Small farms could sell to restaurants, grocery stores

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press

A bill moving through Idaho's House of Representatives may resolve the debate over raw milk sales in the state.

House Bill 675 would amend Idaho law to provide for acquisition of raw milk and raw milk products by owners and establishes terms for cow shares, sheep shares and goat shares.

After a pending rule on raw milk negotiated by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture was rejected in the Senate, lawmakers called for interested parties to meet and work out their differences.

The bill would allow for acquisition of raw milk or raw milk products by animal share members from no more than seven cows, 15 sheep or 15 goats, stating such acquisitions do not constitute a sale.

If the new the bill is passed in the House and Senate and signed by the governor, both it and the pending rule would immediately go into effect .

The difference in the two proposals is that a producer with a cow share won't be able to sell his milk, whereas a producer with a small farm exemption could sell his milk to such outlets as restaurants, farmers' markets and grocery stores, Marv Patten, the Ag Department's Dairy Bureau chief.

The proposed rule was in response to raw milk proponents trying to circumvent the Grade A facility requirement, he said.

"Rather than driving raw milk underground by getting creative, we wanted to bring it out in the open and provide greater public health," he said. "A lot of people felt it was government interference ... but we have a responsibility as public health officials to see that what's consumed by the public is as safe as possible."

The bill is now on a fast track before the Legislature adjourns on March 26, Patten said.

The bill requires producers who disseminate milk through a cow-share program to register with the state Department Agriculture, have a written contractual agreement with their cow-share members, test their milk and animals and provide information on that testing to the members. It also sets milk quality and animal health standards, prohibits anyone receiving the milk from selling it and gives the department enforcement authority.

Frank VanderSloot, founder of Melaleuca Inc., led opposition to the proposed rule. VanderSloot's sister, Luana Heibert, and her husband milk three to five cows in a herd-share program near Sandpoint.

Their opposition to the proposed rule was the three-cow limit, which Hiebert said is unreasonable.

"It's fair to say the objection brought by this one individual brought it to a head, but it's not a bill exclusive to one person," he said. "There is increased interest in raw milk ... and the department knows that. This would be something that has a lot more interest than one individual."

Online

House Bill 675: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2010/H0675.htm