State locks up raw milk at Lodi dairy

Where raw milk distributed appears to be at issue

The Ithica Journal (NY)
Neil Chaffie
10/12/07
Original Article Here

Lodi -- Sensing a growing interest in raw milk, Steve and Barbara Smith of Smith Road closed their Meadowsweet Yogurt Co. and set out on a new endeavor back in March.

The couple opened what is known as Meadowsweet Dairy LLC with some 115 members supplied raw milk as well as raw milk products, much like a community-supported agriculture operation in which non-farmers buy a share and receive a regular allotment of what the farm produces.

But there is a hitch in all of this. Representatives of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets in Albany arrived at the couple’s farm last week for a look at the operation.

What followed on this past Thursday, Oct. 11, was another visit. Barbara said a lock was placed on the couple’s cooler to prevent further dissemination of milk, yogurt and other products.

The state is demanding, the Smiths said in a statement, that the couple distribute their products on the farm instead of at such locations as the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. But that hasn’t ended plans to be on hand Saturday morning as usual at the market. “We’ll see what happens,” Barbara said.

The Smiths contend in a statement that the locked cooler is “the most recent in a series of aggressive moves by the state to regulate the Smith’s herdshare program” known as Meadowsweet Dairy Inc.

Milk and dairy products are made available to members only, Barbara said, and are not sold to the public. The Smith couple is retained by the limited liability company to operate the farm and make its products available to its members. Barbara contends that the state wants to put a damper on her dairy operation for fear that other dairy and farm operators will follow suit with their own companies and thus reduce the milk business going to large processors.

“The popularity of raw milk nationwide has fueled the conflict with regulators in many states,” the Smith couple noted in a statement. Their case, they added, is being considered by a farm-to-consumer legal defense fund, which contracts with attorneys to defend farmers involved in cases with governmental agencies. Gary Cox, a Columbus, O. attorney, is handling the case for the Lodi couple.

While Meadowsweet Yogurt was in business for 12 years, Barbara added, the Smith products sold in Ithaca stores, at the farmer’s market and drew other customers from as far away as Canada. The growing interest in raw milk, she said, resulted in the founding of Meadowsweet Dairy with the idea that the couple would reach more customers. Cox, the Columbus attorney, is working with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets to resolve the issue.

When contacted at the state Department of Agriculture and Markets in Albany, press officer Jessica Chittenden said the department “has a couple of concerns” involving Meadowsweet Dairy and said she would follow through with an e-mail message. As of early this afternoon, no message had arrived.

In an earlier statement from the department announcing warnings about potential contamination in the raw milk of another dairy, Ag and Markets said:

“It is important to note that raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization, which eliminates all pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter. Producers who sell raw milk to consumers must have a permit to do so from the Department, must sell directly to consumers on the farm where the milk is produced and must post a notice at the point of sale indicating that raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization. Farms with permits to sell raw milk are inspected by the Department monthly.”