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Wisconsin governor vetoes bill allowing sale of raw milk

“To pasteurize or not to pasteurize;” raw milk was back in the news this week as a lot of eyes watched to see if Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle would sign legislation allowing raw milk sales directly to consumers, but he vetoed it.

National Milk’s Chris Galen reported in Thursday’s DairyLine that Wisconsin would have joined over 24 other states that allow some form of raw milk sales, be it in stores, directly off the farm, or through cow-sharing programs. He said National Milk has “serious concerns about this general trend of states to liberalize access to products that we know are going to make people sick.”

There have been several incidents in the past few months in states across the country, he said, “where raw milk has been tied to serious pathogens that no one wants to contract,” and “the health issues really get pooh-poohed and swept away when these state legislatures look at the raw milk issue.”

It’s why National Milk and the International Dairy Foods Assoc. urged Gov. Doyle to veto the bill, Galen said, “but we need to play some offense and some defense in helping to shift the tide away from this particular issue.”

One of the ironies, according to Galen, is that Congress is considering a food safety bill that would do the exact opposite and strengthen prohibitions of pathogens in the food supply and yet, at the state level, “more states are making certain that more pathogens will get into the food supply.”

Raw milk debate rages on
Dairy Profit Weekly Editor Dave Natzke reported Friday that earlier this year the second annual International Raw Milk Symposium was held in Wisconsin but, in his veto message, Doyle said he recognized that there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue, but came down on the side of public health and safety, charging the bill contained inadequate testing requirements to ensure the public safety when consuming raw milk. Doyle also said any disease outbreaks related to raw milk sales could be financially detrimental to the state’s dairy industry.

Most medical, agriculture and dairy processing organizations praised the veto, according to Natzke, but raw milk sale advocates, such as Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden said the veto was a defeat for small farmers and a victory for corporate agriculture.

Supporters, made up mostly of “natural” food and small farm advocates, admit that while pasteurization kills harmful bacteria in raw milk, the heating process also destroys many health benefits. They also contend that direct milk sales to consumers, provides a means to generate additional income for small farms.

“The issue isn’t over,” Natzke concluded. “While a veto override is highly unlikely, the bill’s authors have vowed to bring it back next year.” Doyle, who is not seeking reelection, created a Raw Milk Working Group within the state’s Department of Agriculture last January and the group hasn’t completed its work leading to a legal framework surrounding the sale of unpasteurized milk.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the second meeting of the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee will be June 3-4 in Washington. Discussion will center on farm milk price volatility, dairy farm profitability, current USDA programs, and federal dairy policy proposals. A recent DairyLine website poll showed 70 percent of respondents had no confidence in the Committee.

DMI issues five new goals
Dairy Management Incorporated’s Joe Bavido was back on Monday’s “DMI Update” to talk about the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and its five specific goals. Health and Wellness is goal number one, according to Bavido. He said that dairy farmers have always cared about the health and welfare of kids in our nation’s schools. The goal is to insure the future health of children and of course that entails nature’s “most perfect food, dairy.”

Product development and information is the second priority, he said, and that means “offering the right product, in the right place, at the right time, and in the right way that makes smart business sense.”

Sustainability is another strategic priority, according to Bavido, but it has to be economically-viable, environmentally-sound, and socially-responsible.

Consumer confidence is the fourth priority. Consumer perception of dairy products “must be very high,” he said. “And in order to accomplish this, this strategic initiative addresses all consumer insights toward dairy products.”

April production improves
The bears kind of took the bulls by the horns this week. April milk production in the 23 major states totaled 15.2 billion pounds, up 1.7 percent from April 2009, according to the latest Milk Production report. Output in all 50 states, at 16.4 billion pounds, was up 1.5 percent from a year ago. March revised production, at 15.4 billion, was up 0.9 percent from March 2009. The revision represented an increase of 9 million pounds from last month’s preliminary estimate.

Milk cow numbers in the 23 states totaled 8.33 million head, up 3,000 from March, but 155,000 less than a year ago. Production per cow averaged 1,823 pounds, up 63 pounds from 2009.

California production was unchanged from a year ago, with 69,000 fewer cows. However, output per cow gained 75 pounds. Wisconsin was up 6.2 percent, thanks to 5,000 more cows and 95 pounds more per cow. New York was up 1.7 percent, on 13,000 fewer cows but output per cow was up 65 pounds. Idaho was up 3.3 percent, on 3,000 more cows and a 50 pounds increase per cow.

Pennsylvania was up 2.8 percent. Cow numbers were down 8,000 head but output per cow was up 70 pounds. Minnesota was up 3.3 percent, due to 2,000 more cows and a 45 pound gain per cow.
The biggest increase was in Washington State, up 7.2 percent, thanks to 10,000 more cows and a 55 pound gain per cow. Wisconsin was next, followed by Michigan. The biggest decline was in Missouri, down 7.6 percent, due to 9,000 fewer cows, however output per cow was up 5 pounds from a year ago. Colorado was next, followed by Arizona.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Lee Mielke may write to him in care of this publication.

5/26/2010