tenth generation on New Hampshire farm

[Guest guest]

The Graves family swung open its barn doors at Great Brook Farm over the weekend to celebrate its decision to start selling raw milk in the new milkhouse farm store. WALPOLE, N.H. The family sent out press releases and put up posters to advertise the event. The decision to sell raw milk was made, Westover said, to give her family a greater margin on every gallon sold, and for dairy farmers, every extra dollar helps. If her farm had been a few miles to the west, on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River, however, Westover and her family would have been prohibited from advertising the sale of raw milk. They would have limits put on the amount of raw milk they can sell, and the whole operation would have been forced to operate under a "don't-ask-don't-tell" understanding with the Vermont Department of Agriculture. And as legislators get ready to return to Montpelier this week, a move to ease the raw milk laws in Vermont is starting to emerge. Rep. Mrowicki, D-Putney, wants to introduce legislation that will allow Vermont dairy farmers to advertise and sell as much raw milk from their farms as their cows will provide. Mrowicki met with Windham County farmers over the past few months who asked him to try to soften the laws that restrict how a farmer can market and sell raw milk from the farm. "We have been hearing that this is another market for them and it is good for small agriculture," Mrowicki said on one of the last few days before he heads back up to the Statehouse. "We want to help the small farmer." The Graves family has been milking cows on their land in Walpole for almost 250 years. Milk prices over that time have gone up and down and Westover said her son, who is the 10th generation to work the land, decided to sell raw milk on the farm to bring in a little extra cash. The family makes about 80 cents a half gallon when the silver truck carries the milk away to be homogenized and bottled. Half gallons of raw milk will go for $2.25 from the farm, an almost 200 percent increase in the profit on every bottle. "In this time where milk prices fluctuate we need to add value to what we sell," Westover said. "It's a way for people to buy local and assist the farmer." The Vermont raw milk law makes it harder for farmers. "It's too bad Vermont has that rule because if Vermont and New Hampshire dairy farmers go out of business, it will change everything in the two states," said Westover. "The state should do what it can to help farmers survive." Westover also said the local food movement is bringing more people out to the farm. Consumers want to know where their food is produced and who is doing the work that delivers their food to the table. "Lots of people want to know whose hands are on their food," said Westover. "The milk they buy will always be less than 24 hours old." All of the animals and machinery get tested and Westover said her family has been drinking raw milk for as long as there have been cows on their Walpole land. Vermont tightened up its raw milk law in the late 1980s after an outbreak of food borne illness was traced to raw milk at a Chittenden County farm. Farmers in the state are prohibited from selling more than 25 quarts of raw milk. It is illegal to sell raw milk in retail establishments, including farmers' markets, and advertising of any kind is not allowed. Home delivery is also off limits. "The agency's position is that raw milk is a potentially hazardous food," said Byron Moyer, chief of the dairy division at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. "We believe the only mitigating effect we can have is limiting the exposure." The agency feels that if people visit the farm and see the conditions of the cows and then decide to purchase raw milk, they are at least making an informed decision, Moyer explained. But he said it is up to the Legislature to make the rules, and up to the agency to enforce them. Westover said she doesn't expect raw milk sales on the farm to carry the business, but the extra income will only help. And while milk prices right now are pretty high, the fluctuation in prices makes it only harder to plan. The price the family gets for the raw milk will remain stable. "We're doing what we can to make it work," said Westover. "That's all we can do." Raw milk will be available at the Walpole farm from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., anytime the farmers are milking the cows. By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Brattleboro Reformer Staff Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@... or , ext. 279.