Read the text of the latest bill here

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Farm Fresh Milk

Farm fresh milk is a natural and beneficial alternative to processed milk. The pasteurization and homogenization process destroys important vitamins, enzymes, and fatty acids, and alters proteins and immune factors that are inherent components in farm fresh milk. Farm fresh milk also creates healthy connections between farmer and consumer, stronger ties within our community, and a local sustainable economy.

Why we’re interested in farm fresh milk:

• Many people swear by its rich, fresh taste!
• Some folks believe there are health benefits associated with it
• It helps farmers get a fair price for their milk

How to find farm fresh milk in your area:

Farmers have begun to advertise their sales of raw milk as of March 2008; many have not yet gotten their advertisements out. If you are interested in purchasing farm fresh milk, begin by asking other members of your community about how they purchase it and/or visit a local farm in your area and ask the farmer if they have farm fresh milk available for sale. Bring your own clean container to fill.

When you are visiting a farm to purchase farm fresh milk be sure that:

• Cows graze on pasture and are fed hay when in barns during winter.
• Cows receive minerals as supplements or from mineralized soils and plants.
• Grain feeding is a minor dietary component.
• Teats of cows are clean and dry before milking.
• Cows are milked in a clean barn or milking parlor.
• Milk is kept chilled.
• Farmers are working “in tune with nature” to ensure the absence of pathogens – cows are not pushed to produce large quantities of milk, soil is fertile, and cows live in a low stress environment.

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Get Involved

Rural Vermont helped to draft the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act of 2009 (H.125), which will allow farmers to make increased on-farm sales of raw milk, as well as deliver pre-purchased milk directly to customers.

If you are interested in getting involved in spreading the word about the benefits of farm fresh milk and the belief that farm fresh milk would contribute to thriving farms and a healthy community, please email us at shelby@ruralvermont.org.

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History

In 2007, Rural Vermont conducted surveys of dozens of raw milk farmers all over the state, and used the information to draft the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act of 2008, which called for farmers to be able to sell unlimited raw milk from their farms, deliver pre-purchased milk, and advertise their raw milk. While much testimony (much of it great testimony from farmers and medical professionals in support of the bill) was heard, the bill ran out of time, and was changed to double the daily limit of raw milk that could be sold off of the farm (from 25 to 50 quarts). In the process of considering the bill, it was found that the advertising of raw milk was technically legal, and since then farmers have been allowed to advertise!

In 2009, Rural Vermont helped to pass H.125, a bill that creates a tiered system for raw milk dairies, requiring basic standards to be met by all farmers, and greater standards be met by those selling between 50 quarts and 40 gallons a day and/or delivering their milk.

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Current Materials

Stay tuned for updated factsheets about buying and selling raw milk under the new law.

There are more materials, including recordings of testimony, in the sidebar to the right, marked "Farm Fresh Milk Materials".

A sheet with information for consumers buying, or looking to buy, farm fresh milk (.pdf format).

The bill, H. 125, as passed by the House and Senate

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Links

The Weston A. Price Foundation, proponents of raw milk
Visit the website for Dairy Bacterial Testing, LLC - a farm fresh milk/product testing company in VT that is run by a Rural Vermont member