Posted by Rich | Posted in Cheese, Goats, Milk, News | Posted on 10-06-2010
Tags: Carol, MPR, raw milk
I received a call this morning. It was a gentleman who identified himself as Mark, from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) The main topic, being the raw milk issue in Minnesota, which is just now making it to the national new services.
This is the 2nd interview I have participated in with MPR. The first being in May… again on the subject of raw milk. Today’s interview focused on the reaction that we have seen from our raw milk customers. As I told Mark, Carol and I have not seen an increase or decrease of our raw milk sales, nor have we heard any concern from customers with regards the general safety and/or hazards of raw milk. I told the MPR reporter that many people have yet to hear about the raw milk issue(s) of the Hartmann farm that has been in the news lately.
When asked about how we would describe our milk customers, I also mentioned that our customer base cannot be put into any one group (other than being raw milk drinkers). I let Mark know that we sell raw milk to educators associated with the University of Minnesota, wealthy area families… as well as those who once drank raw goat milk when they were growing up and have simply missed the taste of the product. As I mentioned in my previous MPR interview, our family started drinking raw milk due to the complications associated with Asthma that our daughter, Madison, experiences. Since drinking raw milk, her asthma symptoms have decreased from monthly (sometimes weekly) to less than bi-monthly. That is ultimately the reason why we got involved with dairy goats. We thought a cow would produce too much milk for our family… a goat or two would be perfect. Since we started raising and milking goats, folks have found us and have purchased our raw goat milk. We may not make much money selling goat milk, but the sale of the milk does help pay for the goat’s feed and care.
As a side-note… goat milk makes some of the best homemade kefir, cheeses and ice creams we have ever tasted. Carol is getting quite good at making it. It truly is some of the most delicious products we have ever eaten. Our family drinks raw milk everyday and we believe we are living a healthier lifestyle because of it.
Follow us on Twitter
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
Since it was a rain-day, I headed to Willmar to run some long over-due errands. Upon entering the Schwanke Tractor & Tire parking lot, my phone rang. It was a gal from FoodSafetyNews.com (Washington State). She got wind of my letters to Rep. Al Juhnke (http://www.prairiesedgefarms.com/juhnke_letter2.html & http://www.prairiesedgefarms.com/juhnke_letter.html). Simply, she wanted to discuss the issue of raw milk and the types of folks we sell to. Also discussed were the seemingly political motivations behind the attempts to shut down the raw milk industry and why law makers are making it harder of the customer to have access to the product.
She had also contacted Rep. Junhke. She said the Juhnke was less-than willing to openly discuss the letters or the potential of making raw milk easier to purchase in MN.
It’s been an interesting day.