NOFA Massachusetts Campaign for Raw Milk

Welcome to the NOFA/Mass Organic Dairy Raw Milk Program! We're working to make safe, healthy raw milk and raw milk cheeses easily available in Massachusetts.

Note - The information which follows pertains to milk from dairy cows. Milk from other animals, specifically goats and sheep, is significantly different from that of cows. We hope at some point to be able to provide information on these milks and their products as well, but cannot yet do so.

On this web page, you'll find:

• Information About Raw Milk In Massachusetts;
• Information for consumers;
• List of Local Raw Milk Dairies;
• Information For producers;
• Related Articles and Websites;
• The NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Campaign;

General information section

Raw milk is unpasteurized, unprocessed milk. Many consumers prefer it and raw milk cheeses for the taste and for the health benefits, and a widespread, strong demand for these products has developed among New England consumers.

Why is raw milk hard to get?

Over a century ago, the U.S. milk supply became large and centralized (there are actual "milk sheds" like watersheds). Many states began requiring pasteurization due to public health concerns. Raw milk is inherently a healthful food, but - like other animal (and vegetable) products - its beauties can be undone by contamination. Both raw and pasteurized milk have caused food-borne illness, although raw milk is statistically more likely to carry pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, and listeria than pasteurized milk. These can cause serious illness, especially in the young, elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems. Such individuals should research and consider carefully the risks and benefits associated with drinking raw milk before deciding on whether or not to drink it.

Milk is a wonderful food, and, like all foods, is best-tasting and most nutritious if eaten fresh and unprocessed. Pasteurization reduces the vitamin, enzyme, and protein levels in milk. It may reduce the digestibility of calcium, and consumption of pasteurized milk may be associated with an increased risk of asthma and allergies. As with all whole, living foods, NOFA suggests you know the animal care standards and sanitary practices of your milk producer. To get a sense of their practices, ask them the questions we have posted below in the Information for consumers section.

Raw Milk creates opportunity for farmers

At a time when prices for pasteurized milk are often below the cost of production, well-produced raw milk and raw milk cheeses could help small Massachusetts dairy farmers and diversified family farms stay in business or even thrive. Many small farms keep dairy animals as a sideline and produce too little milk to economically pasteurize. They can have difficulty finding legal markets for it. This is a significant economic loss: in contrast to pasteurized milk, for which producers receive approximately $1 a gallon, raw milk can command prices between $5 and $9 a gallon.

Here in Massachusetts, it is legal to sell raw milk from the farm gate if the producer meets higher sanitary standards and is inspected by the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) Milk Inspector, though approximately half of the townships in the state report that they ban raw milk sales altogether.

The NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Program strongly recommends that only producers whose cows are pastured and grass-fed consider raw milk production. Feeding grain changes the acidity of ruminant stomachs, rendering them more hospitable to E. coli and other pathogens. Moreover, most raw milk consumers prefer grass-fed milk, according to our market research.

For the NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Program, the raw milk issue is a small-farm and a consumer-choice issue. Prevailing health and sanitary regulations are biased towards large farmers and industrial products. This prevents the products of small farms - raw milk, raw cider, or home-made canned and bottled goods, etc. - from reaching markets. If we want family farms to survive, we need to develop methods of dealing with food safety issues that don't marginalize small-scale producers.

At the NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Campaign, we are working to:

• Provide information about raw milk to producers and consumers;
• Work with farmers and regulators to make raw milk production a viable business opportunity;
• Work with regulators to ensure that health and sanitary regulations for raw milk are both effective and scale-neutral; and
• Reverse township bans on raw milk production.

Information for consumers

Consumers should ask raw milk dairy farmers the following questions to get a sense of the quality of their animal care and sanitary practices:

• Are you approved by the DAR to sell raw milk directly to consumers?
• Are your cows grass-fed (pasture in the summer and primarily hay or baleage in the winter)?
• Do you use pesticides, herbicides, hormone supplements or antibiotics?
• If they are not approved by the DAR to sell raw milk, ask them if their milk is tested regularly for bacteria, coliform and somatic-cell counts. Bacteria counts should be below 20,000 per mL; coliform should not exceed 10 per mL; somatic cell count should be below 750,000 and ideally below 350,000 per mL.
• If you live in a township in Massachusetts where raw milk sales are banned, call a member of your township's Board of Health and request a copy of the bylaw that bans raw milk. You can find your Board of Health's contact information through the Massachusetts Health Officers Association at http://www.mhoa.com/mhoa/roster.htm.

Grass-fed or Pasture-based: Both terms refer to livestock whose diet consists primarily of grass from pasture. Though this is the diet recommended for highest qaulity milk, due to New England’s cold, snowy winters, it is impossible for dairy herds in Massachusetts to eat grass all year; they are fed hay, haylage, or baleage during the winter months when fresh grass is not available. Because the nutritional value of dried grasses or legumes is less than that of fresh grass, for the winter months the herd’s diet is supplemented with grain which has nutrients the cow needs to stay healthy.

Seasonal: Seasonal dairies match the reproductive cycle of the cows to availability of forage. The highest nutrient requirements of the cow—during calving and lactation—are timed to occur in the season of highest quality and quantity, usually spring. In seasonal dairying, since all the cows dry off at once, it is not necessary to milk for a couple of months during the year, in New England usually December to February.

Forages: Grass and legumes that have been harvested and stored as sileage or hay.

BST: Bovine somatotrophin, a growth hormone

List of Local Raw Milk Dairies

Each farm listed here has been approved by the Department of Agricutlural Resources to sell raw milk, and they chose from the following descriptions to describe their raw milk dairy:

Milk Available: Seasonal or Year-round

Grazing and Feeding Management

The dairy farms listed on the NOFA/Mass website have choosen from the descriptions below Within the definition of "grass-fed" is a range of practices

• 100% grass-fed: Cows eat only grass all year long.
• Grass-fed with supplemental grain in winter: Cows eat only grass during the months it is available, typically March thru November, and during the winter eat hay and forage with small amounts of grain.
• Mostly grass with occasional grain: Cows eat grass and grain from March thru November, and during the winter eat hay or forage with grain.
• Not pasture-based: Cows primarily without access to pasture.

Herd Health No BST: Cows are not given the BST growth hormone
No Antibiotics: Cows are not treated with antibiotics

Bostrom Farm
Kyle Bostrom
95 Green River Rd.
Greenfield, MA
(413) 772-3732
Milk available: Year-round
Grazing and Feeding Management: Mostly grass with occasional grain
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Breese Hollow Dairy
Chuck & Diane Phippen
454 Breese Hollow Rd.
Hoosick Falls, NY 12090
518-686-4044
dcphippen@juno.com
Milk available: Year-round
Grazing and Feeding Management: Mostly grass with occasional grain
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Chase Hill Dairy - Certified Organic
Marc and Jeannette Fellows
74 Chase Hill Road
Warwick, MA 01378
(978) 544-6327
Milk available: Seasonal
Grazing and Feeding Management: Grass-fed with supplemental grain in winter
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Cook Farm
Gordi Cook
129 S. Maple St.
Hadley, MA 01035
(413) 584-2224
www.cookfarm.com
Milk available: Year-round
Grazing and feeding management: Not pasture based

Mermaid Farm and Dairy
Allen Healy and Caitlin Jones
9 Middle Road
Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard 02535
(508) 645-3492
Contact Farm for Information

Misty Brook Farm - Certified Organic
Katia Clemmer & Brendan Holmes
3689 Greenwich Road
PO Box 62, Hardwick, MA 01037
(413) 967-6173
mistybrookorganicfarm@yahoo.com
Milk available: Year Round
Grazing and Feeding Management: 100% grass-fed
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Oake Knoll Ayershires at Lawton's Family Farm
Terri Lawton
70 North St.
Foxboro, MA 02035
terri_lawton@yahoo.com
Milk available: Year-round
Grazing and Feeding Management: Grass-fed with supplemental grain in winter
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Rocky Acres
Bob and Marty Richardson
Warren
contact Cyndy Gray for availability
(978) 526-7440
justdairy@adelphia.net
Milk Available: Seasonal (late March to December)
Grazing and Feeding Management: Mostly grass with occasional grain
Herd Health: No BST

Robinson Farm - Transitioning to Organic
Raymond & Pamela Robinson
201 Jackson Rd.
Hardwick, MA 01037
413-477-6988
www.robinsonfarm.org
info@robinsonfarm.org
Milk available: Year-round
Grazing and Feeding Management: Mostly grass with occasional grain
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Sidehill Farm
Paul Lacinski and Amy Klippenstein
137 Beldingville Rd.
Ashfield, MA 01330
413-625-0011
amy@greenspacecollaborative.com
Milk available: Seasonal
Grazing and Feeding Management: Grass-fed
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Upinngil Land of Milk and Honey
Cliff Hatch
411 Main Road
Gill, MA 01354
413-863-2297
pickens@crocker.com
Milk available: Seasonal (March - January)
Grazing and Feeding Management: Grass-fed with supplemental grain in winter
Herd Health: No BST, No Antibiotics

Just Dairy
a buying club which buys raw milk directly from Chase Hill Dairy and Rocky Acres Farm, is now accepting new members if you can pick up your orders in any of these locations: Roxbury, Cambridge, Hamilton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Revere, Rockport, Shrewsbury & West Newton. Coming soon Swampscott. Visit www.justdairy.org for more information about how to join.

Note:If there is no dairy listed above that is near you please contact us for information about what you can do in your region to help make safely-produced raw milk available.

Information for Producers

• 330 CMR 27.00: Standards and Sanitation Requirements for Grade A Raw Milk
  • Sections 27.06 and 27.08 govern raw milk production and sanitation
• The NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Program has produced a raw milk brochure for dairy farmers giving a brief outline of regulations affecting raw milk production in Massachusetts
• If you live in a township in Massachusetts where raw milk sales are banned, call a member of your township's Board of Health and request a copy of the bylaw that bans raw milk. You can find your Board of Health's contact information here. If you have questions about appropriate steps to take and what may be involved with reversing your town’s ban, or other questions related to producing raw milk, contact a member of the NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Campaign
• Grass-based and Seasonal Dairying information:
• Raw Milk Ban

Related Articles and Websites

All consumers and producers should educate themselves about the health risks and benefits of raw milk. Raw milk consumers should know how to identify dairy farms that follow safe production guidelines and should seek out raw milk from pasture-fed cows; in states where legal production is not allowed, consumers should ask producers to get their milk tested regularly for bacteria, coliform, and somatic-cell count levels.

Links to further information on raw milk and raw milk cheeses from both proponents and opponents are listed below.

Milk

• An article from NOFA's magazine, The Natural Farmer on the history of pasteurization and its impact on concentration in the dairy industry, as well as a discussion of raw milk safety and comparative food safety regulations in the U.S. and E.U.
• The Weston A. Price Foundation's Real Milk website promotes raw milk from a nutritional viewpoint and lists producers in different states, as well as local Weston Price chapter heads who can provide a good source of raw milk information in your area.
• The American Association of Public Health Veterinarians has posted this position statement against raw milk, recommending that only pasteurized milk and milk products be consumed and sold.
• The Center for Science in the Public Interest published an Outbreak Report in 2002 which discusses foodborne illnesses caused by raw and pasteurized milk between 1990 and 2002. See pages 10, 11, 38, and 39.
• Organic Pastures sells raw milk retail in California and is one of the premier raw milk dairies in the country.
• U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center
• West Virginia University Extension Services has factsheets and information on forage and grazing systems.

Cheese

• The Vermont Cheese Council commissioned an excellent study on "European Systems for the Safe Production of Raw Milk Cheese" from Peter Dixon in 2000.

THE NOFA/MASS RAW MILK CAMPAIGN

If you are a consumer or dairy producer wanting to be part of The Raw Milk Campaign to help make safely-produced raw milk available throughout Massachusetts, contact Kate Rossiter, Organic Dairy Coordinator, at krossiter@nofamass.org, or at (413) 625-0118.

Take Action Raw Milk Dairies Are At Risk!

The Natonal Uniformity for Food Act, soon to go before the Senate, would require states to adopt federal food regulations and standards, which means the sale of raw milk would be considered illegal in states where it is currently legal. The House of Representatives has already passed the bill.

Ask your Senator to vote "No"! For more information about the bill and for letters you can write to your senator, go to:

Organic Conumsers Assocation

www.democracyinaction.org

The Center for Food Safety
http://ga3.org/campaign/fooduniformity_house_passage

This page was last modified on January 14, 2008 at 12:52:19 PM.