Your opinion: Best Pro "Real Food" States?

Dusky Beauty · #1 12/28/12, 12:15 AM

Hubby and I just finished watching "Farmageddon" (He ogled the grassy meadows with envy.)

All of the raw milk discussion got us wondering--- which states do you think are the best "real food" states to live in and homestead?

Which states have the most "pro farm" regulations for selling dairy, grass fed meat, produce and eggs?

Please share your good and bad experiences with jumping hoops or lack therof where you have lived and tried to do business off farm?

duckidaho · #2 12/28/12, 03:34 AM

Here's what I know about Idaho. We sell raw milk legally. Both from the farm, in stores, and at the farmers market. Actually we sell cheese at the farmers market. As for hoop jumping, we are licensed by the state to sell milk and have our milk tested monthly as well as vet records for the animals.

Eggs are easy peasy, just a piece of paper from the county. We can sell meat, but the purchaser has to arrange for butchering. selling single cut of meat is a pain, but it's at least possible.

On the whole I'd give Idaho an A-

Good luck.

wally · #3 12/28/12, 04:42 AM

From the state of Kansas. Raw milk sales.Not allowed. Egg sales, allowed only if you pay "tax" on each dozen sold.. Chickens, not allowed unless processed in state approved facility, yep you guessed it, there are not any approved facilties in the state. Beef and pork can be sold, must be processed by approved facilities.

Maverick_mg · #4 12/28/12, 05:27 AM

Michigan is really up and coming. They are always doing things to try and boost the economy and a lot of the times the things they make easier are in the area of farming/food. MSU has one of the best departments and some of the best programs to help small farmers and micro speciality food producers to break into local markets. They will even help you get into Meijer stores, which is a Michigan based large box grocery store.
We have the best right to farm act in the country. We are the third largest producer of apples, cherries and blueberries in the US and I think we are the second largest in cranberries.
Right now there is no active laws against herd shares, and from talking to a couple of MDA inspectors, there won't be any soon. It sounds like they know the herd shares are out there, and as long as no one is doing anything stupid that makes them have to shut them down, they leave them alone. FTCLDF will help you set up contracts for milk/herd shares.
You can sell eggs direct to consumers, meat can be pre-sold as a live animal or you can get a license, which in all honesty, isn't that hard to do or that expensive. We have the cottage food law now, which is awesome! When people take the time to read and follow the law properly, they find they can start a very nice business. It's how I got started this last year now I'm selling specialty produce to Chefs and restaurants. :-) Things can get a little tuff if your a large producer of food, ie more output and more revenue. But they are trying to highlight the micro producers. Our state inspectors, the MDA, are now responsible for rural development as well. So that means they work for us. To help build small rural businesses. The laws are really in our favor here and they're here to help you understand them. We just had a new food law passed in Oct, and I haven't read up on it yet, but I know a few things changed that might make more markets easier to get into.

Can you go out and do anything you want without having to be inspected or licensed? No. But it's not that hard or expensive to get a license or be inspected for a lot of the things someone might want to do.

Here's an example of what I'm doing now:
Micro greens, eggs, baby veggies, dry goods (beans and oatmeal) dry good mixes, shiitake mushrooms- inspected, no license needed for how we are doing them

Meat chickens and soon to add rabbits and lamb- inspected and licensed freezer

Maple syrup, jams and jellies, bread and next year we will have honey- no inspection or license needed

Raw apple cider next year- licensed and inspected.

CaliannG · #5 12/28/12, 02:50 PM

Texas:

Raw milk sale--- don't even try it. In the entire state, we have 13 dairies that have jumped through the hoops, paid the licensing fees (which are enormous), built the USDA Grade A facilities, etc., that allow a person to sell raw milk from the farm.

Cheese-- You can make cheese and sell it, both from your farm, at Farmer's Markets, or in store, as long as you have a regular, health inspection for your kitchen...just like making any other food product.

Eggs: You can sell them without any licenses as long as you don't claim they are graded. Grading has to do with weight, not health. You can advertise farm eggs, no problem.

Meat-- Has to be a state approved processer. Unlike Kansas, we have plenty of them. You can get your own, state approved processing license and it is not TOO much of a hassle, but generally more than a homesteader wants to invest in facilities. Plenty of market for selling animals to BE processed, though. There are several "roving" chicken processers, too.

Overall, I would not call this a Pro-small farmer or Pro-small producer state. I would give Texas a C-.

PrairieBelle22 · #6 12/28/12, 04:02 PM

OOOOOklahoma:

raw milk: I guess it is legal because people advertise their raw milk in the newspapers

Cheese: ditto plus i've seen it available at road side stands

Eggs: just stick a sign out next to the road.

Meat: We can sell our home grown beef. We send our steers to processors - some are department of ag (OK state) inspected, some are not. Very loose regulations. As sellers, we prefer to use an inspected processor for our own liability protection.

Plus the Oklahoma constitution has protection for homeschoolers!

I give Oklahoma an A+

Belle

Silvercreek Farmer · #7 12/28/12, 06:31 PM

In NC, you can sell a certain number of home butchered rabbits and poultry to the public, but sheep, goats, pigs, and cows must go to an inspected facility. I don't see much in the way of raw milk, but homemade cheese seems to be okay.

Dusky Beauty · #8 12/28/12, 06:51 PM

This is really good info, Maybe we should sticky this someplace--- if not this page maybe the real estate page? A lot of people do cross country moves in order to homestead and this is stuff I would want to know if I was deciding between several different states.

Keep it coming!

Shout outs as we wait to hear from the Pacific Northwest, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alaska, New England and other popular homestead locations!

I've never actually dug into it, but I think I'll call up my ag extension and get the skinny on the AZ laws.

ET1 SS · #9 12/29/12, 12:35 PM

I would have to go with Maine.

Consider how many towns have passed 'food sovereignty' laws. Which give you the 'right' to produce food, ad the right to purchase and consume food.

Bob Huntress · #10 12/31/12, 09:10 PM

Selling meat is an easy one. In most states you simply sell the animal alive and help your friend with his butchering for free. I don't think any states are pro small homestead food, though some don't put much enforcement into stupid violations of illegal egg sales in small numbers.

ET1 SS · #11 12/31/12, 09:31 PM

Marketing dairy, meat, produce and eggs is not illegal here.

I sell eggs, honey, maple, fiddleheads and veggies. I am not required to have any permits or licenses to sell these things.

Raw milk gets into the 'Food Sovereignty' issue, which some towns have passed ordinances to specifically allow. Other towns have not, so in that case Federal laws seem to hold up.

Meat: well I have been asked to market meat. I am concerned about liability with marketing meat. I know many people who do market their own meat in this area. But I do not wish to market meat, unless it has been 'inspected' and stamped. However as my customers have reminded me, inspections and stamps are not always required here. I can legally butcher my livestock and sell it to my customers legally, basically because by already being my customers I already have a relationship with them. So it is legal even without 'Food Sovereignty' laws to shield us from Feds.

But to sit in a parking lot with a cooler filled with my home-raised meat would require meat inspections and USDA stamps. I used to be a vendor in parking lots, with other vendors who sell their meat out of coolers like that. Their meats have the inspections and stamps.

To say: "... I don't think any states are pro small homestead food, though some don't put much enforcement into stupid violations of illegal egg sales in small numbers." Is simply not true. Selling eggs is not illegal. It is not a matter of poor enforcement.

earthkitty · #12 12/31/12, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wally

From the state of Kansas. Raw milk sales.Not allowed. Egg sales, allowed only if you pay "tax" on each dozen sold.. Chickens, not allowed unless processed in state approved facility, yep you guessed it, there are not any approved facilties in the state. Beef and pork can be sold, must be processed by approved facilities.

We live in Kansas, have sold eggs (everyone around here does), buy raw milk from two different producers, (both dairies and not just some guy with a cow), beef and pork as well, you just pay the butcher when you pick up the meat. Heck, the pork sausage we buy direct from a local farm. Don't know about buying/selling poultry off the farm, never done it. Maybe the regs are different in your county. Or maybe everyone down here ignores the rules.

eta - We too are a VERY friendly homeschooling state.