Raw Milk a Real Opportunity in Pennsylvania

Brian Snyder
Executive Director
Pa. Association for
Sustainable Agriculture

For the record, the words “Nolt is in the wrong,” which were attributed to me (though not quoted) in the recent Lancaster Farming article regarding the arrest of Cumberland County farmer Mark Nolt, are harsher than what I actually said. What I said was more along the lines that I thought Mark should get a permit to sell raw milk, especially since we are lucky to live in a state where one is available. I also expressed concern that the current situation is likely to make it harder, not easier, to get new legislation through with respect to expanding the privileges that come with a raw milk permit.

It is often difficult to sort out the heroes from the villains in situations like this, because reality tends to be more complicated than we’d prefer.

On the one hand, there are now about 114 permits issued in Pennsylvania, which is at least four times as many as when we at PASA started working on this issue a few years ago. So something good seems to be happening.

On the other hand, we are hearing reports of inconsistent milk testing, poor or nonexistent communications from PDA and prohibitive costs for those seeking a permit. While this is troubling, it is just possible the two realities — higher volume of permits and poor customer response — are related, and not indicative of a sinister plan as some have suggested.

The bottom line here is that Pennsylvania farmers face many challenges in their work, but also the greatest opportunity of a lifetime in the possibility of molding their operations to meet the growing demand for high quality, locally and/or regionally grown food throughout the population centers of the Mid-Atlantic region. The only thing that could really get in their way at this time is unnecessary regulatory interference, which is the potential matter at hand.

So, to be clear, and after careful consultation with PASA’s board and Executive Committee, here are our positions with regard to the current situation:

1) Farmers wishing to sell raw dairy products should get a permit and exploit it to the greatest extent legally possible (including the use of private labor contracts for products other than fluid milk or hard cheese).

2) The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture should do everything within its power to make the process of getting a permit as straightforward, user friendly and affordable as possible, and to reassure the public that the process will bring them the best possible dairy products from participating Pennsylvania farms.

3) The Pennsylvania legislature should move forthwith to bring raw milk laws up to date by providing for an expanded variety of products that can be sold under a permit without requiring unnecessary procedure, paperwork or expense to farmers.

4) We all need to do our part to support local farms by purchasing as much of our daily food from them as possible. It’s the choice to support our farmers that matters!