Raw milk is bigger than you’d think — $1,000,000 gross in Vermont in 2011

From VTdigger.org:

“Montpelier – Rural Vermont has released its 2012 Report on raw milk production and sales. For the third year since the passage of Act 62, which enabled the direct sale of raw milk by farmers to consumers, Rural Vermont has presented an overview of how the law is working for farmers and the economic impact of raw milk sales.

The report was presented to the House Committee on Agriculture on January 24, 2012 and will be presented to the Senate Committee on Agriculture on Friday February 3, 2012. The report is available on the Rural Vermont website http://www.ruralvermont.org or by calling 802-223-7222.

The report is based on the results of surveys conducted by Rural Vermont, which reached 95 of the estimated 150 farms that are producing raw milk and selling it to consumers under the requirements of Act 62. The report provides an overview of how the law has been functioning, summarizes the data collected in the surveys and presents some recommendations for further adjustments to the law and the regulations.

Top ag story of 2011? Top newsmaker?

From the staff at Better Farming:

“What is Ontario’s agriculture industry’s top story for 2010 and who is its top newsmaker? Have your say.

And we thought 2010 was a busy year in Ontario agriculture. That’s before we experienced 2011’s two elections, a soggy spring and the introductions of a risk management plan to protect against market fluctuations as well as a proposal for a mega quarry in Dufferin County’s Melancthon township.

Fighting for fundamental food rights

Michael Schmidt reports on his participation earlier this summer in the first international conference on food safety and quality of organic food in Prague:

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Michael Schmidt, biodynamic farmer in Canada

I am here as a farmer, not as a scientist. The urgently needed scientific debate in Canada has been compromised through very often violent political actions towards farmers and consumers  As a result a constructive dialogue about the merits of raw milk for human consumption has been prevented so far.   We have been witnessing this growing anti raw milk enforcement for the last 25 years in North America. Currently we are facing in the US and Canada the enforcement of an “absolute no risk policy” as it relates to raw milk.

Raw milk, Michael Schmidt at Total Health Show in Toronto, April 8-10

Michael Schmidt (DURHAM, ONTARIO)

Michael Schmidt has a master’s degree in agriculture and has been a biodynamic farmer for over 33 years. Born in Germany, he came to Canada in 1983 and has been instrumental in massive changes towards the awareness of the cultural importance of agriculture. He is leading the fierce battle to legalize raw milk in Canada, and founded Ontar Bio Organic Farm Products which later became a Farmer-owned Co-Op. He has been making headline news across Canada and has received international recognition for his efforts to legalize raw milk. www.glencoltonfarms.com Visit Michael’s booth in the Farmers Market area.

Do We Have a Total War on Health?

Saturday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM, 205

Michael Schmidt has become a symbol of non-violent resistance around the world for his determination to challenge the powers of authority. The fierce battle against corrupt authorities and corporate control has just begun. As a scholar of Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy and Steiner, Michael continues to question the legitimacy of regulators who are infringing on our individual rights to nourish, and heal ourselves. He looks far beyond the current struggle and will try to put this battle into the spiritual context of the evolution of mankind. This lecture will put into context the grave dangers we are facing if we do not find our strength through cooperation, coalition building and trust into the future.  Learn more

Michael Schmidt’s raw milk Cow Share College to be offered across Canada in 2011, according to the Vancouver Sun

From Randy Shore, writing for the Vancouver Sun:

A Chilliwack raw milk dairy ordered to stop distributing unpasteurized milk is now calling its products cosmetics. Photograph by: Paul J. Henderson, CHILLIWACK TIMES

“A Chilliwack raw-milk dairy ordered to stop distributing unpasteurized milk is now calling its products cosmetics.

Tearing a page from the history books, Our Cows cow-share cooperative now labels raw milk and raw-milk dairy products as Cleopatra’s bathing milk, raw milk skin care lotion and face cream, according to farmer Michael Schmidt.

“Let’s be clear, these are not dairy products, these are cosmetics,” Schmidt told The Sun.

“The contents of these cosmetic products are unpasteurized dairy products.” Not everyone is convinced.