Frequent readers of this blog know my appreciation for government over-reach into the lives of American citizens can be measured in negative light years. This can be easily seen in the use of drones to surveil the innocent, harassment of law abiding citizens, abuse of the legal systems, the “war on drugs” and other places. Few places may this over-reach be more evident than in regulations of family farms and co-ops. The federal government, embodied in the activity of the Food and Drug Administration, has, on multiple occasions, sent armed SWAT teams onto small farms, inhabited by children, to confiscate raw milk, cheese and yogurt. This all happens under the auspice of public health. The greater likelihood, though, is these regulations prevent a fully competitive marketplace, allowing the upper hand to remain with “Big Ag.” Big Ag is the industrialized farming system that has expanded over the last several decades in the U.S. as family farms have gone under. One estimate holds the total number of U.S. farms has decreased from 7 million to 2 million from 1935 until today.