Niceley, an honorary board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), is one of the more productive and liberty-minded legislators in the country and an effective advocate in Nashville (the state capital) not only for his own constituents but also for numerous other Tennessee residents, especially farmers. It’s common for farmers around the state to contact Niceley, a fifth-generation cattle farmer, for help instead of their own legislators if they are having an issue with a regulator or government agency, be it state or federal.

The successful legislation he has sponsored and policies he has helped implement as both a state representative and state senator have made a huge impact on small farmers and local artisan food producers and many others in Tennessee. In his latest term, Niceley sponsored successful bills legalizing the over-the-counter sale of ivermectin (Tennessee was the first state to do so), taking the sales tax off gold and silver coins, legalizing the unlicensed, unregulated sale of cottage foods not only direct from the producer to the consumer but also to third parties such as grocery stores, and establishing a state meat inspection program.

Niceley has done more to deregulate local food production and distribution than anyone in the past 15 years, enabling family farms and local artisans to have a better chance to make a living. His list of accomplishments include:

2009 [HB 720]
Sponsored bill legalizing the distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements. In 2012 Niceley followed up on that bill by getting an Attorney General’s opinion that it was legal to distribute other raw dairy products through a herdshare agreement as well.

2012
Got an Attorney General’s opinion that farmers didn’t need a permit to sell eggs from their own farm.

2014 [SB 1707]
Sponsored a bill adopting the federal poultry exemption enabling farmers to process up to 20,000 birds a year. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has since expanded the exemption by policy to include processing rabbit meat on the farm.

Before the bill passed, Tennessee had one of the worst regulatory climates for on-farm poultry processing in the country; during that time, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) received a call from a poultry farmer in Bristol, Tennessee, getting ready to move across the state line to Bristol, Virginia, because he was so fed up with the restrictive laws and policies on on-farm poultry processing.

2017 [SB 343]

Sponsored a bill adopting the federal exemption on custom slaughter and the exemption on non-amenable species. The latter exemption allows the sale of meat from animals such as bison and domestically raised deer that are slaughtered and processed at a custom facility.

2017 [SB 651]
When Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) chapter leader, Michele Reneau, was threatened with prosecution because the food buyers club she co-managed did not have a permit, Niceley passed a bill, exempting food buyers clubs from licensing and regulation.

2017
Received Attorney General’s opinion stating that there can be an unlimited number of owners for an animal slaughtered and processed at a custom facility and that entities such as a food buyers club can be an owner of such a custom animal.

2019 [SB 358]
Sponsored bill legalizing sales of raw butter by licensed dairies.

2020 [SB 2049]
Sponsored a bill requiring that any meat labeled as a product of Tennessee must be from an animal that was born and raised in the state.

2020 [SJR 841]
Sponsored a resolution commending the Weston Price Foundation for its 50-50 Campaign urging people to buy at least 50% of their food budget direct from the farm.

2022 [SB 693]
Sponsored the Tennessee Food Freedom Act legalizing the unlicensed unregulated sale from homemade food producers of food that does not require time and temperature control for safety, including fermented foods; these sales can be direct to consumers and also by some third parties such as food buyers clubs and grocery stores.

2023 [SB 123]
Sponsored the bill to establish a State Meat Inspection program in Tennessee; like many states, Tennessee has a shortage of federally, inspected slaughterhouses, especially in the eastern half of the state.

2024 [SB 1914]
Sponsored a bill providing for vending machines with whole milk in the schools, giving children a more nutritious option while still preserving federal funding for Tennessee’s school lunch program. The federal rule that withdraws funding from Washington if whole milk is served in a school lunch has worsened children’s health and the economic condition of the dairy industry.

Niceley‘s work impacts the local food movement around the rest of the U.S. as well. The first thing legislators typically ask when a constituent requests that they introduce a bill is: “Has this been done elsewhere?”

The senator has introduced and helped pass a number of bills that were law in few, if any, states outside Tennessee. In the 2024 session he helped pass a bill defining and regulating as a drug any food that contained “a vaccine or vaccine material.”

Legislation he introduced this past session includes: a constitutional resolution to protect the individuals right to grow and acquire the food of their choice [SJR 902]; a bill that would have barred any prohibition on the growing of produce and the raising of chicken or meat rabbits on a residential lot [SB 1761]; a bill that would have exempted farms from any vaccine mandate for their livestock or poultry, if the farms practice was not to vaccinate their livestock or poultry [SB 2543]; and legislation that would have prohibited cell-cultured meat from being defined as “meat” [SB 2603].

Niceley has been generous with his time in helping legislators, farmers and eaters in other states working on food and agriculture bills. As for Tennessee, there is no one who has done as much for the small farmer and local food producer in that state as Frank Niceley.

[Photo credit: Solari.com “Blast from the Past“]

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GEORGIA

On May 13, Governor Brian Kemp signed into law House Bill 1175 (HB 1175), also known as the Georgia Raw Dairy Act. HB 1175 legalizes the sale of raw milk for human consumption direct to the consumer by licensed dairies. The new law will go into effect July 1, 2023.

What was unusual about HB 1175 was that the driving force behind the bill was the Georgia Milk Producers (GMP), a conventional dairy industry group. Typically, state dairy associations along with public health organizations and the farm bureaus represent the biggest opposition to raw milk legislation.

In testimony before the Georgia legislature in 2021, GMP executive director Faith Newberry stated that Georgia had declined from five hundred twenty-five dairies producing raw milk for pasteurization in 2000 to one hundred fourteen in 2021. Newberry said that legal retail raw milk sales would provide market opportunities for the smaller
Grade A dairies.

Georgia law currently allows the sale of raw milk for pet consumption with minimal regulation; a number of small producers sell under this law. It remains to be seen whether these producers will benefit from the Georgia Raw Dairy Act. HB 1175 gives broad rulemaking power to the Georgia commissioner of agriculture to adopt regulations implementing the bill’s requirements; the regulations must be of uniform application. It is uncertain at this time whether small, non-Grade A producers wanting to sell raw milk direct to the consumer will be able to afford the cost of compliance.

HAWAII

Hawaii is one of the remaining six states where any raw milk sale or distribution is illegal. Over the past decade, numerous raw milk bills have been introduced, with none of them making it out of committee. This year was different; House Bill 2028 (HB 2028) passed out of the House before dying in the Senate when the chairs of a joint committee assigned the bill refused to give it a hearing.

HB 2028 would have legalized the licensed sale of raw milk and raw milk products direct to the consumer; licensed producers were limited to two lactating cows. The bill also legalized the sale of raw goat milk for pet consumption; in 2021, state officials confiscated raw pet goat milk from some twenty stores on the island of Oahu, issuing cease and desist orders to the store owners. A major flaw in the bill was that it gave broad rulemaking power to the state department of health, an agency very hostile to any raw milk sales or distribution. The state is badly in need of legal raw milk; at this time, there is not a single Grade A dairy producing milk in Hawaii—leaving the state dependent on milk shipped from California.

IOWA

Iowa is another state prohibiting any raw milk sales and distribution. In recent years, no raw milk bill introduced has made it out of committee. Like Hawaii, this year was different; Senate File 2309 (SF 2309) passed out of the Senate before dying when the House Agriculture Committee refused to give the bill a hearing.

HF 2309 would have allowed the unlicensed sale of raw milk and raw milk products direct to the consumer on the farm or through delivery. There were testing, recordkeeping and labeling requirements but there would be an inspection under the bill only if the dairy’s milk was believed to be the cause of illness. Opposition from the Iowa Farm Bureau was a key factor in SF 2309 not passing. All states bordering Iowa have legalized raw milk sales or distribution to some extent—costing Iowa dairy farmers substantial income.

MISSOURI

Missouri law already allows the unregulated sale of raw milk and cream on the farm and through delivery; licensed dairies can also sell direct to the consumer at other venues such as farmers markets. House Bill 1977 (HB 1977) would have also allowed the sale of raw milk and cream by licensed dairies direct to grocery stores, restaurants and similar establishments as long as the dairies met the standards established for Grade A pasteurized milk in the state. HB 1977 passed through the House but was still in Senate committee when the 2022 legislative session ended.

NEW HAMPSHIRE – RAW ICE CREAM SALES NOW LEGAL

On March 18, Governor Chris Sununu signed into law House Bill 95 (HB 95), legislation making the unregulated sale of raw ice cream and raw frozen yogurt legal from producers direct to consumers. HB 95 went into effect on May 17.

The new law allows “producer-distributors” to process up to 20 gallons of raw milk into ice cream and/or frozen yogurt daily and sell those products direct to consumers at the producer’s farm or farmstand or at a farmers market in intrastate commerce. Ice cream and frozen yogurt produced under HB 95 must be packaged in containers no larger than 6 fluid ounces and must be “marked with an expiration date 30 days from the date of manufacture.”

All producers are exempt from licensing and inspection. HB 95 expands prior law which allowed the unregulated sale of raw milk by producers of up to 20 gallons per day and the unregulated sale by producers of cheese aged 60 days, yogurt, cream and butter processed from up to 20 gallons of raw milk daily. The new law does require that producers selling any raw dairy product sold under the exemption have a label with the name, address and phone number of the producer-distributor’s farm, the name of the product and the following statement: “This product is made with raw milk and is exempt from licensing and inspection. RAW MILK: consuming raw milk may increase your risk of foodborne illness.”

New Hampshire is the latest of numerous state legislatures in recent years to expand the sale or distribution of raw dairy products other than milk. Less resistance from the dairy processing industry along with increased consumer demand for raw dairy indicate this is a trend that will continue.

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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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On April 30, Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 199 (SB 199), also known as the Montana Local Food Choice Act, into law. Senator Greg Hertz (R-Polson) sponsored the bill. The new law goes into effect immediately.

SB 199 allows the unregulated intrastate sale of most homemade foods from producers to informed end consumers including all raw dairy products if the producer keeps no more than “five lactating cows, 10 lactating goats or 10 lactating sheep” on the farm for the production of milk. There are limited testing requirements for raw milk producers. Producers can sell poultry under the Act if they slaughter and process no more than 1,000 birds during a calendar year and comply with federal recordkeeping requirements.

Livestock producers and homemade food producers may sell “meat and meat products processed at a state-licensed establishment or a federally approved meat establishment” but only if they have obtained a temporary food establishment permit.

Producers must inform the end consumer that the homemade food they are selling has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled nor inspected. Sales and delivery under SB 199 can take place at a farm, ranch, home office, “traditional community social event” (the term includes farmers markets) as defined by the bill, or another location agreed to between the producer and/or the producer’s agent and the informed end consumer.

The bill states that a state or local government agency cannot require “licensure, permitting, certification, packaging, labeling, or inspection that pertains to the preparation, serving, use, consumption, delivery, or storage of homemade food or a homemade food product….” SB 199 does not prevent a state or local health officer from inspecting a producer selling homemade food if the “officer is investigating a complaint based on an illness or an outbreak suspected to be directly related to that homemade food or homemade food product.”

Given his business background, Hertz is one of the last people you would expect to sponsor a bill like SB 199, having owned and operated grocery stores the past 30 years. He sponsored a similar bill as a state representative in 2017, but the legislation died in the Senate after passing in the House. A difference this time around was that Montanans have a legislature and governor that are more in line with the “live and let live” liberty-minded views of its people; a supporter of the bill spoke at the House committee hearing on SB 199 about rugged individualism and a culture of self-sufficiency being part of the Montana way of life. In the past, Montana has had a government that favored a regulatory scheme closer to California’s than neighboring Wyoming’s. Hertz commented that a cottage food bill which passed into law in 2015 was fifty pages long.

Hertz did a masterful job moving the bill through the legislature. There was strong opposition to the bill from organizations such as the Montana Milk Producers Association, the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), the Montana Medical Association, the Montana Veterinary Medical Association, public health officials and several sustainable agriculture nonprofits. If someone had only seen the committee hearings and known nothing else about SB 199, it would have been easy for them to believe the bill wasn’t going to pass. Hertz was able to overcome the opposition by successfully lobbying committee members one on one until he had the votes he needed. He characterized SB 199 as a jobs bill, and that message helped carry the day. The support for the bill eventually overwhelmed opponents. The state legislative website tallies up for each Bill the proponents and opponents who contact it; over 1,500 people contacted the site In support of SB 199 making it the fourth most popular bill this session—only 53 opposed.

The most contentious part of the bill was the legalization of raw dairy sales. Something proponents had in their favor was that SB 199 marked the fifth consecutive session a raw milk bill was before the legislature and at least some legislators were getting tired of having to consider the issue over and over again. Hertz said during the House committee hearing on the bill, “We need to put the raw milk discussion behind us.” He pointed out that in states like Wyoming and Maine that have also adopted food freedom bills (in Maine at the local level with 80 towns passing food sovereignty ordinances), there hasn’t been a single foodborne illness outbreak even though there is no limit on the herd size in either state. One other factor in favor of legal raw milk sales was testimony at the committee hearings that only 45 Grade A dairies remain in Montana.

In addition to Hertz, much credit for the passage of SB 199 is due Chris Rosenau, an activist from the Bitterroot who has spent thousands of uncompensated hours working for legalization of raw milk sales in Montana. In 2017 Rosenau was instrumental in the state government’s adoption of a policy allowing the distribution of raw milk through Montana securities law. She has worked for legalization of raw milk sales since that time and was able to gather substantial support for SB 199 through her work for the advocacy group Raw Milk Montana.

DOL tried to kill the bill by posting a fiscal note claiming the meat and poultry provisions as originally written in SB 199 would cost Montana its state meat inspection program and over $1 million a year in funding from USDA. Hertz amended the meat and poultry language, successfully addressing that concern. DOL had some of the more onerous requirements in the country for producers processing poultry on the farm under the federal 1,000-bird exemption. The number of farmers processing under that exemption should increase significantly.

With the accelerating deterioration of quality in the conventional food supply, passage of bills like SB 199 is becoming more important. In his testimony on the bill before the House Human Affairs Committee, Hertz said, “We have traded our health, our food security, our local economy for highly processed foods, all in the name of food safety,”

When it comes to health, food safety, food security, and local economies, locally produced food is superior to industrial food in every respect. Congratulations to the people of Montana for the passage of SB 199.

Originally published on 10 May 2021 under title, “Montana Food Freedom Bill Now Law.”

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At least three bills would legalize the sale of raw milk in some form; one bill would create a “farms-to-farmers markets” certification program; one ambitious bill would create a constitutional amendment declaring that Mainers have a “right to food.”

Representative Craig Hickman, the author of the latter, is himself a farmer and staunch proponent of food sovereignty as well as co-chairman of the Maine State Legislature’s Agriculture Committee.

“When asked Friday whether such an amendment would mean individuals have a right to buy, prepare and eat whatever food they want — whether it comes from a licensed, inspected farm or not — Hickman said he believed such an interpretation would be correct” (see Local Activists Say They’re Optimistic – Bangor Daily News).

The growing number of food-related bills moving through the legislature indicates that many Mainers see food freedom as a pressing issue and will continue to fight for it, despite the opposition they may face.

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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Wyoming House Bill 56 would apply to all homemade and homegrown foods, including raw milk, eggs, jam and other commonly purchased farm goods. Essentially, this bill would, “…exempt so-called single transactions of food between the producer and any ‘informed end consumer’ from inspections, licensing and certifications by the state” (see Wyoming House Ready to Vote on Food Freedom on Food Safety News).

One of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Tyler Lindholm, points out that people all across Wyoming are already purchasing such foods from neighboring farmers and ranchers; this bill simply legalizes sales that are already happening – sales that shouldn’t be regulated by the state in the first place.

The Wyoming House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee already approved Bill 56 by an 8-1 vote in January 2015.

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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Show of Opposition Urgently Needed to Stop Attempt to Ban Illinois Raw Milk

The Illinois House of Representatives is considering a ban that will entirely outlaw raw milk for human consumption. Currently, Illinois raw milk sales are allowed if sold directly to consumers on the farm under production regulations. A proposed amendment to HB 4036, which addresses “The Grade A Pasteurized Milk and Milk Products Act,” would remove the clause that allows for on-farm sales of Illinois raw milk.

Section 8 of “Section 5. The Grade A Pasteurized Milk and Milk Products Act” reads: “After the effective date of this Act, no person shall sell or distribute, offer to sell or distribute any milk or milk product for human use or consumption unless such milk or milk product has been pasteurized and has been produced and processed in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Department.”

The proposed amendment would remove the following clause, “The pasteurization requirement of this Section shall not be applicable to milk produced in accordance with Department rules and regulations if sold or distributed on the premises of the dairy farm.”

The Bill passed out of committee on March 26, 2014. The House is in session and on the floor right now. The Bill is waiting to be called up for another reading and short debate.

If you live in Illinois and oppose the amendment to this Bill, please voice your opposition to the Bill’s Chief Sponsor, Rep. Daniel Burke of Chicago, or one of your other State Legislators ASAP. You can find your representatives’ contact information here or here. Call or email them to share the nutritional and economic benefits of continuing to allow the on-farm sales of raw milk.

The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of nutrition education non-profit, The Weston A. Price Foundation.

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Delegates James Hubbard (D-23A) and Nic Kipke (R-31) introduced the bill in an effort to revive Maryland’s dairy industry. Currently, thousands of Maryland residents source farm-fresh milk from out of state. Cow boarding, or cow sharing, would allow these residents to legally purchase raw milk from local farms. 

“The dairy farmers in Maryland need our support,” says Delegate Hubbard. “We’ve lost over 225 dairy farms between 2002 and 2010. I hope to see our dairy farms thrive. I sponsored this legislation so that consumers can obtain fresh milk in Maryland and support our farmers…Because this is what consumers are seeking, having access to raw milk in Maryland would encourage local food and local retail sales, generate taxes, and the earned dollar would be encouraged to stay in the community and the state.”

In addition to the economic benefits for Maryland farmers, the passage of this bill would mark an important step in consumer rights and food freedom. 

To show your support for the bill, please consider attending.

January 28, 2014 1pm

House Office Building, Room 241

6 Bladen St, Annapolis, MD 21401

For more ways to show your support for the bill, click here.

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Unsurprisingly, the FDA, Wisconsin Public Health Association, and the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments oppose the bill. The Dairy Business Association and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association also oppose the bill. Most recently, the Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition, a group made up of public health officials, dairy processor groups, and dairy farmers also opposed the bill. All groups cited raw milk being “unsafe for human consumption” as their primary reason for banning the sale of raw milk in the state.

However, there are numerous testimonies across the United States and Canada that argue the health benefits of raw milk, and assert that the risk of falling ill from raw milk can be drastically reduced by ensuring safe handling practices, and only drinking milk from grass-fed animals on small farms. While some of the organizations that oppose the bill are quick to point out that farmers are included among their members, there are also many farmers who vocally and passionately support the bill. The issue of raw milk is controversial, with dairy professionals on both sides of the issue. Read more here: http://www.wisfarmer.com/news/wisconsin-safe-milk-coalition-strongly-opposes-raw-milk-bill—–jcpg-335460-224420471.html

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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The proposed bill would allow farmers to sell Grade A raw milk directly from the farm to consumers, so long as the milk is labeled as unpasteurized. Additional “unpasteurized” signs would need to be posted at the farm.

This proposed legislation comes on the heels of the controversial trial of Vernon Hershberger, the Wisconsin farmer who was partially acquitted on charges of selling raw milk to members of his buying club. The scrutiny and media attention surrounding the trial brought to light the high consumer demand for raw milk.

State Rep. Chris Danou, a supporter of the bill, says the proposed legislation creates reasonable standards for the sale of raw milk while stimulating business for local farmers.
“If we can allow the agricultural producer to add value to his product by getting a retail price for it, as opposed to wholesale price, that, I think, will help some elements of the rural economy. It’s not obviously going to be a panacea; it’s just another option for folks,” he says.

Read more about the drafted bill on the Wisconsin Public Radio website: Draft Plan Would Allow Farmers to Sell Raw Milk.

The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education non-profit. Donate to help us continue the research work started by Dr. Weston A. Price.

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