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Home>Get Involved>Action Alert>30 JAN 2006

Washington State Raw Milk:
Action Needed Immediately!

WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION
ACTION ALERT
January 30, 2006

Tell your WA State Legislators: Increase Small Farm Viability by
Allowing Licensing of Micro-dairies

What to do: Contact your Washington State Representative TODAY because a bill, HB3010, affecting small-scale dairy farmers is being considered in Committee TOMORROW (Tuesday):

1) Please tell your Representative: HB3010 needs to be amended to include higher raw milk safety and quality standards. As written, the HB3010 fails to protect the public health. Current Grade A raw milk standards in fact create considerable unnecessary risk for consumers who choose raw milk;

2) Please tell your Representative to ask that the bill be amended to create a dairy license category for Micro-dairies. HB 3010 as written will hurt small-scale family farmers. Current Grade A dairy licensing standards were written with only large producers in mind. Many Micro-diaries cannot afford the equipment and physical structure requirements in current law. For micro-dairies to flourish, they need their own license category;

3) Finally, please tell your representative to ask that HB3010 be
amended to require the State Dept. of Agriculture to conduct statewide roundtable discussions involving agency representatives, producers and consumers to develop workable Micro-dairy licensing standards. These Roundtables, a common method used to develop new regulations, shall be coordinated by the Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program of the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture whose mandate is to identify and mitigate regulatory barriers facing small farms in Washington State.

Below is more detailed information about the issue. The bill, HB3010, is being heard tomorrow by the House Economic Development, Agriculture and Trade Committee. It's especially powerful if your representative is on this committee, but, if not, you can still ask your Representative to talk to colleagues who are on the committee. Committee members and their contact information are included below as well.

PLEASE ACT TODAY to create a better future for Washington's small-scale dairy producers!

To find out who your legislators are and how to contact them, go here: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

MORE:
Recently, deliberations in the Washington State legislature have
occurred over a series of proposals to change the state's dairy regulations to ensure the safety of raw milk. These discussions have shone a spotlight on some underlying issues about raw milk safety and the difficulties facing family farmers when they attempt to obtain licenses to legally sell milk. Unfortunately, the bills being considered do not provide solutions to these underlying issues. They attempt to ensure public safety by imposing punitive measures without improving the safety of raw milk or helping farmers become licensed dairies.

As these bills move through the legislature, an opportunity exists to influence legislators to amend the proposed laws so that real,
meaningful change results from this process. In fact, some legislators have expressed an interest in finding out how they can help make this a reality.

It's important to contact your State Senators and Representatives today about three bills that are before the legislature. The are: SB6377 and HB2598 (the "cow shares" bills) and HB3010 (Ensuring the Safety of Milk and Dairy Products).

NOTE: As of Monday 1/30/06 at 6:30 am, the bills on the WA legislative website do not reflect changes that have been made in the wording. HB3010 now is identical to a changed (substitute) version of SB6377. Substitute SB6377 is also not available on the website. The new versions could be posted at any time and will be identified as "substitute bills"

Tell your legislators these bills can be greatly improved if the
following provisions are added to them (without these additions, these bills do not deserve their support):

1. Current Washington State Grade A raw milk standards are incomplete and do not use the best available science to ensure consumer safety. Existing standards in fact create considerable risk for consumers who choose to purchase Grade A Raw Milk. This situation can be improved by instituting the following changes:

a) Change the quality standards for Grade A raw milk to include testing for human pathogens as part of the regular testing performed by the Washington State Department of Agriculture of milk produced by licensed dairies;
b) Require regular on-farm testing of Grade A raw milk for E. coli
0157:H7 using new, low cost, testing technology that is highly sensitive and returns test results in only eight hours;
c) Require tamper-evident seals on all raw milk packaging.

2. Current dairy licensing standards require considerable
infrastructural investment. This is a profound barrier to many potential producers.
If licensing standards were more size-appropriate, many more
"Micro-dairies" would seek to become licensed and succeed. Families who produce more milk from their family dairy animals than they can consume can realize a small supplemental income from the legal sale of their excess milk. Micro-dairying can be a viable "cottage industry" or home-based business. Small farms could diversify to include Micro-dairying. Many small farms rely on a diversity of revenue streams to maintain economic viability or regard farm diversity as a hedge against pests and disease and
as a way to maintain soil fertility. Some small farms that have
diversified product mixes would benefit from adding Micro-dairy to their product mix. By not addressing the needs of farmers who wish to produce milk on a Micro scale, the proposed bills threaten the diversity and economic viability of small farms. The infrastructural investment associated with current licensing regulations virtually requires that "dairying" become the main farm operation. It forces farmers to choose between becoming specialized in dairy or not doing dairy at all.

This situation can be improved by:
a) Defining a dairy license category for Micro-dairies, based on volume of output, that only sell milk directly to the end consumer;
b) Uncoupling the Micro-dairy from the facilities and equipment
requirements of Grade A dairies and developing best management practices for "Micro-dairies." These best practices should be developed with Micro-dairy stake-holders at the table. Because this process cannot be completed before the end of the current legislative session, but can be completed before the beginning of the next legislative session, current proposed legislation should authorize a statewide series of roundtable discussions involving agency representatives, producers and consumers to develop workable Micro-dairy standards. These Roundtables shall be
coordinated by the Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program of the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture whose mandate is to identify and mitigate regulatory barriers facing small farms in Washington State;
c) Applying the raw milk pathogen testing requirements proposed above to Micro-dairies, including both on-farm and State laboratory testing to ensure the safety of milk produced by Micro-dairies;
d) Applying current Grade A statutory testing requirements to
Micro-dairies.

Already, Micro-dairy stakeholders from around the state and around the country, including raw milk dairy farmers who have 1) worked with their own state milk inspection agencies to set up criteria for the production and handling of safe raw milk, and 2) have successfully supplied safe raw milk for a number of years without incident are working on developing specific proposals for the Micro-dairy best management practices mentioned above. This effort promises to make Washington State's raw milk laws among the country's best- ensuring consumer safety while enhancing
the economic opportunities of Washington's family farmers.

To read the proposed bills as they were originally introduced, follow
these links:
SB 6377:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6377&year=2006
HB 2598:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2598&year=2006
HB 3010:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3010&year=2006

Thank you for taking action on these important issues,

Emmy McAllister, Coordinator
Washington State Raw Milk Micro-Dairy Taskforce
Weston A . Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Snohomish, WA

For more information, contact:
Emmy McAllister
(425) 334-9644

and/or

Chrys Ostrander
Washington Association of Shareholder Dairy Owners
(509) 725-0610

Representatives on the House Economic Development, Agriculture and Trade Committee:
Rep. Kelli Linville, CHAIR
(D) 42nd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
429 Legislative Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7854

Rep. Daniel Newhouse*
Assistant Minority Floor Leader
(R) 15th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
324 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7874

*He's a sponsor of the House version of the "cow shares" bill and
HB3010

Rep. Eric Pettigrew
(D) 37th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
122E Legislative Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7838


Rep. Dan Kristiansen
(R) 39th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
404 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7967


Rep. Mary Skinner
Minority Caucus Vice Chair
(R) 14th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
434 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7810


Rep. Sherry Appleton*
Assistant Majority Whip
(D) 23rd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
424 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7934

*She's a sponsor of the House version of the "cow shares" bill

Rep. Barbara Bailey
(R) 10th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
405 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7914


Rep. Brian Blake
(D) 19th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
339 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7870


Rep. David Buri
Assistant Minority Whip
(R) 9th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
318 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7844


Rep. Maralyn Chase
(D) 32nd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
433 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7880


Rep. Judy Clibborn
(D) 41st LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
315 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7926


Rep. Jim Dunn
(R) 17th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
322 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7994


Rep. Bill Grant
Majority Caucus Chair
(D) 16th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
434B Legislative Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7828


Rep. Larry Haler
(R) 8th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
403 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7986


Rep. Janéa Holmquist
(R) 13th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
436 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7932


Rep. Derek Kilmer
(D) 26th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
430 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7802


Rep. Joel Kretz
(R) 7th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
439 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7988


Rep. John McCoy
(D) 38th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
338 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7864


Rep. Dawn Morrell
(D) 25th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
342 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7968


Rep. Dave Quall
(D) 40th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
301 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7800


Rep. Chris Strow
(R) 10th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
323 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7884


Rep. Pat Sullivan
(D) 47th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
122G Legislative Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7858


Rep. Deb Wallace
(D) 17th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
340 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7976

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