Just before the crossover deadline, the House Cmte on Agriculture unanimously voted H.218, the bill that would expand raw milk sales to farmstands and CSAs in Vermont for tier two producers, out of committee. On 3/17/21, the bill passed second reading on the House Floor. On 3/18/21, an ill-informed and detrimental amendment was proposed by Reps Rosenquist and Honga, but thankfully was defeated 81-15 on the House Floor. The bill was passed out of the House on third and final reading on 3/19/21. The bill now goes to the Senate Ag Cmte. The current version of the bill is available here.
YOU did this! Not all members of the Cmte were inclined to work on this bill before hundreds of farmers and customers contacted them about its importance and signed onto letters of support. A detrimental amendment was proposed and you again raised your voices on behalf on the raw milk community and squashed a proposal that would have been directly harmful, not to mention impossible, for producers. THANK YOU.
Thank you for the leadership and wisdom of the raw milk farmers and CSA and farmstand owners that took time away from the farm to provide compelling testimony on this issue, and thank you to all of the farmer leaders who guide this work everyday.
Rep. Heather Surprenant has been an amazing advocate for this bill. Please consider thanking her for her leadership, as well as the other members of the House Ag Cmte, who voted unanimously against the amendment on the House Floor. We thank all of the committee members for their work on this bill.
What’s in the bill:
Tier two raw milk producers would be able to sell raw milk at other farm’s farmstands and CSAs within the state of Vermont (the 30 mile limit was removed)
The requirement to verbally inform each customer of the need to refrigerate milk is removed
The CSA or Farmstand selling the milk will maintain the required transaction records and customer contact records required by existing law. Farmstand and CSA owners will transfer this information to the raw milk producer within one week.
Milk must remain below 40 degree Fahrenheit at all times
The milk producer must notify VAAFM of any CSA or farmstand locations their milk is being sold. These locations will be subject to inspection by VAAFM.
The farm producing the milk and the farm selling the milk must have a conversation and mutual understanding about shared liability of this product
The farmstand or CSA where milk is sold must display the 8.5x11 warning sign: “Unpasteurized (Raw) Milk. Keep Refrigerated. Consuming raw unpasteurized milk may cause illness, particularly in children, seniors, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.”
All labeling and other requirements of the law remain the same
The cmte added language to the statute to clarify the existing requirement that rabies vaccines, tuberculosis, and brucellosis tests must be conducted by a licensed veterinarian
If successful, these changes would go into effect July 1, 2021
Questions? Contact mollie@ruralvermont.or