Is Raw Milk Legal to sell? A Farmer Answers
Is raw milk legal to sell?
Raw Milk is legal in some states, but not others.
Why does the internet make raw milk sound so frightening?
Because the warnings are written about a category, and categories average badly. Raw milk from a careless operation is genuinely risky. Milk from a healthy, inspected, well-handled herd is a different product. Public health guidance has to speak to the worst case, so it does.
I am not going to tell you those articles are all written in bad faith. Some of them are about real outbreaks on real farms that were doing a poor job, and pretending otherwise would make everything else on this page less believable.
But you are not deciding about a category. You are deciding about one farm. That is a different question, and it is a question you can actually investigate.
It is sad to me that when a mother searches this at ten at night, what she finds is written to frighten her rather than to help her judge. So here is the version I would want my own sister to have.
What should you ask a raw milk farm before you buy?
Four questions. What do the cows eat? How quickly does the milk get cold after milking? Do you test it, and how often? And do your own children drink this? A farm that is proud of its answers will give them without hesitating.
| Ask this | What a good answer sounds like | What should worry you |
|---|---|---|
| What do the cows eat? | A specific description of pasture and any supplemental feed, and whether soy or GMO feed is used. | Vague words like “natural” with no detail. |
| How fast does the milk get cold? | A number, in hours, from milking to chilled. | They have not thought about it. |
| Do the cows get vaccines, drugs, or pesticides? | Our cows never get vaccines or drugs, and the fields are free of pesticides and chemicals. | If the cows are vaccinated or use drugs frequently. |
| Do your own children drink it? | Yes, plainly, without qualification. | Any hesitation at all. |
| What breed of cows do you have? | Jerseys, guernseys, dutch belt, and swiss cows are generally the best. | Holsteins have low cream yield, and not recommended as much |
Notice that none of those questions require you to order from us. Ask them of whichever farm is closest to you. If you get four good answers from somebody else, you have found your farm, and I am glad for you.
Four main ways you can get raw milk from a farm in your state:
- Public/retail stores. There is a few states where this is allowed, and those milk sources might be slightly questionable.
- Get it as “for Pet Food consumption”. Many farms label it as For Household pets, but the farms still use standards of human consumption, because most of it is consumed by humans.
- Herdshares: Herdshares is a way the families can pay a farm to take care of the cows, and milk the cows. So when getting milk from a herdshare you most times pay a membership fee instead of exactly paying for the milk itself (each farmer might have it set up slightly different)
- A ministry trust setup: A setup where the farmer offers milk for exchange of a gift amount, so he isn’t ‘selling’ it, or is in ‘business’
Different ways to get Raw Milk:
We run pickup locations across numerous regions, as well as home delivery in many places.
And here is what families say once they have it, in their own words:
“This milk is the best milk I’ve ever drank. It’s completely different from store bought. My mom used to live on a farm in Europe and said it taste like her childhood.” — K.M.
“The milk has a golden type of color, it tastes very good and makes you feel fuller than normal milk. It is also very much sweeter than pasteurized.” — Diego
“The raw milk is great. I have been ordering it now for about 6 months. Glad to have the convenient pickup location too.” — Mike
Where to find raw milk in my state
If we don’t service your area, feel free to go to RawMilkMovement.org to see a list of farmers in different states.
How long does raw milk keep?
Handled well and kept properly cold, expect roughly a week to 14 days, though this varies. Raw milk sours rather than rotting, which is why generations of farm kitchens used soured milk for baking instead of throwing it out. So even once 10-14 days is up, the milk naturally turns sour, and doesn’t exactly go bad.
Is raw milk safe for children or during pregnancy?
That is a medical question and I am a farmer, but there has been lots of research done by Weston A Price Foundation, and hundreds of mothers saying if done correctly it has made the babies life so much easier, and their bodies and brains got developed very well. (And my siblings drank raw milk before they were a year old.)
What is A2 milk, and is yours A2?
A2 refers to a beta-casein protein variant in cow milk, determined by the herd’s genetics rather than by how the milk is handled. Ours is A-2.
If you already drink raw milk, there are mothers that need to hear from you!
If you have been receiving from us for a while, you are far more use to a nervous mother than I am. I am the farmer — of course I will say it is good.
Share your story here: https://cwhministry.org/share-your-story/
A sentence or two is plenty.
Thank you so much. Many blessings to you!
—Gideon and my family, Clearview Farm
Gideon Lapp farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with his family, producing raw cow dairy, grassfed meats and soy-free eggs for families through Clearview Waterfalls Health Ministry. He has been milking cows alongside his father since age 6, and has now shared raw milk with over 5,000 families in the past twenty years. And is now helping other farmers do the same.
