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[SF 315 / SSB 1107]
Tell Subcommittee Members to Vote YES for HF 338
Support Legal Raw Milk Sales in Iowa
House File 338 (HF 338), a bill that would legalize raw milk sales in Iowa is before the House Agriculture Subcommittee.and is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday, February 28th at 8:00 a.m.
Your support for HF 338 is critical. Lobbyists for the dairy industry and the health sector will be testifying against the bill in the subcommittee hearing. Please do what you can to end raw milk prohibition in Iowa.
HF 338 is a companion bill to Senate File 315 (SF 315, formerly SSB 1107), legislation that has passed out of the Senate committee and is now up before the full Senate for a vote.
HF 338 would allow the sale of raw milk and raw milk products produced by the farm, if it has not more than 10 dairy animals actively producing milk at any one time, direct to consumers on the farm or through delivery. There are licensing and testing requirements, and those purchasing raw milk and raw milk products may not resell those foods. Farmers operating under the bill are exempt from regulation by the Iowa Department of Land Stewardship including any licensing, permitting or inspection requirements.
There are currently 45 states that allow the sale or distribution of raw milk; 38 states allow the sale or distribution for human consumption with another seven states allowing the sale for animal consumption. Iowa is clearly an outlier; state law currently prohibits any sale or distribution of raw milk. All states bordering Iowa allow the sale of raw milk.
ACTION TO TAKE
1. Please call and/or email members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee asking them to vote YES on HF 338. Calls are best; 515-281-3221 is the phone number for House members. It is especially important to do this if you are a constituent of a committee member. Consider including in your message any of the Talking Points below.
In your emails please put “Please Support HF 338“ in the subject line.
To find your legislators, enter your address in the search field at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
You may copy/paste this block of email addresses for the subcommittee members:
megan.jones@legis.iowa.gov; heather.hora@legis.iowa.gov; monica.kurth@legis.iowa.gov
2. Testify at the hearing. It’s especially important that mothers who want to feed their children raw milk and farmers wanting to produce and sell raw milk testify. The hearing will be at the House Lounge (Room 221) in the Capitol Building located at 1007 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. [Be sure to allow 20 minutes to park.]
3. If you can’t attend the hearing, submit written testimony by going to the comment portal at
TALKING POINTS
1. Tell the committee members your story on how raw milk has benefited your health or the health of your family.
2. Raw milk has a good track record for safety. According to at least one study, the number of illnesses attributed to raw milk consumption has declined as demand for the product has increased.
3. Passage of HF 338 will keep more of the food dollar in the state economy. With the sale of raw milk being legal in all of Iowa’s bordering states, there are lost revenues.
4. Passage of HF 338 would enable family farmers to make a better living. Raw milk in other states is often the product that first draws the consumer to set foot on the farm leading to sales of other foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, and produce.
5. The bill supports consumer choice. The consumption of all raw milk products is legal in Iowa. Instead of having to cross state lines to exercise their legal right, shouldn’t Iowans have access to those products from Iowa farmers?
WAPF will be sending out further alerts on HF 338 as events warrant.
COMMITTEE CONTACTS
Representatives on the House Agriculture Subcommittee are listed below. The phone number for House members 515-281-3221 is shown on the website for every committee member whose profile links are at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=694
Megan Jones (R-6)
Heather Hora (R-92)
Monica Kurth (D-98)
OTHER LINKS
You can view other comments that have been submitted [you can tap “Add Comments” to go to the portal to submit your own comments] –
BILL STATUS LINKS –
HF 338 – https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=HF338
SF 315 – https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=SF%20315&ga=90
SSB 1107 – https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=ssb1107
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