Martha Boneta dreamt of a farm in Virginia's lush countryside. Big Green bureaucrats and busybodies turned that dream into a nightmare of obstruction and red tape -- until Martha fought back and won. This is her story.
"Farming in Fear" pieces together Martha's story from interviews and documentation, tracking the nearly 10-year ordeal she's gone through just to earn a living in spite of corrupt local ordinances, abusive management of her conservation easement, and personal attacks through the introduction of an amendment to Virginia's Right to Farm Act called the 'Boneta Bill', designed to protect small farmers so that what happened to Martha never happens again.
Martha wins! In a stinging repudiation of the conduct of a Virginia environmental group once viewed as politically invincible, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) March 10 signed into law bipartisan legislation that -- for the first time -- provides rural landowners the means with which to defend themselves against bullying by land trusts.
Did the PEC fabricate claims that Stonewall Jackson slept in an oak grove on Liberty Farm?
Sign the petition. Stand up for property rights for Virginians and everyone!
Thursday was a good day for Liberty in Richmond -- both the farm and the ideal.
Thursday, November 6, 2014 -- 9:00 AM Bell tower rally -- 9:30 AM Legislative hearing
Thanks to a grassroots outcry against injustice, Virginia lawmakers passed a new law, signed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, that protects family farmers from encroachment by local governments. Martha Boneta had been barred by her county government from selling produce, fined for hosting a birthday party, and threatened with the loss of her entire farm. Environmental groups and county governments provided the major opposition to the bill.