The sponsor of a Massachusetts bill aimed at loosening restrictions on raw milk is hoping the bill moves forward in the fall.
Currently Massachusetts dairy farmers can sell shares of their cows and goats and the milk they produce. This allows non-farmers to buy and consume raw milk and milk products. However, the milk must be picked up on farm property, and the state tests the milk monthly. State Representative Smitty Pignatelli of Lenox wants to exempt small dairy farmers from some of these rules.
“If I own a share of a cow and I’m drinking the milk from the cow that I own,” Pignatelli says, “I sometimes wonder why the government cares about those things.”
But Massachusetts Animal Health Director Michael Cahill says the current restrictions are necessary. He says on-site sales allow consumers to see the health of the cows for themselves, and monthly milk testing protects consumer health.