Dairy Farming Perspective

There have been some very interesting letters to the editor in the Lancaster Farming Newspaper in the last couple weeks on Dairy Farming and Raw Milk in particular.Some dairy association
rep wrote a article condemning raw milk and small diaries (very small in like just a few cows).The responses have been very surprising to me as they have almost all supported the sale of raw milk and some good letters about the problems with milk that is being sold now to the general public in grocery stores.Keep in mind LF is a farm newspaper subscribed in large part to
mainstream farmers and those associated with mainstream farming.A poll LF did on the sale of raw milk to the readers had a huge response with a huge majority supporting the individual freedom
to sell and buy raw milk farmer directly to consumers.

The milk we get today out of the stores is not what was sold even twenty years ago. I raise my own chicken eggs vegetable and pork. I just don't have enough to do beef and dairy.

We buy milk at our local store in a glass bottle which comes from an independent dairy. Cows are grass pastured. Milk taste like real milk. The only milk the house cat will drink.

"The milk we get today out of the stores is not what was sold even twenty years ago."

Can you explain how it's different? I mean,if you're saying the milk on the shelf isn't 20 years old,you're right. I hope anyway.

I was probably 10 years old when we made the switch from raw to pasteurized-homogenized. There was something about it that made me nauseous, and from that time until I left home and got low fat, my mother bought powdered skim milk and I mixed my own.

Like I've said before,I was raised on raw milk as were our kids. We drank it up until the cows went a little over 15 years ago. With that said though,I wouldn't drink raw milk from somebody else's farm no how,no way. We were around those cows constantly,breathing the bacteria,drinking it in every day,we had it on our clothes and we built an immunity to it. To ingest it now form somebody else's cows,with no immunity? Do it if you want to,but I won't take the chance. Not for the little bit of difference in price.

Oh absolutely.
Create the market
hire trucks to hand deliver raw milk
you could leave it on the porch till they get home.
re use and recycle the containers

just think of the opportunities

perhaps reach out to Amazon and offer it with a simple click on an I-phone
to those in desire

create a market

create news stories of it's benefits and all round great wholesome natures

milk the cows by hand

only grazed and brought in from pastures twice a day

maybe make the national news

just think of the opportunity

america is great

wish you success

I don't drink a lot of milk, but I do eat a lot of cheese and cottage cheese. Some people pay more for organic, grass fed etc., but I'd pay more for products that come from 100 or less cow dairy's

This topic keeps coming up over and over, and the support for raw milk usually comes from those that want to make a quick buck by selling milk off their farms, at retail prices, without processors and retail outlets getting a cut from their hard work. The other group are the misinformed and ignorant that believe that there are magical benefits to be had by consuming raw milk. Both groups claim that their freedom of choice is being violated if they are not allowed to do as they wish.
Interesting point which often gets overlooked is the simple fact that in a mature and highly structured society, the rights of the majority take precedence over the rights of the few. We see these restrictions all the time, speed limits on roads, building codes, etc. are all examples of basic rules put in place to protect the majority. Similarly the rules around selling pasteurized milk. Milk is the most wonderful carrier of pathogens, and these pathogens can be effectively eliminated by pasteurization. No one can build natural immunity to Ecoli , Tubuculosis, or Listeria, or Brucellosis. All of these can be present in milk, you cannot taste or see these things. And the first people affected will be the very young, and the very old. This is about public health, not about freedom of choice. How would you feel if you knew someone?s child became ill from drinking raw milk from your farm infected with Ecoli. A child could die, or suffer kidney damage, so that you could make an extra $ selling raw milk. Why take this needless risk?

The farms here who are processing and marketing their milk are under the scrutiny of the state and county inspectors, on a regular basis. To my knowledge they are pasteurizing the milk before bottling, so it is not raw milk straight from the cow and put in a bottle.
Loren

I believe just what Bruce said. Could not have said it better myself.

But on the other hand I also believe you should be able to buy raw rancid milk if you so choose. Just don?t come looking for free healthcare or a lawyer when you get sick.

I was raised on raw milk out of my uncles tank. We used gallon glass pickle jars with the wide mouth. When we went to use it we would dip off the cream and go to it. For some reason we're still alive and healthy.

I can remember as a kid you could buy pasteurized milk that was not homogenized off the store shelf.

I still shake the milk carton before pouring a glass to this day.

Let?s see some $ numbers.

I agree with rrlund on not drinking someone else's raw milk. Do what you will, but I remember back when we had cows and I didn't like the bulk tank milk then. My folks and grandparents liked it and never got sick, but it just didn't appeal to me. To put it in perspective... students bring treats to class all the time. I don't eat any homemade baked goods unless I personally know the student's mom well and even then I usually give mine away. We all have seen the kool-aid mixing scene with uncle Eddie's daughter in National Lampoon's Vacation....no thanks...I'm good!

Imagine the liability to a main stream grocery chain selling milk that is not pasturized. I would imagine that is against the law in some states for public health reasons.

Now that was unnecessary and a low stupid response. Raw rancid. You didn't contribute a single constructive thing.

Well said, Bruce!

Sorry if I offered you Jeff.

But milk full of bacteria; so much so it could kill you; I would consider rancid.

We used Karo Syrup pales. Set overnight and skimmed the cream. Cream was used for butter, whipped cream, cooking, and on top of garden berries. The milk we drank like calves and Ma raised a healthy herd of 8.

That?s offended you
Stupid phone.

I'd take bad milk.....for my barn cats

How does real milk taste?

Dad used to pour it back out of the can and in to the milk pail then bring it in and sit it on the kitchen counter after he got done milking. It was warm and usually had some cow hair in it that brushed off his coat. It took a long time for me to get used to drinking cold milk after we put the bulk tank in.

Milky I guess. LOL

I was raised on milk from the left over cow in the barn with the steers. Really liked the cream that formed on the milk with a light skin.

It?s a tough thing for selling. The bad bacteria is basically going to be there, and people need to be aware of that. As well you miss out on the added vitamin D and so forth.

I?m for people having access to purchasing raw milk, but there needs to be a great deal of knowledge of what buyers are getting into. It?s not all sunshine and unicorns, it is a real trade off between the goods and the bads of each. People need to know what they are in for.....

Minnesota allows limited sales of raw milk from the farmer to customers that come to the farm. Fella near me got into some trouble for setting up a delivery route, I didn?t follow he details.

Again, I?m for it, but there are some reservations about how it might be marketed.....

Paul

When the people inevitably get their way and it's the Wild West, farmers will quickly set about overproducing raw milk to the point where it becomes worthless.

Milking a few cows to sell raw milk isn?t going to generate much income.

I agree with Bruce. It is pasturized for a reason.

We always had a milk cow when I was growing up, and I know most of the other farm kids did too. Dad always had our cow tested though. Probably the others did too.

I'm a big milk drinker but it has to be cold. Closer the 32 the better. Can't stand warm milk

I like what Bruce said. It is impossible to fully eliminate the bacteria risk. All it takes is one poorly washed teat and the whole tank of milk is contaminated. Washing teats; four per cow, twice per day, 50 cows in your heard, 365 days per year, year after year. At some point even the most careful farmer is going to make a mistake.

I remember growing up drinking raw cows milk and getting the "stomach flue" a couple of times. The only time I have gotten the "stomach flue" since was in Mexico and it was called food poisoning.

Well said from me too Bruce! We never sold raw milk to anyone but our dairy and we stopped drinking it ourselves over 10 years ago.

Not sure what the big deal is. If you sell a few ears of corn from your garden to a neighbor who feels you have a nice garden that they a comfortable with, why is raw milk any different? It is only different if I try to sell it in large amounts., If a Mom stops at a farm, sees the cows, the barn, the whole set up and then feels she is comfortable enough to drink a glass why complain? It should be her choice, its her family. If you dont want any than buy yours from the store. If you want FRESH milk stop and talk with your local farmers. The term RAW is just a word used in hopes of steering peoples opinions against the practice. I DO NOT sell fresh milk from my farm, but feel its not anyone, including a dairy farmer from many miles away to tell me I can not sell something I have produced on this farm. I drink it, my kids do, and have since they were pulled from my wives tattas. As my parents health was declining and the end looked near they asked for milk. The Doctors could not understand how my Dad on dialysis could get stronger, and even stop bi weekly treatments for 2 years.The only thing he changed was fresh milk, homemade butter, and cottage cheese. He did have to resume treatment for the last year of his life. Each to his own but I feel it is a healthy option for those who have access to it. If you want to see a true test take a jug of store milk and a jug of fresh milk and place them on your counter top.Leave them both sit for one week covered, but not refrigerated. The store milk most times will turn green and smell really bad. Fresh milk will separate and the water will go to the bottom and the solids will form a cheese on the top. It will smell like yogurt. Some people will eat the solids. I have tried it but do not like its taste. Good milk not only has bad bacteria, but also beneficial bacteria also. In healthy cows the good bacteria will out number the bad. This is what keeps her bag from turning to cheese while she walks around. After you milk her the good bugs kill off most if not all of the bad ones. Pasteurization was invented way BEFORE refrigeration. It was needed to stop milk from going bad. Today Fresh milk can last 3-5 days easy in a refrigerator. This is not even close to the shelf life of store milk. Heck I have seen ultra pasteurized milk that was non refrigerated. If it doesn't need to be cooled just how good is it for our bodies? Each to his own, just dont throw stones at someone because they drink, or provide it for someone else. Al

Bruce, I found this on the internet. The scale model Sheffield creamery was in Bloomville a village near me. I remember the sign in front that said it was the first to pasteurize milk in the U.S. I drank milk from the tank on our farm but selling to the masses it needs pasteurization.

I remember when I was in 1st. grade I had to get off bus at neighbors as folks were gone for evening. They milked cows and drank milk right from the barn. At supper I said this milk tastes funny. I was used to drinking store bought milk. Neighbor said it tastes different because it comes right from the cows. I told him I will not drink milk that comes from a cow.

My grandparents lived on fresh milk, eggs, garden produce, etc. It finally killed them at ages 104 and 101.

Al Baker, I AM sure what the big deal is here. It is simply that there is a very big issue with a lot of people on one side who are big on the all natural movement while on the other side you have volumes of facts and documentation.