Regulations for selling cheese?

[CountryHaven]

Are there regulations and/or rules for selling cheese off the farm like there are for selling milk? If there are, do they vary from state to state like milk sales?

[lyceum]

In IL I know you can sell some milk off the farm, not sure specifics. I know in most states you have to be a dairy to sell cheese. Check with the IL Dairy Regulations before selling cheese. Pretty sure you would have to be a dairy though.

Carisa

[CountryHaven]

Thanks Carisa. Just wondering. Yeah we can sell milk off the farm with a few stipulations. Too bad about the cheese though.

[cseger1]

Each state is different - in TX you need a commercial kitchen license to make/sell cheese. It is not considered a dairy product., but rather a manufactured food. Go figure. :P

[chris30523]

from what I was reading same here.You have to have a commercial kitchen.It is almost impossible to get a dairy license unless you put out alot of money and it is illegal to sell milk from your farm for human consumption??Won't be long before you can't sell eggs cause someone might eat them raw and get salmonella.

[moosemaniac]

In PA you can't use your home kitchen to make cheese for sale. I'm hoping to convert an old camper/trailer we no longer use. I figure if I gut it, clean it and put in a lot of stainless steel, I might just pass with the State.

Ruth

[CountryHaven]

In Illinois I can sell milk off the farm for human consumption, but that varies from state to state.

[cmharris6002]

This is from, http://www.realmilk.com/happening.html

Kansas
"On-farm retail sales" of raw milk and raw milk products are legal to the "final consumer." The farmer can only advertise the sales of raw dairy with a sign posted on the farm. The sign must state that the milk or milk products are raw. Farmers must clearly label as "ungraded raw milk" each container of unpasteurized milk for sale.

Farmers whose business consists only of on-farm sales of raw milk do not need a license to operate. The Department of Agriculture considers farmers selling raw butter or cream to be running a "dairy manufacturing plant" and requires them to obtain a dairy manufacturing plant license.
The state does not inspect farmers selling raw milk and raw milk products on a routine basis like they inspect farmers selling Grade A raw milk for pasteurization. They only inspect raw milk and raw milk product sellers if there is a complaint.

As you can see by the portions I copied in bold print the laws are hard to understand. On one hand I can sell raw milk products (cheese?) But in the next part I need a license to sell butter or cream

Christy

[moosemaniac]

Man! I want to move to Kansas!

Ruth

[CountryHaven]

I wish I could advertise even just the milk with a sign on my property. I can sell it off farm, but NOT advertise it. Years ago when I had milk to sell I didn't know (no internet) and I had a 'Fresh Goat Milk' sign up and an ag inspector stopped (one disadvantage of living right on the highway, lol) and said I could sell it but had to take down the sign.

[moosemaniac]

In PA, you have to get inspected, licensed, inspected and inspected, then inspected again. The goats have to be regularly tested for, get this, tuberculosis. I'm going to write my state legislators and ask (beg) them to change the rules and particularly, to give goats their own set of rules, if necessary, rather than just adding them to the cow rules.

Ruth