by Pete Kennedy

Delaware–Raw Milk Bill Passes Legislature

On June 27 the Delaware House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 273 (SB 273), sending the legislation on to the governor for signature. SB 273 allows the direct-to-consumer sale of raw milk and raw milk products by licensed dairies; the bill calls for inspection and testing requirements as well as for the dairy to prepare “a risk management plan that covers sanitation, handling and testing methods.”

The legislation called for the Department of Agriculture to write and adopt regulations to administer and enforce SB 273. The path of the bill and its passage out of the legislature was another sign of how opposition to raw milk has declined. The drivers for the bill were Grade A dairy farmers, Stephanie and Greg Knutson; in the past decade, Delaware has lost three-fourths of its Grade A dairies. Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse testified in favor of the bill at Senate and House committee hearings and on the Senate floor. A Delaware Farm Bureau representative testified in favor of SB 273 as well; the Department of Health was neutral on the legislation—something that rarely happens in any state.

As of September 10, Governor John Carney still had not signed the bill. Secretary Scuse had said he wanted to write regulations for SB 273 before his own term expired in January.

Louisiana–Raw Pet Milk Sales Now Legal

On June 19, Louisiana became the forty-seventh state to legalize the sale or distribution of raw milk when Governor Jeff Landry signed House Bill 467 (HB 467). The new law legalizing sales of raw pet milk in the state went into effect on August 1.

Raw pet milk producers received good news from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) when the department moved to exempt them from all regulatory requirements except a labeling requirement and testing for Salmonella. LDAF’s decision saved producers hundreds of dollars in registration and other fees. LDAF indicated that if raw milk dairies wanted to produce other dairy products or mix any other ingredients into raw milk, they would be subject to registration and other applicable regulations in the state’s commercial feed code.

Massachusetts–First State to Test Raw Milk Dairies for Bird Flu

In the five months since bird flu was purportedly discovered in dairy workers, constant fearmongering from government agencies and the media has yet to provide a shred of evidence that bird flu is a threat to human health. Nevertheless, in August, possibly due to pressure from the federal government, Massachusetts became the first state to require raw milk dairies to submit a sample to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to test for H5N1. As of the end of August, none of the dairies submitting samples had received a positive test result. Unfortunately, several raw milk dairies in the state have already been hurt by the climate of fear the government and media have tried to create over bird flu. On July 19, Agri-Mark dairy cooperative sent a letter to its members and informed them that they would no longer be allowed to sell raw fluid milk for human consumption; the new policy went into effect on September 1.

Nevada–How the De Factor Raw Dair Ban Works

There are currently forty-seven 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.

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 sixteen 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 Dairy Commission drafted and adopted in November 2015⁴ (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 twenty Grade A dairies left in the state, ranging in size from 500 to 25,000 cows.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.

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://nvnyecounty.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