Re: Re: Action Alert: WA “Cow Share� Bill Threatens Basic Human R...

[Guest guest]

Debbie's costs are unique to her situation...if you are building from scratch or, worse yet in some cases, renovating an existing structure, in a different town, county, etc., the expenses can be lower or higher. As you would assume the costs are higher for cows because everything is bigger. And bigger yet of cow and goat.

Time will tell if hand milking will continue to be allowed. While sterile test tube samples will come back clean, its sometimes another things to look at environmental pathogens that enter the milk from teat to milk bucket to pouring into jars, etc. I have heard jabber that the dairy association and state may move to disallow hand milking because of the presence of environmentals like staph present in the milk.

I use both milker and hand. My sterile milker samples come back much cleaner than hand milk...and yes, using cleanliness codes, I have had staph in hand milked batches that were not in the sterile samples from the same goat on the same day at the same milk time in the same place in the same manner except by hand vs. closed system milker.

However, what the cost is to set up a grade A micro dairy right now in WA is less of an issue than peoples personal rights to choose what they eat and how to live. Truly, if they can tell us that I cannot share a cow with my neighbor or friends, then what reason do I have to believe that AT SOME POINT they will not also tell me that I cannot drink raw milk from my own cow or goat? Maybe it will never happen, but the attack on shareholder dairies is financially driven but policy follows money, so if they stick to the story that this is about health...

Jolynn

>> > The annual fee for the WSDA Grade A Raw milk processing > > license is $55, plus animals must be tested for TB & brucellosis. > > Are you saying there are no requirements for specific facilities? You > can get a license, and milk right out in your field? Probably not huh. > So, past the licensing...are we looking at $$$$$$ to get set up the > way the state requires? > > >Hi, - there are photos of my Grade A Raw microdairy in the RawDairy photos section, in the folder labeled "Rainhaven." My milk room is 6'x12' and milking parlor is 8'x8'. I hand milk, and bottling is by hand filling and hand capping the milk jugs. I spent about $3,000 to build my set up. I received my Grade A dairy permit and Milk Processing license to sell raw milk for human consumption this past August 12, 2005.I had to fight tooth and nail to get this, but I did, and now about six other very small family "home style" dairies have received their Grade A Raw licenses also.I will have 11 does producing milk this year. All of my monthly milk samples' test results have shown no pathogens and are about 40 times cleaner than regulations require - I would easily qualify for the old American Medical Milk Commission's standards.Now that my construction is finished, in future years I will need to pay $55 a year for the Milk Processor's license and do the TB and brucellosis testing.Debbie HigginsRainhaven Grade A Raw Goat DairyDuvall, WA