Finding raw milk in the Toronto area

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In a comment on a recent post, Callista asks: “Is there still a way I can get raw milk? I just came back from Florida where my sister-in-law buys it and I really want to start giving this to my family. I live in Richmond Hill. If anyone knows how I can get this please let me know. Thanks!”

The obvious source that would come to mind would be Michael Schmidt of Glencolton Farms. However we understand he’s seriously oversubscribed, has a lengthy waiting list and isn’t taking any more members for the time being.

You’d think that with all the legal brouhaha around Michael Schmidt’s charges and whatnot, that no one else would dare venture into the high-demand, and presumably high-risk, business of supplying raw milk to consumers who want it.

But you’d be wrong. There is a farmer within driving distance of Toronto who will board your cow for you, look after it for you and let you take as much of its milk as you can use. The deal involves you buying an actual cow. You go to a sale barn or wherever, choose a cow that’s for sale, buy it and have it brought to his farm. This farmer is also keeping cows for about 30 other people who also want raw milk. All the milk from those cows is pooled in a bulk tank and owners of the cows come to the farm and take the milk from there, from the farm gate, as it were.

Unused milk from customers’ cows is used by the agister (boarder of animals) to feed to other animals on his farm. The agister does give a rebate to the cow owners against the cost of boarding, for unneeded milk that he uses in this way. One cow gives a lot of milk. It would be a rare family that would be able to use all of it.

As far as I’ve heard, this farmer has not been interfered with by any government agency.

Callista, if you would like me to send you contact information for these folks, please comment on this post, asking for that info. There may well be other sources that I may not be aware of.

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Tags: access, Ontario