Raw Milk Sales Being legalized in Indiana!!

Oklahomans can sell up to 100 gallons per month off the farm without being permited. After that, you have to get grade A certified. You CAN NOT transport it though. The consumer has to buy it at your farm...

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Francismilker

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" James 5:16

This is great news! I know quite a few Wisconsinites that have no idea. I'll pass along your links. Thanks!

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‎"The trouble with quotes over the Internet is that you never know if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln

At this moment it is illegal to transport raw milk across state borders.

There have been demonstrations against this law....in Washington (Including a cow being brought into DC, across the street from the capitol......the cow being milked......and the raw milk being drunk by the demonstrators.....because the government had been harassing an Amish farmer who had sold herd shares.....and some of those people lived in another state)

I have heard that the government is putting "a hold" on enforcing individuals from transporting raw milk for their own personal use.

Ron Paul has introduced a bill to legalize the transport of raw mik across state lines for personal use. I don't know the status of that bill.

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

From what I have seen in most cases of food poisoning......if they know that raw milk was consumed........they automatically ASSUME that raw milk was the cuplrit. They often ignore any other possible sources, and bend over backwards to PROVE that raw milk was the cause.

I did not read all of the link.......but when I read that the one farmer, Mark MacAfee........was criticized because a piece of manure was found..... UNDERNEATH a cow mat......I had read enough......the credibiity, IMO, had been flushed own the toilet......HOW STUPID CAN SOMEONE BE?!?!

IMO, this kind of criticism can only be made by an "ambulance-chasing," mooney hungry lawyer!!!! Gee, why do lawyers have such a bad reputation in our country today???

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

Does this apply to goats as I am in Indiana? They only mention cows.

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I can't believe I deleted it!

I am not sure I want to register though.

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I can't believe I deleted it!

I have not read all the Indiana rules for dairy production. Here in Ohio, "milk" is defined as 'mammary secretions from cows, goats, sheep......and, I believe, they even include camels.

Last night I talked to a goat breeder in Indiana. She said that they are going to have a meeting in March. I don't know anything about "the meeting."

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

Too bad it's only the freedom to get campylobacter or salmonella poisoning!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

I'm sure the producer themselves will be held responsible. Last year there were 1500 CONFERMED illnesses from raw milk in the US. Hard to tell how many were unreported or unable to prove due to the product being gone.

Milk borne illnesses runs counter to the beliefs of some people, so they refuse to believe facts, including that web site.

Fresh green pastures, sunshine and stainless steel doesn't make milk bacteria or disease free.

Indiana will likely require a disclamer so their Dept of Ag won't take any blame in any of the illneses that are likely to result.

Right now, small farmers are selling some milk to neighbors or friends and no one is hunting them down. But with this change, lots more raw milk on the open market, people are going to get sick and things will go back to more government regulation and the small local sales will be eliminated. This is no victory, this is an invitation for a public outbreak that will cause a knee jerk reaction to steep fines for stuff many have been left alone to do "under the radar".

What can you do to protect yourself from the above diseases (don't know what they are.....well I know salmonella) if you have a cow and you want to make cheese / butter, etc??

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I am sure of two things: There is a God, and I am not Him.
The movie Rudy

That is one possibility. Another is that the cost of liability insurance will make raw milk sales unlikely even in areas in which it's legal.

Here's something for the folks who are in favor of raw milk sales to think about. Awhile back, on the farm where I work, several cows came down with mastitis, and we decided to culture their milk to discover which strain of pathogen we were dealing with.

We were especially careful in taking the milk samples, as we didn't want any cross-contamination to skew the results. So we washed our gloves first and took extra care in making sure the teats were spotlessly clean before stripping the milk into sterile containers.

When the results came back, almost all the cultures contained fecal bacteria, despite the care we had taken.

Think I'll keep drinking the pasteurized stuff!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

I know this has nothing to do with legalized raw milk in Indiana, but before we start to think this is safe, just look at the news. There is something every week or two. Suprising due to the low amount of raw milk consumed.


Date: Thu 2 Feb 2012
Source: Public Opinion [edited]
<http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_19877731>


The Maryland health department has found bacteria in 2 bottles of raw milk
produced at a farm near Scotland. Meanwhile, the number of people sickened in
the Campylobacter outbreak on Thu 2 Feb 2012 grew to 35 in
3 states, 28 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania, 4 in Maryland, and one in New
Jersey, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The outbreak started
on Fri 27 Jan 2012 with the report of 6 cases.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Laboratories Administration
has confirmed the presence of _Campylobacter jejuni_ in
2 unopened raw milk samples purchased from The Family Cow farm, according to a
department news release issued on Wed 1 Feb 2012. Prior to the announcement from
the Maryland health department, farm owner Edwin Shank sent an e-mail to
customers. He said the farm family was proceeding as if a pathogen had been
found in the milk.

The final test results of samples taken at the farm by the Pennsylvania
Department of Health on Friday and Monday [27 and 30 Jan 2012] may be available
on 3 Feb 2012, according to Agriculture Department Press Secretary Samantha
Krepps.

The health departments advise consumers to discard any of "The Family Cow" raw
milk purchased since 1 Jan 2012. The farm voluntarily suspended the sale of milk
on 31 Jan 2012, and the product remains unavailable.


Update:[The final testing referred to in the posting likely is the "DNA fingerprinting"
of the isolates to confirm that "smoking" milk has been found, that is, the
alleged vehicle has the same isolate as the clinical isolates. This latest
report now shows the number of cases tied to the dairy to be 35, 4 times the
original number reported only a few days ago. - Mod.LL

My state doesn't do it but in the past I have sold raw milk to people that absolutely hounded me to get it.

But I milk in a little room in my barn in no way would it pass muster.
Then one day this lady who was buying milk off of me told me she was feeding it to her infant.

That made me really paranoid because while I think most adults can fight off any bugs in raw milk (I've got sick from drinking other peoples raw milk before and was fine) I don't think infants can so I stopped selling it.

Then I had some other pals who were selling under the table. They sold some to their UPS man and he got sick and called the law on them. They just got a warning, but I love my farm and the thought of somebody suing me out of it sort of put a damper on selling even to people were beggging me for milk.

Wild part about this one was not only did this dude get a bunch of people sick but apparently his area was so contaminated with Salmonella his wife even spread it to the restaraunt chain where she worked!


Utahns sickened by salmonella from cheese

By heather may

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Nov 03 2011 11:16AM
Updated Nov 7, 2011 04:04PM
Public health officials estimate 2,100 Utahns have been sickened with salmonella from home-made queso fresco since 2009.The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has tracked down one source of the outbreak — an unnamed man dubbed "Mr. Cheese," who was making the product with raw milk and selling it to a Salt Lake City restaurant/deli.

The health department has confirmed that 73 people were sickened with the illness, which causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. But they estimate that hundreds more were ill and never reported it to the health department.

They are still investigating whether there are other sources behind the outbreak.

Officials have ordered the deli to stop purchasing cheese from illegal sources but refused to release its name until pending discipline against its license is complete. Mr. Cheese has not been charged, and officials are not releasing his name. The Department of Agriculture issued a cease and desist order to Mr. Cheese on Oct. 12.

Officials hope the scope of the outbreak — it affected people in Salt Lake, Tooele, Davis, Utah, Weber and Morgan counties — will remind people to be cautious when buying food.

"They should not be purchasing food products in shopping center parking lots, [from people] distributing it out of their trunks or door to door," said Royal DeLegge, director of environmental health at the health department. "When you go into a retail setting, a deli or a store, you’re looking for labeling on the products."

The cheese probe took three years, involved a criminal investigator and extended to a fast-food franchise where Mr. Cheese’s wife worked Public health officials estimate 2,100 Utahns have been sickened with salmonella from home-made queso fresco since 2009.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has tracked down one source of the outbreak — an unnamed man dubbed "Mr. Cheese," who was making the product with raw milk and selling it to a Salt Lake City restaurant/deli.

The health department has confirmed that 73 people were sickened with the illness, which causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. But they estimate that hundreds more were ill and never reported it to the health department.

They are still investigating whether there are other sources behind the outbreak.

Officials have ordered the deli to stop purchasing cheese from illegal sources but refused to release its name until pending discipline against its license is complete. Mr. Cheese has not been charged, and officials are not releasing his name. The Department of Agriculture issued a cease and desist order to Mr. Cheese on Oct. 12.

Officials hope the scope of the outbreak — it affected people in Salt Lake, Tooele, Davis, Utah, Weber and Morgan counties — will remind people to be cautious when buying food.

"They should not be purchasing food products in shopping center parking lots, [from people] distributing it out of their trunks or door to door," said Royal DeLegge, director of environmental health at the health department. "When you go into a retail setting, a deli or a store, you’re looking for labeling on the products."

The cheese probe took three years, involved a criminal investigator and extended to a fast-food franchise where Mr. Cheese’s wife worked.

People began to get sick in 2009 with Salmonella Newport, and the health department warned people not to buy the Mexican-style soft cheese from unapproved sources. Another 22 Newport cases popped up in 2010. The health department couldn’t find a common cause but heard of a woman selling cheese in a parking lot.

By June this year, another 32 people were sick with the strain. They commonly identified four restaurants and a market, where the local and state health department took samples of queso fresco and samples from preparation areas. It found a positive DNA match from the cheese in the restaurant/deli.

That’s when the police got involved.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food had a name of a potential manufacturer of the cheese, who had a criminal past.

A criminal investigator for the county’s District Attorney’s Office put together a photo lineup for the restaurant owner, who identified his queso fresco source and called him "Mr. Cheese."

The health department later learned the man made the cheese in his home using raw milk. The man also is not licensed to manufacture cheese, according to the department. Agriculture investigators are still determining where he obtained the milk he used.

"We’re looking at what, if any, violations occurred there. There is a cottage industry law, where you are allowed to make food in your house and sell it ... under certain conditions," said Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture. It is still investigating Mr. Cheese.

There could be other sources of the raw milk and other manufacturers of contaminated cheese.

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The health department issued a "notice of violation" to the restaurant, which could be fined up to $5,000.

Raw milk apparently produces a creamier cheese and is preferred in making queso fresco. Unpasteurized milk is allowed to be sold in Utah, but dairies and sellers must have a permit. Health officials warn against consuming raw milk because it can be contaminated with bacteria that would be killed in the pasteurization process.

Mr. Cheese’s wife may have contaminated her workplace with the queso fresco. Four customers and a food handler at four locations of a fast-food chain were sickened this year."

There’s no reason for us to believe the franchise sold any of the cheese," DeLegge said. "There’s a link we’re still trying to pursue and find out how the transmission took place."

Raw milk sales are not legal here yet, unless labeled for veterinary use. The Indiana Senate passed an amendment to Senate Bill 398, meaning that the bill will be rewritten to include language that legalizes on-farm raw milk sales. Next, the bill has to to go back to the Senate for another reading (with the new wording), and be voted on. It's still possible that it won't pass.

http://www.localgrowers.org/2012/02/...k-legislation/

I think that is just human nature. You tell people that they will be drinking it at their own risk, and they are fine with that in theroy. Then when they get sick, they want the full force of the law to come down on the person that made them sick. Imagine how the family felt when that guy became paralized over raw milk?

At one time I did public sleigh rides. I had a form for them to sign, absolving me of and injury claims. I discovered that they can still sue and that could cost me the farm, just fighting any claim. I lookes for liability insurance and it was thousands of dollars a year.

I think raw milk sellers will find the same, lots of liability and insurance through the roof.

Well like I say I've got sick from drinking other peoples raw milk, but not mine.

That's not to say I'm way clean or anything but probably more a function of me drinking my own raw milk for 20 plus years I'm immnune to anything in mine.

But even if other peoples have the same bacteria I got sick because it was a difft STRAIN of the same bug which I didn't have immunity to.

Most people with food poisioning just think they have the stomach flu or something and shrug it off because they usually don't make the connection.

My wife works for the health dept and one time she brought home a log for the dept from back when raw milk was the norm. Lots of milk borne illness.

I totally think people should be able to drink raw milk and people should be able to sell it legally. However in the absence of any regulations I think part of any law should be the producers are legally shielded from any lawsuits since it's so hard to guarantee safety.

The way some folk on here yowl over an Ag Census, I can only imagine what they'd think of the rules and regulations on Grade A Dairy and the regular inspections from the evil government.

You think the raw milk dairy should be allowed to sell a product known to carry disease and bacteria, yet bankrupt a slaughterhouse operation because eating their meat raw might make someone sick?

You might be able to slow down a lawsuit by requiring all buyers to sign a release of responsibility, but they can still ruin your business and cost you the farm in court battles.

The last time I checked.......people jhave gotten sick from a host of contaminated food......beef, chicken, lettuce, canteloupes, peppers......and people get sick from eating in restaurants.........and reviewing the CDC data for Ohio......restaurants, church dinners, and other carry-in dinners are frequent offenders.

I notice that the one article pasted above came from the EDITORIAL page.....and the details said that it had suspected.....not confirmed......would the same newspaper report such news about a restaurant BEFORE it had been confirmed.

I

I am not preaching the virtues of raw milk......I am advocating for the freedom of the consumer to choose for themselves........

What do you advocate for.....a nanny state????.....or freedom????

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

I used to think we ought to protect people from the natural consequences of their stupidity, but after arguing the point on numerous threads here, I've seen the light.

Now I say ... if they want to drink raw milk, let 'em! Darwin in action.

I disagree. While most cases of food poisoning are minor, occasionally someone suffers a life-threatening (or even fatal) illness.

I personally know a man who contract Guillaume-Barre after drinking raw milk while traveling in Europe. He spent more than a month in the hospital, and almost a year later, still is undergoing physical therapy to try to restore his lost functions. It appears very likely he will be permanently disabled.

Now, most people in a situation like this are going to end up on disability, supported by taxpayers for the rest of their lives. I say it's better if they can recoup the cost of their care and ongoing support from the farmer or processor who was negligent (and/or his insurance company) instead. JMO.

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.