price of goat's milk

susanne · #21 05/17/07, 03:29 PM

i know of two places here in michigan where the gallon goes for $12 and another one for $9 (last one i would not buy from

). the one woman that sells for $12 said she has a waiting list and thinks about charging more per gallon. in michigan it is also illegal to sell or give away milk but people always find ways to do it anyways. very popular right now are goat shares.

Jim S. · #22 05/17/07, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arina

Here in New Mexico (northern part of the state) folks don't sell milk, but they sell shares in the goats - that avoids the whole conundrum with the legality of milk sales. The customers buy milk from their "own" animals. The share only lasts for a period of time (one milking season, etc).
The milk is $3/quart or $12/gallon for organic. I don't know of anyone selling non-organic milk.

Their farm must be certified organic, then. I'm wondering where they get the certified organic feed they must also feed? Or do they just their own certified browse as feed?

I read about one such dairy in NM in "Stockman Grass Farmer." She was milking a bunch of goats and using only browse to do it.

Arina · #23 05/17/07, 04:14 PM

we are lucky to have a local organic feed supplier, which is not cheap, therefore the milk reflects it. The feed is the 'sweet feed/grain" type. Also folks typically add goats to already existing certified (or in our case, registered) organic farms. Since the milk sale is not allowed, no one actually gets certified for milk production, but has certification for produce/fruit etc.
I am registered, meaning there are no sales of excess of produce, but the place adheres to the organic practices - symbolic, really, and costs $45 per year - we do it just to support the organic gig.
Otherwise, yes, you have to get the feed source figured out, because all inputs must be organic. One bout of mastitis and you are done for life.
There is an amazing certified goat cheese producer here, she makes somewhere near 15,000 lbs of cheese per year. Goats are all free range on the BLM land, which in New Mexico is scrub and desert, and occasional juniper. No grain. No electricity (she uses propane for cooling), and only rainwater!!!!! And she has a certified commercial kitchen.

EVERYTHING is possible! I want to see her place live (only see pictures) she is at www.organicgoatcheese.com

I cannot imaging being on rainwater, we have like 9" of annual rainfall - and she pulled it off.

Oldntimes · #24 05/17/07, 04:32 PM

delete

Oldntimes · #25 05/17/07, 04:36 PM

Here in Ohio you are not allowed to sell it for human consumption, only for animals as long as it is labeled for pet consumption..So no selling it here.

southerngurl · #26 05/17/07, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldntimes

Here in Ohio you are not allowed to sell it period, not for human or for pet!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldntimes

Here in Ohio you are not allowed to sell it for human consumption, only for animals as long as it is labeled for pet consumption..So no selling it here.

HazyDay · #27 05/17/07, 05:00 PM

I just sold milk for 1.25 a litler, and he got 1 gallon 6.oo. Thats bad for what I was charging last year 2.50 a litler or 10 a gallon. I sold tons but all my buyers are away and so Im just starting to get new ones!

cjb · #28 05/17/07, 05:54 PM

Wow - must just be real expensive here in Western Oregon. The local organic farm sells theirs for $12 a gallon.

We have sold some of ours lately for $5 - high enough to cover some costs, low enough to be affordable and a blessing to the families that want it.

Oldntimes · #29 05/17/07, 07:10 PM

ya sorry about that I did not realize the double post :baby04:
we can sell for pet comsumption not human, my brain was on comatoes

southerngurl · #30 05/17/07, 07:17 PM

LOL, mine does that too. Rather often I'm afraid.

MullersLaneFarm · #31 05/18/07, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southerngurl

Quote:

Ohio
Raw milk sales for human consumption are illegal. The state has adopted Section 9 of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance which permits only the sale of pasteurized milk to the final consumer.
There are no state laws against the sale of raw milk for pet consumption. It is the policy of the state Department of Agriculture to permit on-farm sales of raw milk for pet consumption provided that the farmer posts signs stating that they are selling raw milk for pet consumption only.

Update, March 2007
Judge rules careful herdshare arrangements are a legal deal in Ohio
Ruling overturns state's aggressive campaign against raw milk operators.

By David G. Cox
Posted March 15, 2007: Judge Jonathan P. Hein of Ohio's Darke County Court of Common Pleas issued a decision on December 29, 2006, in the case of Carol Schmitmeyer, a Versailles, Ohio dairy producer who had been operating a herdshare program in order to make raw milk legally available to people who wanted to consume it.

Judge Hein's decision vacated an earlier decision of the Director of Agriculture that revoked Ms. Schmitmeyer's dairy producer's license because Director Dailey believed Ms. Schmitmeyer's herdshare operation constituted an illegal "sale" of raw milk. In his decision, however, Judge Hein stated that there are "various deficiencies" in the law which are "fundamental to a correct interpretation of the law" and that the Director's decision to revoke Ms. Schmitmeyer's license was similarly deficient.

A herdshare operates on the principle that persons (usually city dwellers) buy an ownership interest in a herd of dairy cows; they board those cows at a farmer's farm; and they pay a periodic boarding fee to the farmer in exchange for the farmer taking care of, tending to and providing feed to the herd. The herdshare owners in essence become "shareholders" in the dairy farm and receive as a dividend on their investment the raw milk that comes from their share.

The farmer earns extra income by receiving the boarding fee and the purchase price of the "shares" in the herd, while the shareholders receive raw milk in accordance with the law and have the satisfaction of knowing where their milk comes from and how it is produced. It is an arrangement that pleases everyone involved.

Everyone, that is, except the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA). In 2006, the ODA relentlessly and ruthlessly pursued herdshare operators throughout the state, claiming they were illegally selling raw milk and putting the entire public's health at risk. For example, just in 2006 alone, ODA revoked the license of an Amish farmer who took a $2 donation for one gallon of raw milk; arrested in conjunction with federal authorities a farmer in Cincinnati who was delivering raw milk to his shareholders (and who was carried away in an ambulance because he suffered a mild heart attack); attempted to revoke the commercial feed registration of two Washington County women who use raw milk as an ingredient in their pet food products; and attempted to conduct a secret investigation into a herdshare program operated by a married couple in Butler County.

And in September, ODA revoked the producer's license of Carol Schmitmeyer which could have put her out of business because her family derived 87 percent of its economic livelihood from her producer's license.

Ms. Schmitmeyer argued in her appeal that because the law was so vague, i.e., "sale" or "sold" were not defined, that there was no way to determine whether ODA's interpretation and application of the law was reasonable, arbitrary or capricious. ODA had gone on record in the past as allowing a farmer and his family to consume raw milk from the family farm's cows, but insisted that shareholders in a herdshare did not have similar rights.

Judge Hein in his decision stated that "if the herd share agreement is a circumvention of the law, so is the Department's inexact practice of allowing owners and their families, etc. to consume raw milk. Consequently, too much subjectivity results from the "Department's practice of allowing some as yet undefined persons (owners, family members, etc.) to consume raw milk at as yet undefined locations (on farm, etc.)."

Ms. Schmitmeyer also argued that before her license could be revoked, ODA was required by law to provide her with "a reasonable amount of time to correct the alleged violations. Indeed, and as a precautionary measure, Ms. Schmitmeyer had sent two letters to ODA in the spring of 2006 requesting assistance and guidance from ODA on what her herdshare operation needed to do to comply with the law, yet both letters were ignored by ODA.

As it turned out, the first time Ms. Schmitmeyer had a hint that something was wrong was when she received a letter in the mail from ODA proposing to revoke her license. Judge Hein stated in his decision that "the Department avoided its duty to [Ms. Schmitmeyer] by not engaging in discussion with her (and other herdshare owners) regarding the issues now before this Court. Due to the failure of the Department to articulate specific problems with the herdshare agreement, ODA failed to provide Ms. Schmitmeyer with an opportunity to correct the alleged violations.

In essence, Judge Hein's decision vindicates Ms. Schmitmeyer in her ordeal. Judge Hein's decision also validates herdshare agreements in Ohio when they are drafted in a manner consistent with contract law and when they provide for a transfer of ownership in the herd, whether partial or complete transfer, from the farmer to the shareholder. Therefore, unless and until the statute is changed or administrative regulations are issued to provide clarity on the issue, herdshare agreements appear to be legal in Ohio.
Ms. Schmitmeyer has filed with Judge Hein a motion to recover her attorney's fees and costs from ODA. She hopes for a favorable ruling given the facts of this case.

Editor's Note: Atty. Cox reported in late February that the ODA is appealing Judge Hein's decision. The department also submitted to Schmitmeyer what was termed a settlement offer, and she is preparing a counter offer. Briefs on the appeal are due by both sides by the end of April.

David G. Cox is an associate with the Columbus, Ohio, law firm of Lane, Alton and Horst LLC where he practices agricultural and environmental law. This article is not intended to be nor should it be construed as either legal advice or the opinion of the firm. It first appeared in the Winter 2007 edition of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association News (www.oeffa.org) and is reprinted with permission.

SOURCE: http://www.newfarm.org/features/2007...milk/cox.shtml

NOTE:
Those selling 'shares' in states where it is illegal to sell raw milk better have an iron clad contract, proof of bill of sale, et al.

If you get caught without one, you're only making it harder on those selling milk legally and may turn the legislative tide in making even shares illegal.

Wendy · #32 05/18/07, 09:08 AM

Quote:

like to talk to the $3 and $4 folks, you can barely get it into the fridge for that price unless you don't pay yourself any labor. Way to much work to work for free.

If I asked more it wouldn't sell. People around here are funny about stuff. Then it would get dumped. I figure I am better off getting that than dumping it. I would love to get a couple of calves to feed, but they are next to impossible to find around here. I plan on getting a couple of pigs soon & then I'll dump it to them. I guess I could just dry a few of the girls up, but I hate to do that.