Raw-milk dairy owners in Colorado herald the state’s department of health, a rarity in the increasingly spirited and discordant national discussion over raw milk.
The Raw Milk Association of Colorado is including the department of health in sculpting potential legislation that would expand the raw-milk exemption to include all raw-milk products. But any expansion will be minimal. There are not any dreams or plans to push raw milk into retail stores, as it’s done in California.
Small scale is the key to success for Colorado’s raw-milk dairies, say the state’s raw-milk advocates. The cow-share program was designed to eliminate distributors and retailers who might stand between a cow and a milk drinker.
“This is a perishable food that needs to get into the consumer’s hands quickly,” said David Lynch, who operates the Cottonwood Creek Dairy in Buena Vista and in 2005 spearheaded Colorado legislation allowing for raw-milk cow-share programs. “So the consumer needs to go directly to the farm, and it’s the consumer’s responsibility to create a relationship with the farmer.”
Colorado requires consumers to sign a contract with the farmer and pick up the milk directly from the farmer. Raw-milk dairy farmers register with the state and must label each container of raw milk. In addition, farmers must provide consumers with test results on both the herd and the milk.
Most of the participants in the state’s cow-share program — 54 of 60 — are members of the Raw Milk Association of Colorado, which sets specific bacteria levels and herd health standards that are stricter than federally mandated tests for conventional dairies, says the association’s executive director, Mary Blair McMorran.
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