On March 9 House Bill 4911 (HB 4911) became law; the bill provides, in part, that “raw milk may be sold by a seller in West Virginia to a consumer in West Virginia.” The new law takes effect June 7th.

The bill legalizes the sales of raw milk in retail stores; there is a labeling requirement that includes the warning statement, “Consuming unpasteurized raw milk may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially for children, elderly, immunocompromise individuals, and persons with certain medical conditions.”

Under HB 4911, the Commissioner of Agriculture may issue regulations “in compliance with raw milk dairy industry standards.” HB 4911 initially had a clause providing that producers weren’t liable for illness attributed to milk consumption unless they intentionally contaminated the milk, but a Senate amendment to the bill cut out that provision. Courts don’t favor liability waivers for foodborne illness.

A decade ago, West Virginia had the most strict raw milk laws in the country banning sales both for human consumption and for pet consumption as well as prohibiting herdshare agreements. In 2016 the state legislature passed a bill legalizing herdshares, but that new law never took hold with raw milk producers; the law had costly testing requirements and also required farmers to file copies of each herdshare contract they had with the Commissioner of Agriculture.

HP 4911 passed through the House and Senate by big margins and became law when Governor Jim Justice did not take action on the bill (state law requires the governor to veto the bill within 15 days from the time it reaches his desk).

Congratulations to the bill’s lead sponsor, Delegate Michael Hornby (R) and West Virginia raw milk producers and consumers. Soon the Real Milk Legal Map will reflect this change for West Virginia.

Last updated 7/30/24, removed “Retail” from graphic

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MONTANA – On April 30, the Montana Local Food Choice Act became law, legalizing the unregulated sale of raw milk and all other raw dairy products by producers direct to consumers; there are limited testing requirements for producers but no inspection or licensing, and the producer must keep no more than “five lactating cows, ten lactating goats, or ten lactating sheep” for the production of milk. Previously, there was a limited exception to the prohibition on the distribution of raw milk under Montana securities law, an exception that few producers chose to take advantage of, opting to sell raw milk on the black market. With the passage of the new law, there will be substantially more dairies producing raw milk for direct consumption than raw milk for pasteurization; there are currently forty-five Grade A dairies left in the state.

TEXAS – On May 17, new regulations amending the state raw milk dairy code went into effect in Texas. The regulations are a big improvement over the prior law especially in the following respects:

• Now delivery from licensed raw milk producers (in Texas only licensed producers can legally sell raw milk) to consumers can take place anywhere in the state the two parties agree to. Prior law limited sales and delivery to on-farm, a major problem for producers far away from any population centers.
• The new rules expand the number of raw dairy products licensed producers can sell. Under the previous law, it was clear that producers could sell only raw milk; the regulations now state that they can also sell cream, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, whey, eggnog and kefir.
• The new regulations recognize the legality of herdshares, a contractual arrangement under which someone purchases an ownership interest in a dairy animal or herd to be entitled to a portion of the milk production. As long as there is a written bill of sale for the purchased interest and the consumer receives an amount of milk proportionate to that ownership interest, the arrangement is legal. Previously, the Texas Department of State Health Services had interpreted herdshare agreements to be the illegal sale of raw milk if the farmer operating the herdshare was unlicensed.

VERMONT – The Vermont legislature passed a bill going into effect July 1st that allows farm stands and community subscription agriculture programs (CSAs) to sell raw milk “produced on a farm other than the farm or farms where the farm stand or CSA is located.” The bill increases potential markets for raw milk producers; under current law, only producers can sell to consumers.

WEST VIRGINIA – The West Virginia legislature legalized the sale of raw pet milk through the passage of a broader agriculture bill. The state law currently allows the distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements if the farmer registers with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, but few farms have registered so far, partly due to the high cost of the herd testing requirements. The new law opens up new markets for producers.

Demand for raw dairy products has increased over the past year; the trend toward a more favorable overall regulatory climate for raw milk producers should continue.

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West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Walt Helmick filed final emergency rules governing herdshare operators on August 26. The emergency regulations are in effect for fifteen months at which point the state department of agriculture will have to go through the usual rulemaking process if it wants to issue new rules. The rules are a substantial improvement over the regulations Helmick originally published in June which were so burdensome that they amounted to a de facto ban on herdshares. Thanks to strong opposition from raw milk producers and consumers, the final rules have improved to the point where herdshare farmers actually have a chance to make a living.

The proposed regulations include the following requirements:

• A signed herdshare agreement on a form distributed by the Commissioner of Agriculture, which must be on file with the commissioner; The agreement must include an acknowledgement by the herdshare owner agreeing to release the farmer of liability for the inherent dangers of consuming raw milk. The farmer is not released of liability “for deliberate or negligent acts unrelated to consuming raw milk.”
• Annual tests for brucellosis and tuberculosis; producers pay the cost of testing. Farmers are required to submit a Herd Health plan to the state veterinarian including expected testing dates for brucellosis and TB;
• Maintain official identification of animals involved in the herdshare program as required by federal law;
• Initial and yearly testing for coliform, standard plate count (SSPC), and somatic cell count (SCC) along with testing for the following pathogens E.coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, salmonella and campylobacter. The state pays for the testing; under the proposed emergency rule there were monthly testing requirements and the producer was responsible for paying all costs.

Onerous requirements in the proposed rule such as a food safety plan [Risk Analysis and Management Program (RAMPO)] and a “written recall and critical incident management plan” have been scrapped. The influence that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources had in the proposed rule, with its attempts to prevent herdshare operations from getting off the ground, looks to have been absent in the final rule. There can be further improvement in the regulations, but this is a good start for shareholder dairies in the state.

This article first appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of Wise Traditions, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

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Raw milk in West Virginia is now legal and available through cow share arrangements. The news spread quickly on Facebook after the governor signed the bill into law.

Lead advocate for the legislation, Tinia Creamer stated,

“It has been really amazing to watch the positive change in West Virginia on the issue of raw milk rights and food freedom. We’ve taken Food Freedom from a place of silence to a hot button issue that whole state has now talked about,” Says Creamer.

“Regaining the ability to operate herdshares was certainly not an overnight occurrence here, and the general thought for a long time was that West Virginia would never allow co-ownership agreements to exist again. In the end, I believe it was worth the 7-year fight. Well worth it. Persistence and growing a strong statewide support base through social media made SB387, the Raw Milk Herdshare bill, law. We overcame corporate Lobby groups, Lobbyists hired by statewide Health Departments and involvement from the FDA.”

The fact that raw milk in West Virginia is now available through cow shares is phenomenal. This opening for co-ownership of animals through cow share arrangements speaks to the ongoing shift from complete prohibition to acceptance of people’s rights to obtain the foods of their choice from the producer of their choice.

It is refreshing to see this shift continuing to occur, especially as enforcement increases against raw milk in Canada. If raw milk in West Virginia can be legal and available, perhaps it won’t be much longer for the other states and Canada that are holding out.

After the West Virginia bill was vetoed in 2015, Tinia persisted in bringing the issue before the General Assembly in 2016. Her hard work has paid off with farmers rights now reinstated.

“It is a relief, really,” says Creamer. “I know that raw milk in West Virginia through herdshares will help small farmers thrive; they will be a much needed way to bolster our economy. I am thankful that farmers will be able to offer, through co-ownership, a local food to their communities. This will, in turn, offer education to families about where their food comes from, how it is produced and really connect farmers to the people, as well.”

As the tide continues to shift towards raw milk availability, it is the advocates like Tinia we can thank for their tireless, unpaid work that keeps legislation and possibility alive.

To learn more about raw milk and other nutrient dense foods, visit westonaprice.org

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Governor Tomblin’s veto message used the tired argument that allowing people to drink raw milk “would pose a serious risk to public health.” West Virginia House Delegate Kelli Sobonya (R – Cabell) called the veto shortsighted, preventing West Virginia from “…joining a majority of other states who support farm food freedom.”

Realmilk.com is a consumer education project of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Visit their website, westonaprice.org.

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The bill passed narrowly by an 18-16 vote of approval. While numerous senators were reluctant to pass the bill because of public safety risks, one senator argued that raw milk is safer than most people think.

“This is a basic question of economic and personal liberty. It’s not to say there is zero danger but the danger is actually extremely slight. More people die from eating spinach than from drinking raw milk. More people die from eating raw cantaloupe than drinking raw milk,” said Senator Ron Miller (R-Upshur).

Realmilk.com is a consumer education project of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Visit their website, westonaprice.org.

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One mother from Cabell County started researching raw milk after some members of her family began struggling with health problems, and was dismayed to realize that in West Virginia the only way she would be able to provide her family with it would be to invest thousands of dollars on a goat herd of her own to milk herself. To show her support for pro-raw milk legislation, she joined together with other parents including Maria and Mike Moles, a husband and wife duo who own a local dairy farm and feed raw milk to their family but are unable to provide others with the same healthy food.

“What [Maria and Mike] can’t consume within their family, they have to feed to animals on the farm, or discard.

‘I passionately believe in providing people with good healthy food and I believe raw milk is a God-given healthy food,’ [Maria] said.”

The debate surrounding raw milk touches on many controversial issues, including consumer freedom. These parents in West Virginia are just a few of the many coming forward to voice their right to provide their families with nutritious foods without government interference.

The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the nutrition education non-profit, The Weston A. Price Foundation. Donate to help fund research into the benefits of nutrient dense foods.  http://www.westonaprice.org/lab

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West Virginia has some of the strictest raw milk laws in the country: raw milk sales, from both cows and goats, are entirely illegal. West Virginia also prohibits the practice of herd sharing, through which consumers can purchase a share in a cow, goat or herd to gain “ownership” access to the animals’ raw milk. Brad Cochran, the Director of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Public Health Sanitation Division, stands by the assertion that raw milk is unsafe to drink – despite research and thousands of anecdotes that prove otherwise.

“They say it has bad stuff in it and unless you strip everything away it is going to kill you. But I am still alive,” says Rylee, the 11-year old girl who is denied access to the raw goat’s milk that provides crucial nutrients and health benefits.

“The government needs to trust us as parents to read the studies and extract our own opinions and beliefs,” adds Rylee’s mother.

Read more about their story and others’ raw milk plights here:

http://www.wowktv.com/story/23542795/jackson-county-wv-mother-and-farmers-criticize-states-raw-milk-stance

The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the nutrition education non-profit, The Weston A. Price Foundation. Donate to help fund research into the benefits of nutrient dense foods.  http://www.westonaprice.org/lab

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