Page 109 - Spring2018

LOUISIANA companion bills Senate Bill 188 (SB 188) and House Bill 437 (HB 437) have been introduced that would
allow the on-farm sale of either cow milk or goat milk of an average of five hundred gallons per month. No permit is
required but producers are subject to inspection and must comply with milk testing, herd health and sanitary standards
as well as a labeling requirement calling for a warning that the raw milk may contain harmful bacteria. The bills are a
reintroduction of Senate Bill 29 (SB 29) that nearly passed in 2016 when it passed out of the Senate and was defeated
in the House committee by one vote.

MASSACHUSETTS Senate Bill 442 (S.442) and House Bill 2938 (H.2938) are companion agricultural omnibus bills
that include provisions that would officially legalize herdshare agreements and would allow the off-farm delivery of
raw milk by licensed dairies. Under the bill, farmers with no more than twelve lactating cows, goats or combination of
cows and goats can enter into herdshare agreements with those wanting to obtain raw milk. There must be a written
contract that includes a statement that the raw milk is not pasteurized nor subject to inspection by the state Depart-
ment of Health nor the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). MDAR has power to issue rules
on testing but cannot require testing more frequently than once every two months. The bills allow a licensed raw milk
farmer to deliver raw milk to a consumer with whom the farmer has a contractual relationship, including through the
farmer’s agent and through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) delivery system. The bill gives MDAR power to
issue regulations governing delivery; the regulations must allow for non-mechanical refrigeration. The bills have passed
out of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and will likely next be assigned to the
Senate Ways and Means Committee.

NEW JERSEY Assembly Bill 502 (A502) is the same bill that has been introduced the prior three legislative sessions.
A502 allows for the on-farm sale of raw milk and raw milk products by a licensed dairy. Producers must comply with
labeling, signage, herd health and milk testing requirements. The bill also legalizes herdshare agreements and states
that no permit is required for the distribution of milk through a herdshare contract. New Jersey is one of the remaining
seven states that prohibits any raw milk distribution. A502 has been referred to the Assembly Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee.

TENNESSEE House Bill 2229 (HB 2229) and Senate Bill 2104 (SB 2104) would have allowed the unregulated direct sale
from producer to consumers of all foods except meat, on the farm, at farmers markets and other venues. There were
labeling and signage requirements but no licensing or inspection under the bills. The bills were both defeated in com-
mittee; under current law, the distribution of raw milk and raw milk products is legal through herdshare agreements.
Herdshare programs have been thriving in the state.

UTAH Senate Bill 108 (SB 108) has passed through both the Senate and House and are on the desk of Governor Gary
Herbert. SB 108 allows the delivery and sale of raw milk through a mechanically-refrigerated mobile unit by licensed
dairies. Currently only the on-farm sale of raw milk by license holders is legal unless the producer has a majority owner-
ship interest in a retail store (only one of the state’s ten licensed dairies meets this qualification). SB 108 also allows for
the unlicensed on-farm sale of up to one hundred twenty gallons per month by unlicensed dairies if the producer is in
compliance with labeling, recordkeeping, milk testing and milk cooling requirements. Producers wanting to sell under
this exemption must notify the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) that they are doing so. UDAF has
power under the bill to order a producer to stop selling raw milk if the producer’s dairy is linked to a foodborne illness.
The department has the power to levy administrative fines against producers who have been linked to a foodborne
illness outbreak.

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