Raw Milk Freedom Act

Mississippi Senate Bill - 2284

Recommendation - SUPPORT

SB2284: This bill expands the legality of on-farm raw milk by allowing incidental sales from small herds of cows, goats, or sheep and clarifying that owners may use and sell raw milk from their animals for personal and non-institutional use.

Full Analysis

A vote for this bill is a vote to expand food freedom and small-farm commerce by legalizing more direct raw milk sales to informed consumers and limiting state barriers to private dairy transactions.

Key Provisions & Tradeoffs

• Extends existing incidental raw goat milk provisions to include cows and sheep, capped at nine producing animals on the premises.

• Allows raw milk sales directly from farms to consumers (not for institutional use) and clarifies that independent or partial owners may use raw milk for personal consumption or other personal use.

• Requires non-advertised raw milk sales and adequate notice to consumers of the inherent risks of unprocessed dairy, while leaving the broader regulatory and fee structure for processed dairy intact.

Liberty Analysis

From a liberty and economic perspective, this bill is a meaningful step toward food freedom and respect for private property and contract. Current law allows only very limited incidental sales of raw goat milk. SB2284 broadens that to cows and sheep, clarifies that owners (including partial/“cow share” style owners) may consume and use raw milk from their own animals, and allows direct farm-to-consumer raw milk sales so long as they are not for institutional use. These changes reduce the criminalization of voluntary exchange between small farmers and informed consumers, and they honor the principle that individuals should be free to decide what they eat and drink without heavy-handed state interference.

Economically, the bill opens up new, low-capital opportunities for small farms without any new subsidies, tax expenditures, or regulatory agencies. It does not increase fees or spending and leaves existing Grade A/processors’ regulatory framework largely untouched. There are still constraints that are not fully liberty-aligned: the no-advertising rule for raw milk sales, the cap of nine producing animals, and the continuing misdemeanor framework for unauthorized unpasteurized milk outside the bill’s carve-outs. However, relative to current law, this is a clear net deregulation that decentralizes food production, increases consumer choice, and slightly reduces the scope of criminal law in peaceful agricultural commerce.

From a civil-liberties and sound-money perspective, the bill does not expand enforcement powers, fines, or state surveillance, and it does not rely on borrowing, subsidies, or central economic planning. The requirement for “adequate notice” of health risks is a light-touch consumer information rule, not a mandate to alter product composition or submit to additional inspections. While a purist libertarian might prefer full repeal of raw milk restrictions, this bill moves Mississippi policy in the right direction—toward limited government, voluntary exchange, and stronger property rights for small farmers and consumers.