Raw Milk Interviews: Winton Pitcoff of NOFA; Terri Lawton of Oake Knoll Ayrshires

If you're new to my blog, you might easily conclude that I'm interested in only kimchi and raw milk. Which I don't recommend combining.

I can see why you might come to this conclusion. It's not true, I assure you.

Nonetheless:

Here's an excellent interview with Winton Pitcoff, who heads the Raw Milk Network for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association:

http://localisbetter.org/2010/02/15/raw-milk-in-mass-part-1/

And one with Terri Lawton of Oake Knoll Ayrshires, the only remaining dairy of any kind in Norfolk County, Massachusetts:

http://localisbetter.org/2010/02/19/raw-milk-in-mass-part-2/

Terri offers a perspective on the strict regulation of the sale of raw milk in Massachusetts:

Do you think it’s unfair that raw milk can only be sold on the farm where it’s produced [in Massachusetts]?

I think it’s wild that a person can go to any store and buy cigarettes or alcohol. Certainly cigarettes are known to have no additive effect to anyone’s health. And whether or not raw milk does—and a lot of studies that say that it does—but regardless of whether it does, it’s certainly not as inherently harmful as smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco. There’s no problem with selling any kind of tobacco at any kind of store. I think that’s pretty outrageous. If that’s allowed, there shouldn’t be any problem allowing raw milk.

She has a good point.

Where To Get Raw Milk In Massachusetts (Updated 2010-02-11)

Breaking news: The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has been sending cease-and-desist orders to a number of raw milk buying clubs. Because of this, I will not name any of them, or talk about how to find them on the Internet. Buying clubs have served many Massachusetts raw milk drinkers for many years with ZERO incidents, and it is very sad to see the government creating problems where there aren't any. With a little luck, this situation might clear up…but luck is often not enough when it comes to raw milk and state bureaucrats. For an in-depth analysis, see David Gumpert's recent blog post. When it becomes clear where we should be writing letters, I'll let you know.

Here are some options for finding raw milk in Massachusetts, as of 2010-02-11:

• Get yourself to a farm that is licensed to sell raw milk. This is the most straightforward option, if not always the most convenient. (1) At this moment, the closest farm to Boston is Oake Knoll Ayrshires At Lawton's Family Farm in Foxboro; I blogged about it here. (2) Starting on or around March 1, 2010, you will also be able to get raw milk at Eastleigh Farm in Framingham, which is significantly closer to Boston and Cambridge. I have blogged extensively about Eastleigh, and their licensing challenges, here. (3) NOFA lists other Massachusetts raw milk farms here. I've been to Upinngil Farm in Gill: Ayrshire cows, great milk, and great prices!
  
  
• Pick up some raw milk on your next trip to Maine or Connecticut. Make sure to bring a cooler or an insulated bag. For extra points, bring an ice-pack of some sort, or ask for ice at the store—some stores will give you ice for free. I've purchased raw milk at Rosemont Market on Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine, and at the giant Whole Foods in Portland. I've also been to Golden Harvest Market, in Kittery, Maine; just over the ME-NH border on I-95, it's a very cute store that reminds me of Debra's in Concord, Mass.
  
  
• Join a formal buying club.
   
• Join an informal buying club—one that does not advertise its existence, and that stays under the radar. I hear of them from time to time.

• Start your own buying club, only deal with people you know, and keep quiet about it. All you need to do is get a bunch of people together, take turns driving to a farm, and figure out the finances and logistics to everyone's satisfaction. The smaller it is, the less coordination you'll need to do (but the more driving you'll do).
  
  
• I have heard that there are dairy cow share programs in Massachusetts. For obvious reasons, I can't provide any details.
  

As far as other raw dairy products go:

• Raw milk cheese is legal, so long as it is aged at least 60 days before sale. Whole Foods sells some cheddars made from unpasteurized milk. (Trader Joe's sells a raw milk cheddar, too, but it's not very tasty at all.) Other cheese purveyors may have greater variety and quality of raw milk cheeses, legal and otherwise.
  
  
• Raw cream, raw butter, and any other such "processed" raw dairy do not seem to be legal in Massachusetts.

Please comment if you have additions, corrections, questions, or whatever.

Raw Milk Hearing in Framingham, MA This Wednesday Dec 16

Dear Raw Milk Fans,

WE NEED YOU NOW!

There will be a hearing this Wednesday night, December 16, at 7PM, that will determine whether or not Doug Stephan is granted a license to sell raw milk from his farm in Framingham, Massachusetts, a town of 70,000 or so people 20 miles west of Boston.

The meeting will be in the Blumer Room in the Town Hall, 150 Concord St, Framingham, MA. Click here for a map and directions. There's a train that leaves South Station, Boston at 6:15PM and arrives in Framingham at 6:52PM; the town hall is a few minutes' walk from the train station. This sounds like a good option. Bring a book for the train ride. Might I suggest The Raw Milk Revolution, by David E. Gumpert?


THE MORE PEOPLE SHOW UP AT THIS HEARING TO SUPPORT DOUG, THE BETTER HIS CHANCES.

Personally, I would be thrilled to have a 30-cow raw milk dairy within 20 minutes of my house in Cambridge. The closest one right now is 40 minutes away (Oake Knoll Ayrshires in Foxoro), and is quite small—10 cows last I herd (sic). Stephan's farm would only be the 26th raw milk dairy in Massachusetts, a bellwether state on many issues.

SO IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT, PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING!

and

SPREAD THE WORD!

Click here for the meeting agenda. There will be stuff going on at the meeting besides the raw milk hearing—but I can guarantee that the raw milk part will be the highlight!

Some additional background:

My understanding is that this is the first time anyone in Framingham has applied to the city Board of Health for such a license. As such, precedent will be set. There are three possible outcomes: the board could grant the license; the board could grant the license, but with town-specific requirements that are tougher than the state requirements; or the board could deny the license. This hearing is a very important one in Massachusetts, and could point the way for future such hearings.

Doug will make the case that his dairy farm cannot survive selling milk for pasteurization. In the past year and a half, the price paid to him by dairy corporations has dropped from $28 or $29 for a hundredweight, to $12 or $13 for a hundredweight. It costs him $24 per hundredweight to produce the milk.

Here are some articles on the issue:

http://www.dougstephan.com/includes/news_items/1/news_items_more.php?id=734&section_id=1

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x2071501767/Crying-foul-over-raw-milk-in-Framingham

The outcome of this case will have bearing on all of our ability to get raw milk, and to get the food we want, the way we want it, not just in Massachusetts, but around the US. Now is the time to act.

Raw Milk Buying Club in Cambridge MA

I came across this group a little while ago:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cambridgerawmilk/

I joined their mailing list, to learn how it worked. Here's the deal:

• Members place orders on a shared spreadsheet.
• Every other week, someone (it rotates) drives to Oake Knoll Ayrshires at Lawton's Family Farm in Foxboro, MA to pick up milk (and sometimes a few other things). Then other members drive to the picker-upper's house to get their stuff.
  
• There are no surcharges or fees.
• Money transfer is done via PayPal.

It sounds like it's working out well. If I didn't already have a great source of raw milk, I would be doing it.

If someone reading this blog joins, I'd love to hear about it. (Post a comment or email.)

How to Get Raw Milk in Massachusetts

Folks ask me where/how to get raw milk in Massachusetts.

Here are some options:

• Get yourself to a Massachusetts farm that is licensed to sell raw milk. This is the easiest option. The closest farm to Boston is Oake Knoll Ayrshires At Lawton's Family Farm in Foxboro. I blogged about it here. You have to schedule an "orientation", so that they can meet you, and then you have to call a day ahead whenever you want milk, so that they know how much milk to get from the cows! They only have 10 or so cows. Besides milk, they sell a few other products. NOFA lists other Massachusetts raw milk farms here. Besides Oake Knoll, I've been to Upinngil Farm in Gill: also Ayrshire cows, great milk, and cheap!
  
  
• Pick up some raw milk on your next trip to Maine or Connecticut. Make sure to bring a cooler or an insulated bag. For extra points, bring an ice-pack of some sort, or ask for ice at the store—some stores will give you ice for free. I've purchased raw milk at Rosemont Market on Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine, and at the giant Whole Foods in Portland. Also, I've never been, but my friend recommends Golden Harvest Market, in Kittery, Maine.
  
  
• Join a buying club. One of the most popular is Just Dairy. Just Dairy carries a fantastic variety of farm fresh products, but their membership fees are high if all you want is some milk now and then. Mr. Tarzan is a new buying club that I blogged about here. Unfortunately, Mr. Tarzan's geographic scope is somewhat limited, at least for now. There are periodic rumors of new buying clubs emerging in JP and in Cambridge, but I don't know if they've gotten any traction.
  
  
• Start your own buying club. All you need to do is get a bunch of people together, take turns driving to a farm, and figure out the finances and logistics to everyone's satisfaction. Harder than it sounds; but there's definitely demand for it. And if it goes big, there's no reason you can't pay yourself for your time.
  
  
• I have heard that there are dairy cow share programs in Massachusetts. I don't know exactly what the authorities think of this, so I won't provide any details.
  

As far as other raw dairy products go:

• Raw milk cheese is legal, so long as it is aged at least 60 days before sale. (This is a federal law.) Roughly speaking, hard cheeses are old, and soft cheeses are young. So raw cheddar is easy, while raw brie and farmer's cheese are problematic. I did have some brined raw feta a while ago that was fantastic. It may have been under brine for more than 60 days, but I'm pretty sure it violated the spirit of the law. I'll have to try making some myself.
  
  
• My understanding is that you can't (legally) buy raw cream, raw butter, or any other such "processed" raw dairy in Massachusetts.

That's what I know. Please comment if you have additions, corrections, questions, or whatever.

Oake Knoll Ayrshires: raw milk

Last Tuesday, I went to the Oake Knoll Ayrshires at Lawton's Family Farm in Foxboro, MA, to get some raw milk. They have 10 or so cows, mostly (all?) Ayrshires. This farm seems to be the source of raw milk nearest to where I live in Cambridge, MA (USA). The drive took me 40 minutes, without traffic. There is no train station nearby. They sell raw milk and raw milk products by appointment. The first time you go in, they "orient" you, showing you around, and making sure that you understand the differences between raw milk and pasteurized milk. When I was there, they had the following products on offer:

• Raw milk ($5 for a half-gallon).
• Raw milk cheddar, havarti, and gouda (aged over 60 days, as required by law).
• Eggs from henhouse hens ($4/dozen). These hens are able to run around and eat bugs and all the things that hens like to do—but they stay in the henhouse, where they have the 14+ hours of light they need for laying. During the summer, there are also eggs from outdoors hens. The outdoors eggs cost a little more.
• Honey, maple syrup, and maple sugar candies.
• Natural soaps and lip balm.
• Ground beef and stewing beef ($6/lb).

They also have some barn cats that can climb up walls like squirrels. Pretty cool. For a friend, I bought one half-gallon of milk. For myself, I bought one half-gallon of milk, some extra-sharp raw milk cheddar, and a dozen eggs. The cheddar is great. I drank about half of my milk. Raw milk tastes okay to me, as opposed to pasteurized milk, which, from what I remember, tastes bad to me. Next time I will try a side-by-side comparison. The farm sells their milk in plastic containers. They said that in order to sell in glass containers, they would have to have sterilization equipment etc., and that this not economically practical, given their small size. I turned the rest of my milk into yogurt. I heated the milk up to 110 degrees, stirred in a few tablespoons of Seven Stars biodynamic yogurt as a starter, put it in two sterilized pint jars, and left them on a warming tray for half a day or so. The yogurt turned out very rich and creamy, mild, and a little more liquid than store-bought yogurt. It thickened up a bit once I put it in the refrigerator. It is delicious.