Wisconsin Raw Milk Laws & Regulations

Wisconsin has no licensed raw milk pathway for consumers. Wis. Stat. §97.24 permits purchasing milk at the producing farm, but state law prohibits distribution or sale through any commercial channel, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) does not recognize herdshare agreements as a legal access mechanism. The operative enforcement theory, established in the 2010-2013 prosecution of Sauk County farmer Vernon Hershberger, is that organized raw milk buying clubs and subscription arrangements constitute operating a retail food establishment without a license. Hershberger was acquitted on the principal charges in 2013, and DATCP enforcement against farm-level incidental raw milk sales has been minimal since.

The practical situation in Wisconsin is that informal on-farm raw milk access exists with little active state interference, as long as it does not take the form of a regular retail operation. Hershberger's farm continued operating openly after the trial and was still accessible to consumers a decade later. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau signaled support for raw milk access reform in 2023, and a Senate bill to formalize licensing was introduced the same year but did not advance. Wisconsin's commercial dairy industry remains the dominant political force shaping the regulatory environment, and no formal consumer pathway is expected in the near term.