Raw Milk Update: Maine Governor Vetoes Bill that Would Have Exempted Small Farmers’ Raw Milk From Licensing and Inspection

On July 8, 2013, Maine Governor Paul LePage vetoed LD  1282, entitled “An Act To Help Small Farmers in Selling Raw Milk Products.”  Upon return to the Maine Senate on July 9, the Senate voted not to overturn the Governor’s veto of the bill.

Currently, dairy producers in Maine must apply to the state for licensing and both their facilities and products must undergo inspections.  This regulation applies to both pasteurized and raw dairy products.  LD 1282 would have exempted small dairy producers, those who produce less than 20 gallons of raw milk daily, from the licensing and inspection regulations.  The Maine Legislature passed this bill in June, after the measure was amended to require raw milk producers to test their product regularly, under guidelines set by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

In his statement concerning the veto, Gov. LePage expressed his support for the majority of the content in the bill, but stated that his concern was the inclusion of provisions which would allow raw milk producers to sell their product at farmers’ markets.  LePage stated that he would support a modified version of the bill which permitted “on Farm only” sales of raw milk.

For more information, please see the Maine Legislature’s website on LD 1282 and the Current Issues section of the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center’s website.

Written By Gaby Gilbeau – Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

July 17, 2013

Milk Hauling Bill Approved by PA Senate

On June 26, 2013, the PA Senate approved a bill that will allow dairy haulers to obtain a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to increase the weight of their shipments of milk to 95,000 lbs. The bill will amend the PA Vehicle Code (Title 75) to authorize overload permits for trucks hauling bulk fluid, condensed, and evaporated milk. Currently in Pennsylvania, dairy haulers can only ship 80,000 lbs. of milk at a time. Senator Gene Yaw introduced the bill, SB 1010, because he believes that Pennsylvania dairies are at a disadvantage compared to New York where shipping 95,000 lbs. at a time is legal. Senator Yaw stated that this bill will make PA dairies more competitive in the milk market.

The next step will be for the PA House’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee to consider the bill.

Written By Sarah Doyle - Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

June 28, 2013

USDA Anounces Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Mideast Milk Order

In a hearing notice published in today's Federal Register, the USDA announced that it will hold a public hearing regarding proposed amendments seeking to alter the definition of a pool distributing plant within the Mideast Marketing Order. The proposed changes would cause distributing plants within the Mideast Marketing Order to be regulated by that order if "half of [their] total route disposition is within Federal Milk Marketing Area boundaries and [their] sales patterns are such that no one Order has more than 25% of [their] sales volume." The hearing will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 4, 2011.

Read the published Hearing Notice here.

Written/Posted by Tanya J. Cramoy, Research Assistant

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Promulgates New Milk Sanitation Regulations

Effective May 21, 2011, new milk sanitation regulations in Pennsylvania consolidate and revise regulations regarding raw (unprocessed) milk for human consumption.  For the complete article please view the June 2011 Agricultural Law Brief.

Article Authored by Tanya Cramoy, Reserach Assistant