDF Update: Leadership, Legal Wins, and Right to Farm