Certified raw milk? Yes, please! Farmer needs your help.

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April 12, 2019

The farmer is proud to announce that he now has a Raw Milk Permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture!

The Raw Milk Permit allows the farmer to lawfully produce and sell raw milk for human consumption in the state of Pennsylvania. It means that the farm has been inspected and follows all regulations under the Milk Sanitation Law:

- Licensed veterinarians have inspected his herd and deemed all cows healthy and free of tuberculosis and brucellosis.
- The well water supply was tested and deemed bacteriologically safe.
- Samples of his bulk tank milk was tested by a Pennsylvania Approved Dairy Lab. The analysis of the samples meet all requirements for temperature (cooling), bacteriological, and chemical standards. The milk was tested for general bacteria count, coliform count, somatic cell count, presence of drugs, and pathogenic bacteria (including salmonella, listeria, campylobacter, and E. coli).
- Facilities and equipment were inspected for sanitation.

Per the requirements of holding a Raw Milk Permit, the farmer will have regular tests and inspections to maintain his permit.

On top of this, the farmer also has on site testing equipment. He tests every batch of milk for total coliform count and standard plate count. This is above and beyond what is required by the PA Department of Agriculture.

So, what now?

The farmer needs a bottling permit to lawfully bottle his milk for sale. To get this permit, he needs a milk bottling machine, which costs a whopping $15,000.

After the recent RB51 issue, the farmer has been financially struggling. He’s lost a significant amount of income and also had many unintended expenses. The farmer simply doesn’t have the funds to make this purchase.

He’d love to increase sales, but he cannot take on more customers until he is fully permitted. He cannot be fully permitted until he purchases this machine. It’s a catch-22!

Please help our farmer stay in business and continue providing you with nutrient-dense farm fresh foods. You can learn more and make a donation here:

https://gofundme.com/manage/help-an-ethical-amish-farmer-save-his-farm

In the Amish community, handouts are not allowed. You need to work for what you have. However, an emergency is an exception to this rule. This is an emergency.

Please, your help is needed! Any amount you can give is appreciated more than I can explain. And, please do share with your friends and family.

More than 1,200 Pennsylvania dairy farms have gone into bankruptcy since 2012. Don’t let another small farm die. Let’s help the farmer get back on track to pass down his farm to his five young children.

Raw Dairy

Farm Updates

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Certified raw milk? Yes, please! Farmer needs your help.

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566