Raw milk bill moves to Senate (Bennington Banner, VT) By KEITH WHITCOMB JR. A bill that
would change regulations on the sale of farm-fresh, or "raw" milk,
passed in the Vermont House of Representatives last week on a vote of 96-40
and is awaiting action by the Senate. Raw milk
has not been pasteurized, or undergone a process that heats milk then cools
it rapidly to kill harmful bacteria prior to human consumption. Rep. Bill
Botzow, D-Pownal/Woodford, said that, currently, dairy farmers can sell up to
12 gallons of unpasteurized milk per day with no special regulations. The
Farm-Fresh Milk Restoration Act regulates sales of under 12 gallons, and has
added rules for sales of up to 40 gallons. Botzow said
he did not support the bill when it was first introduced because it placed no
rules on the sale of raw milk. After much debate, provisions were added that
made him and others support it. The bill applies as well to milk from goats. Few farmers
in Bennington County sell much raw milk, but being able to sell more is a
plus, said Jennifer Lawrence, who co-owns Polymeadows Farm in Shaftsbury,
where she and her husband, Melvin, milk goats. She said her own farm sells
about two gallons of raw milk a week at $7 per gallon. When people come by,
they bring their own containers and have them filled out of the main milk
tank. Lawrence
said that if Polymeadows had regular raw milk customers, she might keep a
refrigerator stocked, but otherwise she has no plans to expand raw milk
sales. Botzow said
farms selling raw milk would have to register with the Vermont Department of
Agriculture, Food and Markets. Sellers would have to keep records of raw milk
sales, as well as label products made using it. Sellers are also required to
have sanitary standards, report the amount they sell, and give tours of their
farms to anyone who wishes to purchase raw milk from them. "We
are more than happy to have people walk around," Lawrence said. Botzow said
the bill has a second tier for sales between 12 and 40 gallons. A farm
selling more than 12 gallons of raw milk per day would not be able to ship
the milk. It would have to be sold on the farm. He said some delivery
arrangements are possible, but the purchase itself has to occur at the farm.
Farmers would also be subject to regular inspections, report test results and
keep the results on file. Botzow said raw milk would be subject to lower
somatic cell count limits. High somatic cell counts are an indicator of
illness in the animal. "I
think the sale of raw milk is much safer with the passage of this bill,"
he said. He said
safety has been the main concern with the sale of raw milk. "We don't
want an incident here that will impact Vermont's reputation," he said. "Raw
milk has been an issue for many years," Botzow said. "Bills like
this have long discussions because people understand them." Lawrence
said the controversy over raw milk is widespread. She said it has a number of
both detractors and supports, and their opinions can be found easily online. "I
don't think there's a middle ground, really," she said, adding that
disease is the concern for most people. She said tuberculosis and diphtheria
are the diseases most feared, but concern over them in raw milk is a moot
point. "If tuberculosis was on my farm, I'd be shut down," she
said. "All our milk is tested anyway." Botzow said
there were a number of amendments to the bill that he opposed and were voted
down. One, he said, would have loosened requirements on laboratories to
report directly to the department of agriculture, which he did not support.
Another would have prevented raw milk from receiving the Vermont Seal of
Quality. Botzow said the seal is given by the department and the Legislature
should not be controlling it. He said he
does not know if the bill will be taken up by the Senate, as it passed late
in the House's session. 5-07-09 http://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_12314667 |
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