Posts Tagged ‘Licensing’
Guild Input Into New Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Dept.
Broadly speaking the legislature has decided to merge the Maine Department of Agriculture with the Maine Department of Conservation. They have also transferred several functions from the State Planning Office to this new “super” department among other smaller moves across state governement.
As these government entities contemplate how to re-organize under this single new entity they are holding public meetings across the state to hear from organizations and individuals who have an interest in this new department, and who want to have input on how it is finally pieced together.
I attended a meeting held on June 26th in Augusta, and following are the recommendation I made on behalf of the Maine Cheese Guild to Commissioners Whitcomb (Ag) and Beardsley (Conservation).
Food Security Fears Discussed
At our last meeting (May 7th at Fuzzy Udder Creamery in Unity) we had a guest join our group — G. W. Martin, of Montville, who had worked to get his town to adopt the “Food Sovereignty Ordinance” that several other towns in Maine have passed in the last few years. He also marched on the State House on April 17th in support of “Farmer Brown” who is being prosecuted for selling unlicensed dairy products to the public. Martin had been invited to the Guild meeting by Jessie Dowling of Fuzzy Udder to try to provide some perspective to the Guild about the concern of food producers and farmers who feel that state licensing is an impediment to supporting their local communities by producing food for their neighbors.
Even though the discussion was not on the agenda for the meeting, there was a lot of interest expressed by the group to hear from Martin about his perspective, as well as to educate Martin about why the Guild has adopted a Quality Statement insisting that state licensing be the minimum level of oversight for any commercial cheese maker in Maine to insure the quality of their products.
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An act to exempt farm food products…
The full title:
HP0263, LD 330, item 1, 125th Maine State Legislature An Act To Exempt Farm Food Products and Homemade Food Offered for Sale or for Consumption at Certain Events from Certain Licensing Requirements
Last Action: VOTED, Mar 31, 2011, Ought Not to Pass
Scheduled for Hearing: Tuesday, March 22 @ 1:30pm, Cross Office Building, Room 206 (Ag Committee room) in Augusta
Raw Milk Sales Proposal
Posted by Liberty Fields in Guild, News on February 24th, 2011
I found another proposed bill that may impact us greatly yet I found it by accident. Its LD366 and involves raw milk sales. I’ll forward you the farm bureau e mail. Its down at the bottom under new legislation. I’m calling my local legislator – he’s listed as a sponsor. He’s also a sponsor on LD330 we discussed. I have an email in to Jon Olson, the farm bureau lobbyist, who is our point of information.
LD 366 An Act Regarding the Sale of Raw Milk (Kumiega-Deer Isle, Berry-Bowdoinham,
Malaby-Hancock, McCabe-Skowhegan, Newendyke-Litchfield, O’Brien-Lincolnville, Pilon-Saco,
Patrick-Oxford).
Last Action: VOTED, Mar 31, 2011, Ant. Div. Rep. (not yet reported out of committee)
Clarifies that a license is not required of a person who produces
and sells milk only on the premises. “Premises” includes a motor vehicle and a portable
farm stand owned by the producer if sales on these premises are made by the producer
or an employee.
Dairy Farm Requirements — An Overview
Below is a link to a PDF document outlining the basics for setting up a small scale dairy operation and then getting your Maine Dairy Processors license to allow you to sell your products. It was put together by the Maine Micro-Dairy Cooperative which, sadly, is no longer an on-going operation
In addition to the basic regulations, it’s also important to be on top of all the sanitation needs for a small scale milking dairy, something that the Guild and/or the University of Maine Cooperative Extension can help you with. Join the Guild, attend our meetings, and together we can make great cheese together!
From the introduction:
The purpose of this document is to provide a basic overview of the requirements and standards that must be met for the production and sale of milk and dairy products in the state of Maine. It is not intended to replace nor supersede the official Department of Agriculture publication (Chapter 329: Rules Governing Maine Milk and Milk Products) from which it is derived, nor should it seem to take precedence over the judgment and advice of the State Dairy Inspectors who oversee the regulatory compliance of each producer and processor. It should be used as a guide only, in combination with on-site consultation and Department of Agriculture recommendations.
Processing Plant Requirements – an Overview
Below is a link to a PDF document outlining the basics for setting up a creamery and then getting your Maine Dairy Processors license to allow you to sell your products. It was put together by the Maine Micro-Dairy Cooperative which, sadly, is no longer an on-going operation
In addition to the basic regulations, it’s also important to be on top of all the sanitation needs for a dairy processor, something that the Guild and/or the University of Maine Cooperative Extension can help you with. Join the Guild, attend our meetings, and together we can make great cheese together!
From the introduction:
The purpose of this document is to provide a basic overview of the requirements and standards that must be met for the production and sale of milk and dairy products in the state of Maine. It is not intended to replace nor supersede the official Department of Agriculture publication (Chapter 329: Rules Governing Maine Milk and Milk Products) from which it is derived, nor should it seem to take precedence over the judgment and advice of the State Dairy Inspectors who oversee the regulatory compliance of each producer and processor. It should be used as a guide only, in combination with on-site consultation and Department of Agriculture recommendations.
Maine Cheese Guild Quality Statement
The Maine Cheese Guild believes that cheese of the highest quality can only be made with a thorough and regularly refreshed knowledge of food safety.
The Maine Cheese Guild promotes and sponsors regular opportunities to learn about best practices for cheese making. The Guild also believes that the best way for professional* cheese makers to guarantee the quality of their product is by being appropriately licensed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, as only licensed cheese makers are legally allowed to sell cheese to the public, and only licensed cheese makers receive feedback from the dairy regulatory unit through regular testing for contamination and facility inspections. This feedback is critical, together with on-going education, in maintaining the high quality of award-winning Maine cheese.
* professional = selling cheese to the public
Ag Day At the Legislature 2009
Above you can see me telling Governor Baldacci about how Maine Cheese is such a great dairy success story!
Along with about thirty ag focused groups, I spent the morning of March 31 offering samples of Maine cheese (thanks to State of Maine Cheese Co., and Pineland Farms) to state house workers and legislators (in between sessions) and asking them if they’d like to know more about Maine cheese. Most of the did, and most of them very much liked the samples of the cheese.
For the legislators, I handed them one of the color Guild brochures and pointed out that when we printed the brochure two years ago there were 20 licensed cheese makers in Maine (as it states in the first paragraph of the brochure), but that currently there are 37 licensed cheese makers, which shows how many new folks are stepping up and putting more Maine milk to good use.
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Maine’s Licensed Cheese Producers
Following is a list from the Maine Department of Agriculture of the Licensed Maine cheese producers in good standing.
Last updated January 2009.
View as text below:
