Nevada: How the De Facto Ban Works

There are currently 47 states that allow (through statute, regulation or policy) either the sale of raw milk for human consumption, the sale of raw milk for animal consumption, or the distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements. The outliers are Hawaii, Nevada and Rhode Island; sales of raw milk are legal by statute in Nevada, but reality couldn’t be more different. Nevada has established a de facto ban through its laws that make it impossible for producers to legally sell raw milk.

The sale of raw milk for human consumption is legal in Nevada; however, a Nevada dairy cannot produce raw milk to be sold unless there is a county milk commission to regulate production and distribution; even if there is a county commission, the sale of raw milk and raw milk products the farm produces is legal only in that county, nowhere else in the state.[1] Currently, only one of the 16 counties in the state, Nye County, has a milk commission. A bill allowing statewide sales of raw milk, certified by a county milk commission, was vetoed by Governor Brian Sandoval in 2013.

The Nye County Raw Dairy Commission (NCRDC) formed in 2012.[2] Under state law, the commission must “adopt written regulations, which must be approved by the Director [of the Nevada Department of Agriculture] governing the production, distribution and sale in the county of certified raw milk and products made from it,…”[3] It is the commission that certifies the raw milk and raw milk products so they can be sold. The Director, as far as is known, never approved the regulations the Raw Milk Commission drafted and adopted in November 2015 [4] (per agenda and minutes for 11/18/2016) [5,6]. If the director had approved, a Nye County dairy would have had to comply with not only the commission’s regulations but also dozens of regulatory requirements issued by the Nevada Department of Agriculture that are found in the state administrative code, including extensive physical facility requirements—all this to sell milk in a county of around 56,000 people [7]; Nevada’s population is 3.2 million [8].

Herdshare agreements aren’t an option for raw milk producers in Nevada. Anyone selling or dispensing raw milk must have a permit issued by the state and be in compliance with all county and state regulations. Nevada law defines “sold or dispense” to mean “any transaction involving the transfer or dispensing of raw milk by barter or contractual agreement or in exchange for any form of compensation, including, but not limited to, the sale of shares or interest in a cow, goat or other lactating mammal or herd.”[9]

Sales of raw milk for animal consumption are legal but only if there is an “approved denaturant”[10] added to the milk; all the approved denaturants are toxic. There isn’t much opportunity for dairy farmers in Nevada these days, especially small-scale operators. There are around 20 Grade A dairies left in the state, ranging in size from 500 cows to over 25,000 [11]. Nevada dairy farmers have lost millions of dollars in raw milk sales to neighboring California; 2025 should be the year when the booming demand for raw milk moves the legislature to pass a law that actually gives raw milk producers a chance to make a living.

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1. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 584.207 (NRS 584.207), https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-584.html#NRS584Sec207
2. Commission created in 2012 by “Nye Ordinances Chapter 8.40 Raw Milk Commission”. See archived Notice of Public Hearing on Nye County Bill 2012-15, originally posted July 17, 2012. https://www.nyecountynv.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=212&ARC=485
3. Nevada statute NRS 584.207, clause 3(b) https://www.leg.state.nv.us/division/legal/lawlibrary/NRS/NRS-584.html#NRS584Sec207
4. Regulations of the Nye County Raw Milk Commission. Adopted November 11, 2015 per agenda and minutes for Nov. 18, 2015. https://nv-nyecounty.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/29055/Item8?bidId=
5. Raw Milk Commission Agenda November 18, 2016. (2016, Nov 14) https://www.nyecountynv.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11182016-2101
6. Draft Meeting Minutes for Nye County Raw Dairy Commission. (2016, Nov 18). https://www.nyecountynv.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11182016-2101
7. worldpopulationreview.com/states/nevada/counties
8. worldpopulationreview.com/states/nevada-population
9. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 584.207 (NRS 584.209), https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-584.html#NRS584Sec209]
10. Ibid.
11. nevadamilk.com/on-the-farm/nevada-farms