Louisiana raw milk bill to legalize on-farm sales

Raw milk sales are currently outlawed in Louisiana.

The only option currently on the raw milk map is a farm near Lafayette who provides boarding. You buy the cow, they host and handle the milking. Technically, you own the cow, so it’s not a sale – which would be illegal. That could change this legislative session.

Update: 6/03/2024

Senate passed the bill, accepting the House’s rejection to rename the bill. HB467 will go to the Governor Landry’s desk.

Update: 6/02/2024

The Louisiana House rejected the Louisiana Senate’s bill amendments, debate was moved to June 3rd in the House Chamber.

There was a Senate amendment, rejected by the House, to rename the bill after the late Senator Lafleur. He gave this speech in 2016:

Update: 5/30/2024

Senate voted to pass the bill with amendments. Sent back to House to agree with amendments.

Watch the full Senate Vote.

Update: 5/21/2024

HB467 passed through the Senate agricultural committee hearing with amendments.

Watch the full Senate hearing archive.

Funny business afoot, didn’t work.

House Bill 467 passed through the senate ag committee.

Update: 5/01/2024

The Louisiana House voted unanimously to pass HB467 on the first of May. The bill will be scheduled for a vote by the Louisiana Senate.

Watch the House vote on Instagram.

Update 4/25/2024

Hearing for HB467 saw the bill pass committee, stay tuned for updates. One good development came when Rep Coates shared that raw milk as “pet food” sales are not illegal, but also not codified. This bill would provide a definition of raw milk in the feed license statutes to make sure farmers have clearance to do so, separately from creating laws opening up raw milk for human consumption.

Watch a video of the hearing in the Louisiana House archive link:

https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/VideoArchivePlayer?v=house/2024/apr/0425_24_AG

Rep Marcus Bryant (D-96, Lafayette) and Rep Danny McCormick (R-01, Shreveport) offered support and encouragement at the hearing. Watch the clip on Instagram or Youtube:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6NIAZ1v-UJ/

Update 4/24/2024:

Hearing is scheduled for 4/25/2024 at 11am CDT. Livestream link: https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/HD/HCR3

Statements regarding HB467 can be emailed to the committee at h-agri@legis.la.gov

Update 4/20/2024:

Hearing on the raw milk bill is scheduled for April 25th at 9:30am in Room 3. HB 467 is before the House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development Committee.

Louisiana House Bill to legalize raw milk sales

Under this proposed bill, the people of Louisiana would be authorized to buy and sell raw milk for human consumption and more. House Bill 467 cover a few products: cow milk and goat milk.

Read the bill text: HB 467 – Provides relative to the sale of raw milk

to authorize incidental sales of raw milk for human consumption; to provide for definitions; to authorize the sale of raw cow milk; to authorize the sale of raw goat milk; to authorize the sale of cheeses made from raw milk; to provide for labeling and inspection; to provide for sanitation, bottling, and packaging standards; to provide for animal health; to provide for chemical and temperature standards; to provide for product recall; and to provide for related matters.

HB467 aims to legalize incidental on-farm raw milk sales for human consumption, from cows and goats, allowing farmers to sell 500 or fewer gallons of raw milk per month.

“Incidental sales of goat milk and whole milk that has not been pasteurized” means those sales where the average monthly number of gallons sold does not exceed five hundred gallons.

The bill proposed also covers the labeling of raw milk. Testing raw milk will also be required, and the farmer will be required to disclose test results to consumers on request.