the legalities of selling your milk

[lonelyfarmgirl]

for those of you who 'dont' sell your milk for human consumption, how do you go about advertising, and where do you sell it at?
I need some ideas. my circle of friends and co-workers is slim to nil. simply put, I just dont know anyone.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I have seen "goat milk for puppies" signs on the community bulletin board at the grocery store in Alton, MO.

[midkiffsjoy]

The prof at the Goat Feild Day at the Internation Goat Research Center at Praire View told me (when I asked about getting Grade B or C lisencing) that there is no such thing but that as long as you arent selling it for human consumtion (read soap making) than I can sell all I want. I've seen people advertise on craigslist. I'm putting a milk bucket symbol on my farm sign. grin. It helps that my milking barn and dairy goat pen is RIGHT on the road.

You cant imagine how many people who hit the brakes when their 3 y/o scream "DAD THERE'S A TURKEY IN THEIR YARD!!!!!" giggle.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

I have my farm sign on the back of my truck window which includes soap breeding stock etc...and my trade mark....'THE OTHER WHITE MILK'. Also put your name on realmilk.com Vicki

[steff bugielski]

Just a word of precaution. In my state the inspectors look at sites just like this one to see who is selling milk illegaly.

[susanne]

steff do you really believe they have time to search message boards to find people that might sell illegally a couple of gallon per week?
only put your name up if it is legal in your state.
michigan is very strict and i don't sell milk nor would i put my name on realmilk.com.

[HazyDay]

I only sell to friends and family. I just don't feel safe selling to any one else. Most people see the goats and think I sell milk, but I tell them I don't. I really wish I could sell it to anyone, but if you say one thing wrong then you are FINISHED! There are some breeders around me who I would like to tell the cops about, as they don't think washing a does teats is to be done or even use a REAL DAIRY CLEANER. But I know if some one got looked into every other breeder will get looked into also.

I do plan to put signs up for Horse and Puppy milk, add a few good info parts, but Im still looking into that. I am getting a huge e-mail list together of all the dog and horse breeders around, as we have tons of horse people

[Keeperofmanya]

Well I don't know if anyone has been caught in our area, but we have a farm show on the radio everyday at noon and they have a farmer's swap shop on there. In the spring there have been many times when I have heard that someone has goat's milk for sale. That's it, just goat's milk for sale, doesn't say for soap or animals only. I think that I would be alittle bit timid in doing that. Power to those who do and get away with it.

[Ken in Maine]

I got nabbed just last month because of an ad on realmilk.com. The FDA actually does search those sites and then checks with the state to see if you have a license. I received a cease and desist order from The Maine Dept of Agriculture saying I was not licensed to sell milk.

Of course the way around it is simply not to have any "print" advertising but YES THEY DO HAVE TIME TO CHECK.

By the way I only have two alpines that give less than 2 gallons per day on average.

If you don't believe me go to realmilk.com and see their disclaimer on Maine.

[southerngurl]

Our tax dollars at work. I'm so disgusted with the whole mess I don't even talk about it anymore.

[TerriA]

In Nebraska it is legal to sell milk but not to advertise!!! How strange is THAT???

Of course we don't sell ... but if we did, I wouldn't have a clue as to how to find customers except by word of mouth... we are raising the saanens to raise bucket calves and bottle lambs. Easier and less paperwork/hassle involved anyway.

Terri

[steff bugielski]

My inspector told me that was her job until she became a field inspector.

[Raftercat5]

After reading the posts on this thread, I just had to say I think it's terrible that the govt. has such strict controls over people who don't have a license to sell goat milk but can't stop terrorists from entering our country! We only have 2 goats in milk. We are currently sharing it (READ: giving it away) to a man that is a cancer patient. He cannot digest cows milk, but seems to be doing pretty good with goats milk. I'm very careful with our milk anyway, and I pasteurize too. He always gets the freshest milk we have, as I know immuno-compromised people have to be extra careful. I'm sure that the milk people buy in the grocery stores are at LEAST 3-5 days old already. Has anyone else had any experience with cancer patients drinking fresh goats milk?
- Kathy

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

I don't pastuerise milk for my customers. I have lots of stories about the health of my customers pre and post raw milk, especially when you put kefir in the mix. I do warn young moms and the sick to know their source. Honestly although my grandboys have been raised on my raw milk, there are few places I would buy raw milk from to feed them. I love the idea of safeguarding our food, but in reality buying from the source makes customers safer, because if your place is filthy or your goats awful, you loose customers to cleaner places down the road.

Dairies, especially those who do not do on farm sales, are as a whole ghastly places. Even with big numbers now in milk prices compared when I did it commercially, no money filters down to the goats themselves. Alot of commercial dairies out here deliever milk (really outside the law, in that milk is supposed to be delivered prepaid only) but they do deliver to farmers markets for new sales, many because nobody would buy from their place if they saw the facility. The big diaires are always the ones who do need government inspection. But historically the government ran by big business does not police itself well. Vicki

Vicki

[TerriA]

A few years ago when we were looking for our first goat, we visited a small acreage about an hour from here just outside of Omaha Nebraska.. it HAD been a Grade A dairy with a lot of nubian goats (man, they were SO CUTE I wanted one.. dh wanted saanens.. so we had to pass).. anyway, the guy showed up his set up and it was quite impressive. He actually wanted us to buy ALL the goats and the entire dairy operation. He was selling directly to the hospitals for cancer patients and those who were lactose intolerant.

So, to answer Kathy's question, while "I" myself have not ever sold goat milk for cancer patients, I do know of a semi local dairy that did... at that time the going rate for milk was less than $2/gallon. GM was about $4/gallon.. he was getting about double that.. $8/gallon if memory serves me. I thought it was a great way to make money and enjoy the goats ... but once I started reading about all the red tape needed to get a Grade A dairy up and running here, I let it go. I may have missed a "gold mine" but I did save my personal sanity... especially at that time when I had NO experience with goats. If I had the opportunity to do it NOW I might seriously consider it.

Terri

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I read the rules for indiana, and it did specify cow shares as legal, but thats it.
If Im not mistaken there was even something in there about not selling for animal consumption.

I figure if I find the right way to advertise that brings people in, but also warns against human consumption, who cares what they do with it once they walk away right?
I mean no one is required to inform the hardware store you wont be huffing their spray paint. thats what the disclaimer on the can is for.

[billooo2]

Each state has different laws.

28 states allow the sale of raw milk (some of those involve cow shares.......but since one state invalidated "cow" shares because they did not always get milk from that particular cow.....so now they are doing "indivisible herd shares."

At this moment in Ohio, it is illegal to sell or give away raw milk..........even for the consumption by animals!!! In fact the law states, "cannot cause anyone to consume raw milk."

A group of raw milk producers spent a considerable amount of money to have a herd-share contract drawn up. At this moment, the Ohio Department of Agriculture is not pursuing prosecution.

The ODA even did a "sting" operation on an Amish farmer. They sent an undercover drug agent to his farm.........and told him a story of poor health, and how he wanted to try drinking raw milk...........and gave the farmer a container to put the milk in.............gave the farmer a $2 donation.........left the farm.............then returned with a notice that they were revoking his grade A license!!!

OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK!!!!

[billooo2]

Originally Posted by Raftercat5

After reading the posts on this thread, I just had to say I think it's terrible that the govt. has such strict controls over people who don't have a license to sell goat milk but can't stop terrorists from entering our country! We only have 2 goats in milk. We are currently sharing it (READ: giving it away) to a man that is a cancer patient. He cannot digest cows milk, but seems to be doing pretty good with goats milk. I'm very careful with our milk anyway, and I pasteurize too. He always gets the freshest milk we have, as I know immuno-compromised people have to be extra careful. I'm sure that the milk people buy in the grocery stores are at LEAST 3-5 days old already. Has anyone else had any experience with cancer patients drinking fresh goats milk?
- Kathy

Raw milk is easier to digest because it has enzymes that aid in the digestion. Those enzymes are destroyed by pasteurization.