US: Idaho bill to strike down some restrictions on unpasteurized milk gets Senate approval

The Idaho Senate has approved a bill lifting restrictions on some provisions in the state’s raw milk law. In a 34-0 vote — one member was absent — the Senate approved revisions that would make legal so-called herd shares. Such arrangements allow farmers to sell a share of a herd or a share of a single animal to people who wish to receive raw, unpasteurized milk. The legislation, Senate Bill 1036, now heads to the state’s House of Representatives. If approved by the House, the governor would have to sign the bill into law. In approving the bill with yea votes from 7 Democrats and 27 Republicans, with one Democrat absent, the Senate approved striking the vast majority of Idaho’s raw milk legislation which currently bans raw milk except for the consumption by household members of dairy owners. The bill leaves intact only a few sentences in the existing legislation. “… the acquisition of raw milk or raw milk products from cows, sheep, or goats by an owner of a cow share, sheep share, ...