Niceley, an honorary board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), is one of the more productive and liberty-minded legislators in the country and an effective advocate in Nashville (the state capital) not only for his own constituents but also for numerous other Tennessee residents, especially farmers. It’s common for farmers around the state to contact Niceley, a fifth-generation cattle farmer, for help instead of their own legislators if they are having an issue with a regulator or government agency, be it state or federal.

The successful legislation he has sponsored and policies he has helped implement as both a state representative and state senator have made a huge impact on small farmers and local artisan food producers and many others in Tennessee. In his latest term, Niceley sponsored successful bills legalizing the over-the-counter sale of ivermectin (Tennessee was the first state to do so), taking the sales tax off gold and silver coins, legalizing the unlicensed, unregulated sale of cottage foods not only direct from the producer to the consumer but also to third parties such as grocery stores, and establishing a state meat inspection program.

Niceley has done more to deregulate local food production and distribution than anyone in the past 15 years, enabling family farms and local artisans to have a better chance to make a living. His list of accomplishments include:

2009 [HB 720]
Sponsored bill legalizing the distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements. In 2012 Niceley followed up on that bill by getting an Attorney General’s opinion that it was legal to distribute other raw dairy products through a herdshare agreement as well.

2012
Got an Attorney General’s opinion that farmers didn’t need a permit to sell eggs from their own farm.

2014 [SB 1707]
Sponsored a bill adopting the federal poultry exemption enabling farmers to process up to 20,000 birds a year. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has since expanded the exemption by policy to include processing rabbit meat on the farm.

Before the bill passed, Tennessee had one of the worst regulatory climates for on-farm poultry processing in the country; during that time, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) received a call from a poultry farmer in Bristol, Tennessee, getting ready to move across the state line to Bristol, Virginia, because he was so fed up with the restrictive laws and policies on on-farm poultry processing.

2017 [SB 343]

Sponsored a bill adopting the federal exemption on custom slaughter and the exemption on non-amenable species. The latter exemption allows the sale of meat from animals such as bison and domestically raised deer that are slaughtered and processed at a custom facility.

2017 [SB 651]
When Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) chapter leader, Michele Reneau, was threatened with prosecution because the food buyers club she co-managed did not have a permit, Niceley passed a bill, exempting food buyers clubs from licensing and regulation.

2017
Received Attorney General’s opinion stating that there can be an unlimited number of owners for an animal slaughtered and processed at a custom facility and that entities such as a food buyers club can be an owner of such a custom animal.

2019 [SB 358]
Sponsored bill legalizing sales of raw butter by licensed dairies.

2020 [SB 2049]
Sponsored a bill requiring that any meat labeled as a product of Tennessee must be from an animal that was born and raised in the state.

2020 [SJR 841]
Sponsored a resolution commending the Weston Price Foundation for its 50-50 Campaign urging people to buy at least 50% of their food budget direct from the farm.

2022 [SB 693]
Sponsored the Tennessee Food Freedom Act legalizing the unlicensed unregulated sale from homemade food producers of food that does not require time and temperature control for safety, including fermented foods; these sales can be direct to consumers and also by some third parties such as food buyers clubs and grocery stores.

2023 [SB 123]
Sponsored the bill to establish a State Meat Inspection program in Tennessee; like many states, Tennessee has a shortage of federally, inspected slaughterhouses, especially in the eastern half of the state.

2024 [SB 1914]
Sponsored a bill providing for vending machines with whole milk in the schools, giving children a more nutritious option while still preserving federal funding for Tennessee’s school lunch program. The federal rule that withdraws funding from Washington if whole milk is served in a school lunch has worsened children’s health and the economic condition of the dairy industry.

Niceley‘s work impacts the local food movement around the rest of the U.S. as well. The first thing legislators typically ask when a constituent requests that they introduce a bill is: “Has this been done elsewhere?”

The senator has introduced and helped pass a number of bills that were law in few, if any, states outside Tennessee. In the 2024 session he helped pass a bill defining and regulating as a drug any food that contained “a vaccine or vaccine material.”

Legislation he introduced this past session includes: a constitutional resolution to protect the individuals right to grow and acquire the food of their choice [SJR 902]; a bill that would have barred any prohibition on the growing of produce and the raising of chicken or meat rabbits on a residential lot [SB 1761]; a bill that would have exempted farms from any vaccine mandate for their livestock or poultry, if the farms practice was not to vaccinate their livestock or poultry [SB 2543]; and legislation that would have prohibited cell-cultured meat from being defined as “meat” [SB 2603].

Niceley has been generous with his time in helping legislators, farmers and eaters in other states working on food and agriculture bills. As for Tennessee, there is no one who has done as much for the small farmer and local food producer in that state as Frank Niceley.

[Photo credit: Solari.com “Blast from the Past“]

The post The Farmers’ Legislator appeared first on Real Milk.

Spend at least 50% of your food dollars on direct purchases from local farmers and artisans; with the remainder of your food dollars, you can celebrate how small the world has become!

This commitment to supporting local farms crowns the 20th year of the ongoing crusade by the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) to disseminate accurate information on diet and health.

There is every reason to take the 50% Pledge, a campaign of WAPF to have its members spend at least half their food dollar purchasing food from local farmers and artisans.

By taking and making good on the pledge, you will be improving your own health and the health of your families. The highest quality food is mostly found from small farmers and artisans in the local food system. The likelihood is that you will be spending less money on doctors and medication. If you are currently spending little or nothing on medical services taking the 50% pledge is a great way to maintain that lifestyle.

Taking the pledge contributes towards small farm prosperity and increases the chances of your local food source remaining in business. There are still too many one-size-fits-all food safety regulations that squeeze regenerative family farms; they need all the business they can take on. The quality of the industrial food supply continues to deteriorate; by helping to keep quality local producers in business  through your patronage, you will be better able to avoid health-robbing foods in the industrial system. The medical system currently accounts for 17% of our gross national product (GNP); reducing demand for medical services leads to a more productive use of resources. Small farmers are the true frontline healers in our healthcare system.

Taking the pledge will benefit the local economy by keeping more of your food dollar in the community. In many states, less than 10% of the food residents consume is produced in that state. The industrialization of agriculture has drained rural America.

Stronger local food systems lead to better food safety. At an international food safety conference in July 2019, a high-ranking FDA official stated that traceability was the Achilles heel of the food system; nothing is more traceable than food locally produced and consumed.

A country’s ability to be self-sufficient in quality food production is its first line of national defense. A strong small-farm sector marketing most of its production direct to the final consumer is the path towards making that happen.

There are other steps you can take beyond the 50% Pledge; you can pass word of the campaign on to non-WAPF members and convince them to take the pledge. Educate them on how important it is for their own health and the health of their families to have a prosperous local food system. The enemy is convenience; explain to them why it’s worth it to go the extra mile and purchase direct from local farms and artisans.

WAPF has created postcards explaining the 50% Pledge that are free for the asking to make people think more about where they are spending their food dollar. Request a free set of postcards through the online store at westonaprice.org or email a request postcards to info@westonaprice.org or call 703-820-3333.

The conventional food system is changing rapidly. The expansion of home delivery systems for industrial food, the growth of industrial organic, and the targeting of the traditional livestock business through plant-based and cell-cultured “meat” and “dairy” products threaten to weaken local food systems. Mass participation in the 50% Pledge campaign is a way to stem the threat, creating more demand for the raw dairy products, meat, poultry, eggs, produce and other nutrient-dense foods that small farmers and local artisans produce.

Need help to find local foods? Click here to learn more.

The post Take the 50% Pledge! appeared first on Real Milk.