HB 16-LOCAL FOOD PROCUREMENT; LABELING   2:32:17 PM CO-CHAIR LINCOLN announced the final order of business would be SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 16, "An Act relating to shared animal ownership; and relating to the sharing and sale of raw milk and raw milk products." CO-CHAIR TARR provided a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "House Bill 16 Raw Milk Sales." Speaking as the sponsor of SSHB 16, she informed the committee the bill was derived from a desire to provide food security in Alaska. Her background in botany and sustainable agriculture led her to address the issue of food security: 95 percent of food for Alaska is imported at a cost of over $2 billion; the Division of Agriculture, DNR, reported Alaskans can produce more; the Alaska Grown $5 Challenge provides more economic development opportunity for farmers in Alaska (slides 1 and 2). CO-CHAIR TARR, in response to Representative Hannan, explained the purpose of the Alaska Grown $5 Challenge is to generate $188 million into Alaska's economy. She provided a history of farming in Alaska: at statehood there were 525 farms producing almost one-half of the food consumed in Alaska and dairy farming was well established. There is only one dairy left in Palmer, but new dairies in Kodiak and Delta Junction are underway (slides 3 and 4). 2:38:17 PM CO-CHAIR TARR advised currently, raw milk products are sold through a herd share program authorized by the Alaska Administrative Code. In Alaska, the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation holds broad authority over matters of food regulations thus the herd share program was established by regulation and is not in statute: 18 AAC 32.010 - 18 ACC 32.060 restrict sales of raw milk products except for personal use. She directed attention to a sample herd share agreement included in the committee packet - noting the agreement creates a contractual relationship between a producer and consumer - and described features of the agreement. Co- Chair Tarr pointed out the "closed loop system" nature of the agreement provides safety because if an issue arose, consumers are known and can be contacted quickly. 2:41:45 PM CO-CHAIR TARR advised the first provision of SSHB 16 would put a herd share program into the Alaska Statutes. Comparing the bill to legislation in other states, she said 12 states allow raw milk sales in retail stores; some allow raw milk sales at farmers markets; some allow raw milk sales on the producing farm; some allow herd share programs; some allow the sale of raw goat milk only [supporting document provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures entitled, "State Milk Laws" included in the committee packet]. The second provision of SSHB 16 allows producers to include in the herd share program additional value-added products such as cheese and butter (slide 7). This provision would help farmers increase the scale of their businesses and increase shopping convenience to consumers. She directed attention to a picture of raw milk cheese available at a retail outlet due to federal legislation that allows the sale of raw milk cheese that has been aged over 60 days. Co- Chair Tarr concluded, noting pasteurization of milk became necessary to address problems created by the improper handling of milk and a population shift to urban living during the early 1900's; as it took longer to transport milk products from farms to consumers, problems with illnesses arose. 2:47:42 PM SUZY CROSBY, Co-Owner, Cottonwood Creek Farm, provided a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "Cottonwood Farm Before House Resources 3/22/19." She directed attention to a picture of goats and explained herd share is legal in Alaska, helps the goats "pay their way" and connects consumers with producers in order to shorten the food chain, which is desired by "loca- vores." She restated herd share is legal in Alaska and is applicable to fluid milk only. Herd share is sustainable in that consumers make a commitment to pick up their milk on a schedule (slides 1-4). Through the herd share program, the farm is not a grocery store and farmers do not sell milk, cheese, or other dairy products (slide 5). Ms. Crosby noted the provision of SSHB 16 that would allow farmers to make cheese and other products is important because goats produce excess milk in the summer, which could be made into chevre and frozen for use in winter. She turned to aspects of safety and sanitation and advised the milking location should be out of the barn and in a clean space. Goats are cleaned before and after milking and fed so they remain standing after milking; she further described methods for safe handling and processing of the milk, for complete recordkeeping, and for educating consumers on milk safety (slides 6-8). Ms. Crosby stated SSHB 16 would allow the herd share program to include value-added products such as Queso Fresco, feta cheese, and chevre (slides 9-12). 2:53:32 PM PETE KENNEDY, Attorney, Westin Price Foundation, informed the committee the Westin Price Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is the biggest raw milk advocate group in the U.S. He said he also works for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund that has a mission to protect the rights of farmers and consumers to engage in direct commerce. Mr. Kennedy confirmed [herd share] agreements are closed-loop transactions that create a higher degree of transparency and traceability than any other arrangement. He opined the majority of food-borne illness outbreaks blamed on raw milk consumption are false; in two cases where milk distributed through a herd share agreement was responsible [for illness], affected parties were notified without public notice. He referred to a report included in the committee packet related to raw milk safety and said his experience is that the demand for raw milk has increased, but incidents of illness have not - or have decreased - due to the better education of dairy farmers and consumers [document not provided]. 2:57:35 PM MR. KENNEDY opined there are three built-in safety incentives that ensure the safe production of raw milk: the milk is consumed by the producer; the small herd share dairies cannot afford an outbreak of illness; raw dairy products have a better track record for safety than fluid raw milk. From an economic standpoint, raw milks sales encourage consumers to visit the farm and make other purchases. Finally, he advised there is case law supporting herd share farmers who distribute raw dairy products to their consumers. [HB 16 was held over.]