The sale of raw milk for human consumption is legal in Nevada; however, a Nevada dairy cannot produce raw milk to be sold unless there is a county milk commission to regulate production and distribution; even if there is a county commission, the sale of raw milk and raw milk products the farm produces is legal only in that county, nowhere else in the state.[1] Currently, only one of the 16 counties in the state, Nye County, has a milk commission. A bill allowing statewide sales of raw milk, certified by a county milk commission, was vetoed by Governor Brian Sandoval in 2013.

The Nye County Raw Dairy Commission (NCRDC) formed in 2012.[2] Under state law, the commission must “adopt written regulations, which must be approved by the Director [of the Nevada Department of Agriculture] governing the production, distribution and sale in the county of certified raw milk and products made from it,…”[3] It is the commission that certifies the raw milk and raw milk products so they can be sold. The Director, as far as is known, never approved the regulations the Raw Milk Commission drafted and adopted in November 2015 [4] (per agenda and minutes for 11/18/2016) [5,6]. If the director had approved, a Nye County dairy would have had to comply with not only the commission’s regulations but also dozens of regulatory requirements issued by the Nevada Department of Agriculture that are found in the state administrative code, including extensive physical facility requirements—all this to sell milk in a county of around 56,000 people [7]; Nevada’s population is 3.2 million [8].

Herdshare agreements aren’t an option for raw milk producers in Nevada. Anyone selling or dispensing raw milk must have a permit issued by the state and be in compliance with all county and state regulations. Nevada law defines “sold or dispense” to mean “any transaction involving the transfer or dispensing of raw milk by barter or contractual agreement or in exchange for any form of compensation, including, but not limited to, the sale of shares or interest in a cow, goat or other lactating mammal or herd.”[9]

Sales of raw milk for animal consumption are legal but only if there is an “approved denaturant”[10] added to the milk; all the approved denaturants are toxic. There isn’t much opportunity for dairy farmers in Nevada these days, especially small-scale operators. There are around 20 Grade A dairies left in the state, ranging in size from 500 cows to over 25,000 [11]. Nevada dairy farmers have lost millions of dollars in raw milk sales to neighboring California; 2025 should be the year when the booming demand for raw milk moves the legislature to pass a law that actually gives raw milk producers a chance to make a living.

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1. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 584.207 (NRS 584.207), https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-584.html#NRS584Sec207
2. Commission created in 2012 by “Nye Ordinances Chapter 8.40 Raw Milk Commission”. See archived Notice of Public Hearing on Nye County Bill 2012-15, originally posted July 17, 2012. https://www.nyecountynv.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=212&ARC=485
3. Nevada statute NRS 584.207, clause 3(b) https://www.leg.state.nv.us/division/legal/lawlibrary/NRS/NRS-584.html#NRS584Sec207
4. Regulations of the Nye County Raw Milk Commission. Adopted November 11, 2015 per agenda and minutes for Nov. 18, 2015. https://nv-nyecounty.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/29055/Item8?bidId=
5. Raw Milk Commission Agenda November 18, 2016. (2016, Nov 14) https://www.nyecountynv.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11182016-2101
6. Draft Meeting Minutes for Nye County Raw Dairy Commission. (2016, Nov 18). https://www.nyecountynv.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11182016-2101
7. worldpopulationreview.com/states/nevada/counties
8. worldpopulationreview.com/states/nevada-population
9. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 584.207 (NRS 584.209), https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-584.html#NRS584Sec209]
10. Ibid.
11. nevadamilk.com/on-the-farm/nevada-farms

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Seventeen states had bills legalizing or expanding the sale/distribution of raw milk and raw milk products before the legislatures during the 2019 session. Three states have passed legislation so far this year but, with many states in the first year of a two-year session, there are a number of bills that still have a chance of passing in 2020.

An untapped source of revenue for producers is the sale/distribution of raw dairy products other than milk and aged cheese. The sale of butter, cream, yogurt, and kefir is illegal in a majority of states but, given the excellent track record for food safety of all these products, there is a good chance that more states will be passing bills in the near future to legalize the sale of these products.

States having raw dairy bills in 2019 include:

ALASKA
The distribution of raw milk through herdshare agreements is currently legal by regulation; House Bill 16 (HB 16) would make it legal by statute and would also allow herdshare dairies to distribute all other raw dairy products to their shareowners in Alaska. HB 16 has passed out of the House and was assigned to a Senate committee before the 2019 session adjourned; so, it will start the 2020 session in the Senate Resources Committee.

ARKANSAS
Current law allows raw milk producers to sell up to a total of 500 gallons of raw goat milk and/or raw cow milk on an average monthly basis. House Bill 1699 (HB 1699) amends the law to also legalize the sale of raw sheep milk as part of the 500-gallon limit. HB 1699 passed the legislature and became law on April 10.

MISSOURI
House Bill 1090 (HB 1090) will allow licensed dairies meeting sanitary standards to sell raw milk and raw cream to grocery stores, restaurants, and similar establishments. Under current law, licensed raw milk dairies can sell raw milk and cream on the farm and through delivery. HB 1090 has been referred to the House Agriculture Policy Committee. The Missouri legislature just finished the first year of a two-year session.

MONTANA
House Bill 490 (HB 490) would have legalized raw milk sales and created a two-tier system in which those producing ten gallons of raw milk per day would operate under a small-scale raw milk license while dairies producing more than ten gallons per day would need to obtain a commercial raw milk license. In effect, HB 490 would have acted as a de facto ban on raw milk.

Those producing more than 10 gallons per day would have had to have the dairy’s physical facility be up to Grade A standards, a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Even small-scale raw milk dairies could have been subject to onerous physical facility requirements. The bill also could have subjected dairies to expensive testing requirements and have made them pay for costs of a foodborne illness outbreak investigation even if they weren’t held responsible for the outbreak. HB 490 died on the House floor vote.

Two other bills died without a hearing that, respectively, would have legalized herdshare agreements (House Bill 521 – HB 521) and would have legalized sales of raw milk and raw milk products by producers with herds of less than 10 cows, 20 goats, or 20 sheep (House Bill 516 – HB 516).

NEVADA
Under current law, producers can only sell raw milk and raw milk products where a county milk commission has specifically certified those foods; Nye County has the only county milk commission in the state. Senate Bill 418 (SB 418) would have allowed producers to sell statewide the raw milk and raw milk certified by a county milk commission. SB 418 also would have exempted micro-dairies [with up to 5 cows, 10 goats, 10 sheep] from certification standards and allowed them to sell raw dairy without regulation directly to the consumer at the farm where the milk is produced. SB 418 passed the Senate but died without a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services.

NORTH CAROLINA
Sponsors introduced three raw milk bills in the 2019 session. House Bill 103 (HB 103) would allow the licensed sale of raw milk in retail stores by dairies with no more than 10 lactating cows, 10 lactating goats, or 10 lactating sheep. Companion bills, Senate Bill 509 (SB 509) and House Bill 385 (HB 385), would ban herdshare agreements; the state legalized the distribution of raw milk and raw milk products through herdshare agreements as part of the 2018 North Carolina Farm Bill. None of the three bills have received a hearing but the legislature’s rule allows bills to be tacked on to unrelated legislation; this is what happened in 2004 when the legislature passed a herdshare ban at the end of the session. As long as the legislature is still in session, SB 509 and HB 385 remain dangerous.

NEW YORK
Assembly Bill 5867 (AB 5867) would legalize herdshare agreements, referred to in the bill as “shared animal ownership agreements”, without regulation. Currently, in New York, the licensed on-farm sale of raw milk is legal. AB 5867 has been referred to the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

TENNESSEE
There were several raw dairy bills before the legislature. Senate Bill 358 (SB 358) which allows the sale of raw butter by producers with a dairy plant license became law on April 30; the bill requires dairy plant operators to keep the butter-making separate from the production of other dairy products. Producers must also put a warning label on the packages containing the raw butter.

Senate Bill 15 (SB 15) would have banned herdshare agreements; the bill died because no companion House bill was introduced. The sponsor of SB 15 later tacked on an amendment to an unrelated bill, Senate Bill 1123 (SB 1123), but that bill died in committee. Current law allows the unregulated distribution of raw milk and raw milk products through herdshare agreements.

UTAH
The final version of House Bill 182 (HB 182) would have allowed licensed dairies to sell raw butter and raw cream; currently, the only raw dairy products licensed producers can sell are milk and aged cheese. HB 182 passed out of the House and the Senate committee, but time ran out on the 2019 session before a vote of the full Senate could take place.

VERMONT
House Bill 525 (H.525) became law on June 17. Among other things, the bill legalizes the sale of raw milk at consumers’ homes and at farmers markets if the producer is in compliance with statutory requirements for animal health, sanitation, labeling, recordkeeping (as well as signage and registration requirements for those selling at farmers markets). Prior to the passage of H. 525, those producers meeting the same requirements could sell milk only on the farm and then deliver it to their customers (either at their homes or at farmers markets).

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