Advice on how to find raw milk resources

[blessedmama59]

We live in WV and raw milk is illegal here. We're only about a half hour from the OH/WV line so I thought there could be some hope until I found that it is also illegal in Ohio. I know that I could probably find it "underground", but I'm not sure how to go about it. Any suggestions? Thanks ladies!

[LoMaH]

Have you tried contacting a local WAP chapter?

There's only one listed in WV, but quite a few in OH.

http://www.westonaprice.org/chapters/index.php#wv

GL

[pixiepunk]

i'm also in WV though in the eastern panhandle. i found the best way was asking around to local folks - we have a Mennonite market and a health food store here, so i asked there (the health food store lady had a lead on goat's milk but there was a waiting list), and the local farmer's market. oddly enough, though, i got desperate one day and posted to our local freecycle and got a response! i posted a "wanted: information about local sources of fresh milk" - i avoided the word 'raw' so as not to scare anyone off. and a woman checked with her source about it being OK, then emailed me off-list and gave me her contact info. i'm a yoga teacher and i've had people ask me about sources of all kinds of natural things, like pastured chicken/eggs/beef/milk/etc and always help them out if i can. i also have a friend who is a naturopath and she has lots of connections. chiropractors are often into such things, too. a friend of mine got her raw milk source from her chiro. so those are the kinds of people you need to find.

it's not likely that there's anything big and organized (at least in WV), but you're likely to find someone with a family cow and a little extra milk that's willing to do a cash transaction. you just need to find them, and that's where hooking up with local, naturally-minded folks is key.

also, did you look on the rawmilk.com website for OH sources? they have listings on there for sure, i remember looking for a friend of mine a couple of years ago, so there might be a farm nearby that you could drive to, or even one that does deliveries. they might also know of people in your area that would be willing to take turns picking up milk with you to share the drive, if it's a bit of distance. i have some friends elsewhere that do that - take turns going between 3 families, which makes driving the 2 hrs round trip a lot more do-able than if you had to do it yourself every week!

good luck! HTH!

[CherryBomb]

Check www.realmilk.com Is cow share legal in WV? That's how we get raw milk here in Indiana. It's illegal to sell and buy raw milk, but it's not illegal to drink the milk of an animal you own, so you basically just buy part of a cow and then get to take the milk (a gallon for each share you buy).

[blessedmama59]

Originally Posted by pixiepunk

i'm also in WV though in the eastern panhandle. i found the best way was asking around to local folks - we have a Mennonite market and a health food store here, so i asked there (the health food store lady had a lead on goat's milk but there was a waiting list), and the local farmer's market. oddly enough, though, i got desperate one day and posted to our local freecycle and got a response! i posted a "wanted: information about local sources of fresh milk" - i avoided the word 'raw' so as not to scare anyone off. and a woman checked with her source about it being OK, then emailed me off-list and gave me her contact info. i'm a yoga teacher and i've had people ask me about sources of all kinds of natural things, like pastured chicken/eggs/beef/milk/etc and always help them out if i can. i also have a friend who is a naturopath and she has lots of connections. chiropractors are often into such things, too. a friend of mine got her raw milk source from her chiro. so those are the kinds of people you need to find.

it's not likely that there's anything big and organized (at least in WV), but you're likely to find someone with a family cow and a little extra milk that's willing to do a cash transaction. you just need to find them, and that's where hooking up with local, naturally-minded folks is key.

also, did you look on the rawmilk.com website for OH sources? they have listings on there for sure, i remember looking for a friend of mine a couple of years ago, so there might be a farm nearby that you could drive to, or even one that does deliveries. they might also know of people in your area that would be willing to take turns picking up milk with you to share the drive, if it's a bit of distance. i have some friends elsewhere that do that - take turns going between 3 families, which makes driving the 2 hrs round trip a lot more do-able than if you had to do it yourself every week!

good luck! HTH!

Thanks so much! I thought about asking the next time I visit the health food store and farmer's market. I was a little weary of using the word 'raw' so I think I'll just ask about 'fresh' instead. I believe people may be more willing to offer up advice that way. I do remember a local herbalist talking about goat's milk so maybe she may know something also. We are surrounded by farms, so there is BOUND to be something lol it'll just take some researching on my part. I do believe herd shares are legal here, but I wouldn't know how to even go about that.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by blessedmama59

I do believe herd shares are legal here, but I wouldn't know how to even go about that.

Very simple! Just find a farmer on realmilk.com and contact them. I found one about 20 minutes from me. The milk winds up being $5 a gallon (if you sign a one year contract). I found him through realmilk.com and emailed him and he invited us out to the farm (Unfortunately I can't get started yet because dh's unemployment just ran out, but hopefully soon) Good luck!

[blessedmama59]

Sounds pretty simple! Thank you!

[pixiepunk]

cow shares are not legal in wv. you might find one in OH though.