New Raw Milk Rules in Idaho

 Why can’t government officials write in simple English.  The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) has initiated a negotiated rule process to update “Rules Governing Retail Raw Milk”. ISDA proposes to update milk quality and sanitary requirements for raw milk for human consumption and provide clarity to existing rules for raw milk produced under a “cow share” program. The proposed rule also would eliminate approximately twenty-five (25) pages of outdated rules that were last amended in 1994.

 The proposed rule would incorporate by reference the sanitary milk production and milk processing provisions of the 2009 Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. It also would establish sanitary criteria, milk quality, and permitting protocols for “cow share” programs.

 ISDA is seeking public input, but if you got that press release in the mail, wouldn’t your first question be: What does that mean? That was my question so I called Brian Oakey, Deputy director of ISDA: “We want to get some input from the impacted community. The scope of the rule is looking at the coliform standards. The current standard is 50 mg/liter and what we’re proposing is to reduce that to 10 mg/liter.” Why didn’t they just say that in the press release? Now I get it and hope you do too.