raw milk sales in Mich BUSTED

Once dogs start doing that we're all in trouble.

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Latest I've heard on the spinach thing is wild hogs. They roamed the nearby cattle farm, no doubt rooting in the manure and then carried the e-coil from there to the spinach fields.

I haven't seen an economic impact on the spinach industry on this but it has to be severe. A fresh product likely much in storage had to be destroyed and perhaps harvested put off, making some plants too mature to harvest.

As noted above it would take only one such outbreak attributed to the drinking of raw milk from a single small operation to affect an entire raw milk industry.

Someone noted able milk comtamination was much more likely from the milking equipment rather than the cow. Perhaps that should have been the milk as it came out of the cow. Bossy is laying on a floor of manure, get up and is milked without thorough sanitation of the udder and tits. Yeah, likely the milk is going to become comtaminated. If the milking equipment isn't completely sanitized between milkings I can see where it would become a health hazard.

I am not opposed to the retail sale of raw milk. I just believe there should be at least a minimim level of regulation on it to help ensure public health.

I believe that farm sales of raw milk should be Legal in all states, as a pick up at the farm Only. Only in New un used containers, either fresh or frozen. Only in amounts of up to 100 gals a month. That would keep operations small enough to keep the work load undercontrol. That would keep the consumer able to see for themselves the cleanleness or not of the facility. Maybe the could insist seperate refrigeration, or freezers for the milk products away from the Meat/food of the family. In our situation of Milking goats we could fill that much demand with milking 3 goats year round. Much of our milk goes to make soap, feed our Family, chickens calves, piglets. etc.

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Not disagreeing with the previous post (as apparently that is what at least IL does) but a total of 100 gallons of milk a month would seem to be too restictive for dairy cows. Say you were milking five cows giving an average of four gallons a day. That some 600 gallons a month. Say family used 100. Leaves 500 gallons surplus if not used otherwise (e.g., raising feeder pigs).

Again comes down to the question on how to define a 'homesteader' operation vs a 'commercial' one if there are to be different regulations.

Well, to be honest I am not familiar with dairy Cows at all. But I would think some limit to either the Gallons sold, or maybe in the case of cows the animals housed and milked on the farm. What would be a good number of cows to keep it Small, healthy, and Clean? For instance if the limit on goats were 20 milkers, I wouldn't like that as I'm trying to build a show herd. Seems like I'm never milking more then 12 though as I constantly cull for easy milking, and show udders. It just seems to me thought the larger amount of animals to milk, the more work the more manure, the greater chance of error or worse lackadaisical attitude towards the task at hand. If they have a large cow herd they would probably be selling pastuerized to the milk truck. unless you live right outside Chicago, or some other big city, I doubt you have enough customers come to your farm to justify keeping 5 cows.

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that is one thing that really irritates me about government. instead of writing specific laws to target the perticular offender they write blanket laws that screw everyone.

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And these are supposed to be our "representatives". Whomever it is that they are representing............it does not include me.

Let me try this one more time: Apparently Michigan allows milk share agreements. Five were cited previously. What these folks were doing wasn't a share agreement beyond hardly a wink. They were wholesaling and retailing raw milk and milk byproducts both in intra-state and inter-state commerce (at which time the federal USDA steps in). An agreement to where you pay $20 to join essentially a club and then can buy all the raw milk you want at a set price isn't a share agreement. It is commercial dairing.

To me it all boils down to a single issue..the government has absolutely no business whatsoever..as in NONE dictating to a single individual, or a group of like-minded individuals what FOOD THEY wish to eat or to drink..how it is cooked, or un-cooked, how it is refrigerated or unrefrigerated..it's that simple.

If I own a cow and I milk that cow, and my neighbors wish to buy milk from that cow..what the heck business is it of ANY level of the government if they do so?
Does the Federal goverment issue me a license for a yard sale?? Does the State government have "agents" under cover to see if I might be selling a pair of used shoes loaded with foot fungus to a neighbor? Hey, how about that used toilet, or a pocketbook that Grannie had stuffed full of kleenex when she had pneumonia? Or what about the teddy bear that Susie coughed all over when she had the flu? Somebody call the germ police..it's a hotbed of disease out there!
My goodness..that woolen blanket could have scabies, and the hats be full of head lice..RUN RUN..

Who ever heard years ago of the notion that a local farmer couldn't sell eggs?
Refrigerate EGGS??? Whatever FOR? The idea is STUPID. If eggs needed refrigeration, a hen's bottom would be cold!

This entire thing reminds me of the old children's story "The Emperor's New Clothes"..if someone in authority says that something is factual, the populace believes it to be true, even when they can see for themselves PROOF that it's not..People nowdays have this foolish notion that the government's "job" is to protect them from ALL harm, deliver them from ALL evil, and somehow, to prevent them from dying from anything. Please pass the raw milk so I can make a toast to the death of common sense.

Check out post #36 especially the 4th paragraph
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sho...4&page=2&pp=30

Kee Wan really made a couple of good points.


veme

Yes, it's sad but true, we all live in the nanny state now. We are all so stupid that the government has to look out for any possible thing that might potentially harm us. I'm so sick of all the governmental rules and regulations because it has become so insidious.

A couple years ago I spent a little time in the US possession of Puerto Rico. It reminded me of the US in the 1950's in a way. People there were more self sufficient because the lack of laws allowed them to be. Want to run a small business out of your house with a store front - no problem. Many of the homes facing the highway and main roads ran a storefront business from the front of their house. One might sell BBQ'd food items, the next handmade pottery, etc.

There was little welfare there. If you didn't have a job you could do things like go to the local Walmart, buy cases of bottled water and then sell them to the people in their cars as they waited for the light to change at various intersections. Try doing that in the US. Let's see, violations would be: no sale tax sellers number, no city business license, illegal to sell anything at the intersection, and I'm sure there are more I am not thinking of.

As a side note, cars coming towards you on a two way road would flash their headlights to let you know that they passed a cop a short distance back. Just helping fellow motorists. It was rather interesting to see guards near their equvalent to a state capital building carrying automatic weapons.

If they don't it would be about the only thing they have missed.

pssssst... hey kid...
[looking around]
wanna buy some milk? its good sh1t man... raw from the cow. come on.... try some. just one cup... first hits free man!

Wow, interesting thread. Amazing the way we are losing so many different rights all the time.
Anyone know where I can find a nice young milking cow in eastern Kansas?

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