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Fitz confirms Bemis' recollection of the events, though he notes that his encouragement of a resolution was directed as much at Fedder and the Michigan Agriculture Dept. as it was at Hebron. "He was not someone running into a bank with a gun doing something immediately dangerous to the public," says Fitz. "You've got two opposing parties, each with a good intention."

The department's original settlement offer proposed that Hebron be subject to various state regulations regarding products Hebron distributes besides raw milk, including poultry, eggs, beef, and pork—"redundant, over the top," is the way Bemis puts it. "We had to go over each issue."

Eventually, they settled on an agreement whereby Hebron needs "to come into compliance" on the facilities he uses for preparing and processing such products, according to Fedder. Hebron indicates he's already made arrangements via subcontractors to handle at least some of the issues Fedder is concerned about.

Reluctant Agreement

Ironically, the party most resistant to the settlement approach was Hebron. While he appreciates all the support he received from raw-milk consumers and people like Bemis, he fears that the Michigan Agriculture Dept. "wants to get me under their thumb with all these regulations." He's also still smarting from the department's search of his home during the sting. "I used to have faith in the government," he says. "Then when they stopped me the way they did and took my things and went into my house…I don't think anything is safe any more. Our house was always unlocked. Now, when we are gone, we lock it."

Bemis says he convinced Hebron to go along by detailing what a criminal trial might look like. "I told Richard that being in court isn't what you want to focus the next 12 months of your life doing," Bemis said.

While the Michigan component of the case is drawing to a close, the case isn't yet concluded. The federal Food & Drug Administration, which became involved in the case shortly after the Michigan sting operation, earlier this year issued a warning letter to the Indiana farmer, David Hochstetler, who actually supplies the raw milk that Hebron distributes to the cooperative. The FDA said Hochstetler was in violation of federal interstate commerce prohibitions on raw milk.

Bemis has become involved in that aspect of the case as well, helping Hochstetler draft a lengthy appeal to the FDA, arguing that the milk shipments don't constitute commerce, since they are being sent to Michigan participants in cow-share contracts, and not being sold commercially. The FDA hasn't yet responded to the appeal.

David Gumpert is a journalist who blogs regularly about the business of health and has written a number of books about small business and entrepreneurship, including "Burn Your Business Plan!" His new book, "The Raw Milk Revolution," is due out in November.