Raw Milk Bill sent to the Governor

Wisconsin Ann · #1 04/23/10, 08:43 AM

of Wisconsin for signing. (he's expected to sign)

http://brownfieldagnews.com/2010/04/...s-to-governor/

In a nutshell: The final vote in the house was 60yes, 35 no. Milk must be sold on the farm where it's produced, only Grade A farms (most farms here are grade A because of the dairy industry) and the farm must send samples of the milk to the lab to see if there are pathogens found. (not sure how often they send in samples)

Ohio dreamer · #2 04/23/10, 08:49 AM

Maybe there is some hope for those of us that live in states where milk dealers are treated the same drug dealer!

geo in mi · #3 04/23/10, 08:51 AM

Sounds like a win-win to me.
geo

shiandpete.1 · #4 04/23/10, 09:00 AM

I am a member of RMAC, Raw Milk Association of Colorado and we can sell herd shares which allows a herd share member to have access to raw milk. We test once a month for pathogens and all goats and cows must be tested for diseases. We are all currenty working on an addition to our raw milk bill that will allow us as producers to also sell herd shares and make cheese and yogurt and such. Good luck to WI with this bill!

Wisconsin Ann · #5 04/23/10, 09:15 AM

It's thought that this is a test case for other states. Every side was hashed out VERY thoroughly. There were dairy farmers and law makers and consumers on BOTH sides of the argument. Very long debates, lots of questions, lots of answers.

Also very civil. (would that all debates were so civil and thoughtful)..

The main concern/argument against the raw milk sales wasn't that people might get sick, but that even ONE case will damage all dairy sales. There are VERY stringent rules on the sales of raw milk in this bill to address that. They will also strongly urge people who are trying it for the first time to GO SLOW and give their bodies time to adjust to it.

Dairy is the number one industry in Wisconsin. This took a LOT of thought and, well, daring. It's a temporary law...expires end of December 2011. If things go well, the law will be renewed at that time.

michiganfarmer · #6 04/23/10, 07:06 PM

well I think its fantastic

Bluebird · #7 04/23/10, 10:41 PM

Me, too

mateosbaby · #8 04/23/10, 11:03 PM

Hopefully they will see how GOOD it is for people to drink REAL milk! My family just moved back to MN from WI, and I'm very glad to see that this bill is going through! Thanks for posting the news!

Welshmom · #9 04/23/10, 11:05 PM

Hooray!

Ken Scharabok · #10 04/23/10, 11:24 PM

Would someone in WI please keep us periodically informed as to who the program with working.

travlnusa · #11 04/24/10, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisconsin Ann

of Wisconsin for signing. (he's expected to sign)

http://brownfieldagnews.com/2010/04/...s-to-governor/

In a nutshell: The final vote in the house was 60yes, 35 no. Milk must be sold on the farm where it's produced, only Grade A farms (most farms here are grade A because of the dairy industry) and the farm must send samples of the milk to the lab to see if there are pathogens found. (not sure how often they send in samples)

They have to post a sign stating that the milk is not pasturized, and they need to take a daily sample, freeze it, and keep it for 15 day. It also has language about the containers, but dont recall if producer or buyer provides thems.

springvalley · #12 04/24/10, 07:43 AM

Congratulations Wisconsin!!! Civil discussions? Wow. All parties got to state their point and be heard? I'm truly impressed. I'm glad that they've found a way for a dairy to sell their raw milk, and consumers drink it, without making it impossible financially to do so. -Catherine

paintlady · #13 04/24/10, 07:44 AM

It's about time! It never made sense to me why people can buy cigarettes which are clearly marked dangerous for human consumption but you couldn't buy raw milk in Wisconsin.

ronbre · #14 04/24/10, 09:10 AM

oh i would love to be able to buy raw milk again in Mich..we bought it before the big herd sell off and haven't been able to since...i used to do all my own butter, cream products, etc..and would have made cheese had i known how

Wisconsin Ann · #15 04/24/10, 02:24 PM

Lord luv a duck...NOW the idiot outgoing lameduck Governor, who has managed to tick off almost every person in the state (VERY VERY low approval rating even from his own party) is dithering over signing it. He wants "to study the bill". ARGHGHGH. Like it isn't the same bill that the legislature has had around for 6months.

I will be SO glad when November rolls around and this <person> is replaced. I don't even care who takes over.

willow_girl · #16 04/24/10, 02:38 PM

Quote:

It's thought that this is a test case for other states. Every side was hashed out VERY thoroughly. There were dairy farmers and law makers and consumers on BOTH sides of the argument. Very long debates, lots of questions, lots of answers.

Also very civil. (would that all debates were so civil and thoughtful)..

The main concern/argument against the raw milk sales wasn't that people might get sick, but that even ONE case will damage all dairy sales. There are VERY stringent rules on the sales of raw milk in this bill to address that. They will also strongly urge people who are trying it for the first time to GO SLOW and give their bodies time to adjust to it.

Dairy is the number one industry in Wisconsin. This took a LOT of thought and, well, daring. It's a temporary law...expires end of December 2011. If things go well, the law will be renewed at that time.

I'll be following this with interest. I imagine liability will remain a pretty big hurdle for farmers. I'd guess a small farmer isn't going to assume the risk/pay for the insurance in order to sell a few gallons a week to his neighbors. I can see this benefiting large farms close to major population centers, though, where the sale of hundreds or thousands of gallons a week might be possible.

I'm not sure how large herds could be milked "cleanly" enough to comply with the laws, though, unless the standards are pretty lax (which I suspect won't be the case).

The "consumer education" angle will be interesting, too. Right now, I believe public perception is that if you can buy it in the supermarket, it's "safe." I doubt many consumers give a second thought to food safety, other than when it comes to handling raw meat. When was the last time you opened a carton of milk (that didn't look or smell bad) and pondered whether it was safe to drink? Overcoming that perception of "safety" will be the thankless task of health educators ...although the first couple outbreaks of disease may take care of things for them.

arabian knight · #17 04/24/10, 03:20 PM

Interesting poll. Those no's speak pretty loudly,
and only 7% saying they would try it, also speak volumes.

News 18 Web Poll
Would you drink raw milk?

Thank you for participating in our poll. Here are the results so far:
Yes:
28%

I would try it:
7%

No:
42%

I've had it before:
23%

GoldenCityMuse · #18 04/24/10, 03:27 PM

Sure hope it goes through.

Ken Scharabok · #19 04/24/10, 05:54 PM

You are correct in that 'on the farm' sale is going to be a quite limiting factor. Perhaps there will be those who are big enough open an on-the-farm store, but it woud likely depend on drive-by traffic.

willow_girl · #20 04/24/10, 06:02 PM

I'll bet raw milk producers will push to have the on-farm sales restriction lifted in the next go-round. That would allow them to simply sell their milk to a processor. Most farms really are not set up for retail sales, and I can't imagine many dairy farmers are going to be thrilled with the idea of milk-bottle-toting customers knocking on their door day and night!