[little jeremiah]

I assume that regulations governing dairies vary from state to state. I’ve known a number of people around here who keep goats, but can’t sell milk legally, because the regulations are such that unless a person has a big herd than can’t be followed - too expensive. So people with a dozen or less milking animals (or even more than that) can’t possibly legally sell milk.

That’s just not right.

[familyop]

"So people with a dozen or less milking animals (or even more than that) can’t possibly legally sell milk.

That’s just not right."

Agreed. Proper vaccinating and sanitary procedures are already stringent for producers who have dairy company trucks pick up milk, and those are not very expensive for do-it-yourself-ers. Why not pasteurizing and all for small operations, with the procedure requiring such little heat and short durations? It appears that regulatory tyranny has once again gotten in the way of what the market could have provided (reasonably priced, small scale equipment).

[familyop]

True on the exaggerations. I’ve lived in communities where most people drank raw milk in the past. The dairy farmers did have their cows vaccinated for bangs and followed sanitary procedures (disinfecting nipples before milking, etc.). ...no cases of fevers, etc., that I knew of. Several of the rare dangers, BTW, are same/similar to those of bad water or contaminated meat (fecal contamination, strep, etc.). Meat is not required to be cooked before going to supermarkets, and many restaurants will push virtually raw meat dishes to tables, throwing fits about customer requests for cooking.

We get gobs of regulations against small business starts on the one hand and Malthusian propaganda and medical costs on the other.