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thej enkinscountytimes .com
The Jenkins County Times
Friday, May 26, 2023- Page 11
Georgia dairy farmers can
sell unpasteurized milk
starting this July
Special to
The Times
A Walk on the Ogeechee
Georgia dairy farmers can sell raw, or unpasteurized, milk for human consumption
starting in 2023, providing what some farmers say is a much-needed boost for the state’s
family farms.
The General Assembly approved the Georgia Raw Dairy Act earlier this month, despite
testimony about the health risks of drinking raw milk.
The bill will go into effect on July 1, 2023, making Georgia the 31st state to allow raw
milk sales.
The market for raw milk has grown in recent years due to interest from consumers who
say it tastes better, is more nutritious and has health benefits.
For White House Dairy Farm owner Marvin Yoder of Montezuma, Georgia, selling raw
milk could give him a new market and potentially triple his income, he told legislators last
year, and give him a new market. While some big dairies are expanding, family-owned
famis like his are stmggling to make ends meet, he said at the time.
“If nothing is done, I don’t think you will have more than 40 dairies (in Georgia) in
10 years,” Yoder said last fall. “The smaller farms are the backbone that keep a tight-knit
community together.”
But not all small farm owners are convinced the new legislation will help. Cedar Rock
Farm owner Sam Jones of Montezuma, Georgia, said the cost of new equipment needed to
get a license to sell raw milk to consumers may not be worth it.
“I got my start with Grade A dairy, but I switched to selling raw milk when Grade A milk
stopped paying the bills,” Jones said. “I have the facilities to sell Grade A raw milk, but not
every family farm can afford to build new bams and bottling facilities that meet Georgia’s
standards. Even if they do build it, it’ll never pay itself off.”
Under the Raw Dairy Act, Georgia dairy farmers selling raw milk would be required to get
a license that states their raw milk products are Grade A for human consumption and follow
food safety regulations and the Commissioner of Agriculture would create regulations for
maintaining the Grade A status of the raw milk.
“This provides that the commissioner of agriculture will be in charge of this,” said
Republican Sen. Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga. “They will inspect the location where raw
milk is produced. It will inspect where it’s manufactured, kept, handled, stored or sold. It
will be sampled and analyzed and tested.”
The bill requires dairy farmers to include a warning label on raw milk packaging: “Warning:
This is a raw milk product that is not pasteurized and may increase risk of foodbome illness.”
The bill also includes unrelated provisions related to equipment for tracing synthetic opioids
tacked on in the final days of the legislative session.
Under current laws, Georgia dairy farmers can sell raw milk for pet consumption, but not
human consumption. Feed produced for pet consumption is subject to a much lower level of
food safety regulation. However, legislative supporters of the Georgia Raw Dairy Act said
people were purchasing raw milk labeled for pet consumption and drinking it themselves,
which carries health risks for those consumers.
Legalizing the sale of raw milk will allow the industry to be regulated for the safety of
consumers, said bill sponsor Republican Rep. Clay Pirkle from Ashbum.
“Today, you can buy raw milk,” Pirkle said in March. “But it’s labeled as ‘pet milk,’ and
all that’s required is a small fee, an animal feed license. The animal is never checked. The
milk is never tested. There is no minimum safety requirements. There’s no bacteria counts.
There’s no somatic cell counts. There is nothing in the purchase of raw milk that we have
any idea of what’s in it.”
However, public health experts told legislators that raw milk should not be legalized for
human consumption because drinking raw milk is dangerous and provides no proven health
benefits.
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Many times I have
walked the Ogeechee river
and wondered about the
settlers that occupied the
land surrounding the river.
There is a tremdous amount
of history contained in the
Ogeechee.
A rich anthropological
history in the Ogeechee
River basin provides
us with Archeological
artifacts that indicate
human habitation at least
10,000 - 12,000 years ago.
Yes! I said, 12,000 years
ago. That is a tremendous
amount of time.
The Ogeechee and
Canoochee rivers’
importance as a
thoroughfare for trade and
commerce, as well as a
source of potable water and
plentiful fish, continued for
centuries.
More than simply a
recreational area, it was
the main, or only source,
of fresh food for some
residents, as late as the mid-
20th century. In an effort
to preserve the history
of the area, Ogeechee
Riverkeeper launched an
oral history project in 2016.
Audio files, transcripts,
and images are available
through the Special
Collections at Georgia
Southern University.
The Ogeechee runs from
the Piedmont across the
Fall Line and Sandhills
regions. There it flows
across the coastal plain
of Georgia to the Atlantic
Ocean. From a shallow
clear running stream with
several shoals, rapids, and
a small falls at Shoals,
below Louisville, the river
becomes a lazy meandering
channel through cypress
swamps and miles of
undeveloped forests.
It seems that Paleo-
Indian societies arrived in
the area of the Ogeechee
River around 11,500 years
ago, and the river was
settled for several centuries
by the Mississippians and
Yuchi until the arrival of
Europeans. In fact, though
the origin of the name
"Ogeechee" is uncertain,
it may be derived from a
Muskogee term meaning
"river of the Uchees",
referring to the Yuchi
people, who inhabited
areas near it. Some scholars
have drawn a connection
between the river's name
and the name Gullah
Geechee for the Gullah
people who inhabit coastal
Georgia.
Did you know that the
Ogeechee River Basin
provides drinking water
for nearly 394,000 people
currently in the state of
Georgia by municipal or
privately owned public
water systems?
Also, several parks are
located on the Ogheechee
River and utlize the water.
A.H. Stephens State
Historical Park, a site that
combines the recreational
opportunities of a state
park with the educational
resources of a historic site
along with fishing on the
Ogeechee.
Fort McAllister State
Historical Park is nestled
among giant live oaks
and beautiful salt marsh
which is a part of the
Ogeechee. This park also
offers a museum of Civil
War artifacts as well as
indian artifacts. The park
provides, camping, hiking,
fishing and picnic facilities.
It is worth the trip to visit
one of these parks and take
a walk on the beautiful
river, called the Ogeechee.
See you next week!
91 5 ROCK!
SYLVAN I A.
