The farm advocacy group Rural Vermont has been ordered by the state to halt workshops to teach people how to turn raw milk into butter and other dairy products.
Rural Vermont Director Jared Carter says the agriculture agency is infringing on consumers’ rights to do what they want with milk in their own kitchens.
A letter from Agency Dairy Section Chief Daniel Scruton says Rural Vermont is violating state law "by holding classes in which raw milk is processed and served" to people taking the class.
A 2009 law allows for the sale of up to 160 quarts of raw – or unpasteurized – liquid milk a day, directly to consumers, only for fluid consumption.
Scruton’s letter says the Rural Vermont workshops show customers how to produce homemade cheese with the milk.