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Old 12/29/10, 09:56 AM
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Herd share program

Hello, does anyone here have a herd share program in their goat herd? Here in Colorado, it is illegal to sell raw milk unless you own part of a herd. We have a program like this with our herd, but I'm having problems getting people to buy in. They want the cheese and all, but again I can't sell it w/o the share deal. If anyone does this and has ideas how to advertise, please share your ideas. I've got so much milk I'm floating! Iv'e listed it on craigslist, our name is on the realmilk.com list and the cheesemaking list. I've run out of ideas. I even have a flyer up in the organic food market. Help, I need suggestions from another brain!
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Old 12/29/10, 10:55 AM
Alice In TX/MO's Avatar
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Can you sell cheese with a milk share contract? Doesn't that take you into a whole new realm of regulation?
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Old 12/29/10, 11:28 AM
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You are advertising for your program right? If you as just advertising milk and cheese and they catch you, you will be fined. I do not sell milk because of this program.
Try lowering your buy in price. Say it was $40, lower it to $20 and then charge them for the milk, say $5 a gallon , one gallon a week comes to $20 a month. Or try selling half shares. Some out here try to keep charging a monthly maintence fee but since you are having issues with it, skip that part and just have them buy the milk since you have so much.
Also a lady I know meets people, she does milk runs and goes to 2 or 3 areas with the milk and her milk share people pick it up at that location so they do not have to go all the way out to the farm.

You might consider joining RMAC as well, they have members, sometimes meetings ( I think ) and they may be able to give you some ideas as well.

If you want to sell cheese to stores then you have another bunch of hoops to jump through. Kitchen inspected and so on.

You can also put out ads to sell milk for animal consumption. You have to put blue food dye in it or else if caught you again will be fined etc. What they do with it after is their problem as long as you are clear it is for animal use, dyed blue etc. Does not have to be a dark blue, just blue

This is why I let my goats raise their kids, I am not doing all this hoop jumping just to sell some milk. We have some pretty stupid laws, those people are still getting and drinking raw milk for pete's sake.
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Old 12/29/10, 12:09 PM
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I only charge $15 per share buy-in then $16/month boarding fee. We can do the cheese if it's aged over 60 days. The whole regulation thing is crazy. You can buy raw fish and eat it, cigarettes, alcohol, etc. But you can't buy raw milk. I'd get a license but the equipment is so expensive to buy that it's cost prohibitive. Where we live, there's just not that big a demand for raw milk. People here love goat cheese, but again, to sell it to stores I'd have to be licensed. We need to start an underground food network, LOL. Pretty soon, we'll be buying our food from state owned stores and who knows what it will really be made of.
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Old 12/29/10, 12:10 PM
Alice In TX/MO's Avatar
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I highly recommend you join the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund so that you will have legal representation when the government comes to get you.

http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/

In a state where selling raw milk is illegal, you have made yourself a target by being on realmilk and craigslist.

Good luck!
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