Texas Real Milk | Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

Good news for raw milk and small farmers from the Texas legislature!

May 11, 2015: Four good local food bills have passed the House of Representatives! We have just a few weeks to get them through the Senate in order to become law:

HB 91, which would expand legal access to raw milk by allowing licensed farmers to sell at farmers’ markets and make delivery arrangements with consumers
HB 1900, which would provide fair property tax treatment for small farmers, vegetables farmers, and diversified farms
HB 262, which would limit liability for landowners who allow their property to be used for community gardens, increasing access to land
HB 1846, which would require transparency in the state’s implementation of new federal food safety regulations

At the same time, the massive water marketing bill that we oppose has also passed the House and is moving through the Senate, where we will continue to fight to stop it.

Thank you to everyone who has already taken action! …

Raw milk bill scheduled for a vote by the Texas House of Representatives

The raw milk bill, HB 91, has been scheduled for a vote this Thursday, May 7! This is the first time the Texas House of Representatives will debate the issue of raw milk. This is going to be a tough fight, and we need everyone to speak up. Even if you have called before, please take a minute to make a call now to support expanding legal access to raw milk in Texas!

TAKE ACTION

Call or email your State Representative to urge him or her to vote YES on HB 91

You can find out who your State Representative is by going to www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us or calling the Texas Capitol Switchboard at 512-463-4630.

If you call after hours, you can simply leave a message: “Hi, my name is ____, and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge Representative ______ to vote YES on HB 91, the raw milk bill, when it comes to the floor this Thursday.”

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HB 91, Raw Milk

Download our fact sheet here

HB 91 by Representative Dan Flynn would legalize the sale of raw milk by licensed farmers directly to consumers at farmers markets, and allow farmers and consumers to agree to delivery arrangements.…

Want better access to raw milk in Texas?

Texans can legally buy farm-fresh, raw milk from licensed Texas dairies. But the regulations require consumers to drive to the farm — which may be 2 or 3 hours away — to get it.

The current law burdens consumers, and it penalizes family farmers who are unfairly prevented from marketing their milk. HB 91 would fix that, by allowing the sale of raw milk by licensed farmers at farmers’ markets and through delivery.

Please help us pass HB 91 this session to make it easier for farmers to market and consumers to access raw milk!

TAKE ACTION

The legislators need to hear from YOU! The chance of HB 91 passing this session depends heavily on the voice of passionate consumers. It only takes a few minutes to contact your legislator, and it really does make a difference. Here are some helpful steps:

1. Find out who your legislators are.…

Texas Local Food Bills 2013

Local foods was a hot topic at the 83rd Texas Legislature! FARFA worked on several bills to support local farmers and remove some of the barriers for local food systems. These common-sense bills address the needs of the local foods movement, where local farmers and food producers sell their products directly to consumers in transparent transactions. Helping the local food movement helps small local businesses and our economy.

Action Alert: Texas Local Foods Bills Go to the Senate

Three local foods bills have been approved by the Texas House and will be considered by the Texas Senate. Two of them – the “cottage foods” bill (HB 970) and the DSHS “better communications” bill (HB 1392) – will be heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee next Tuesday, May 14. Check out the Take Action section below to see how you can help keep these important bills moving forward.

We also have the report about the bills that did not make it in the More Information section at the end.

The cottage foods bill, HB 970, would allow small-scale producers who make low-risk foods at home to sell directly to consumers at farm stands, farmers’ markets, and community events, in addition to selling directly from their homes. Cottage food producers would not be regulated by the health departments, although they would have to get a food handlers’ license (which can be acquired through a 2-hour online course).…

Action Alert (Texas) – Local foods bills on the move!

Three of our local foods bills are moving forward in the Texas House of Representatives!

The cottage foods bill, HB 970, passed it first vote on Saturday! Two more bills — the DSHS Better Communications Bill and the farmers’ market sampling & cooking demonstration bill — are scheduled for a vote this week. All of these bills help our local farmers and food producers get their products to market.

These bills need your support to keep moving, all the way through the Senate and to the Governor!

Unfortunately, the raw milk bill and three more local foods are still stuck in the House Calendars Committee. If they are not put on the schedule by tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7, then they will die without ever being voted on. We were told that the raw milk bill would be voted on, but it is not yet scheduled — so our focus in the last push is to get a vote for raw milk!…

Action Alert (Texas): Cottage foods bill goes to a vote, but other bills still need help

The cottage foods bill is scheduled for a vote! We need calls to support it – and emails to get the other bills moving.

Your phone calls and emails to Calendars Committee succeeded in getting HB 970, the cottage foods bill, scheduled for a House vote on Saturday, May 4!

The cottage foods bill, HB 970, would allow people to make low-risk foods at home and sell them to consumers at their homes, farm stands, farmers markets, and community events. Cottage food producers would not be regulated by the health departments, although they would have to get a food handlers’ license (which you can get through a 2-hour online course).

Please call your Representative today to urge him/her to vote YES on HB 970, the cottage foods bill!

While this is excellent news, our other six local foods bills are still stuck in Calendars. The last day for the House to vote on House bills is next Thursday.…

Update (Texas): Raw Milk and Cottage Food Bills in Calendars Committee

Both the raw milk bill and the cottage foods bills have been approved by the TexasHouse Public Health Committee. Now on to Calendars! We’ll have an update with all the details soon. Thank you to everyone who has called, written, or come to the Capitol over the last couple of months — your efforts are making a difference!

Below are links to the amended versions of the bills:

CS HB 46 (raw milk bill)

CS HB 970 (cottage foods bill)

Action Alert (Texas): Raw Milk Bill Stalled in Committee – We Need Your Help!

The raw milk bill has gotten stalled in Committee. The Texas Medical Association is lobbying hard to kill it, and they have convinced several Committee members to vote against the bill. We need a flood of phone calls – as soon as possible – from the grassroots to counter them!

The raw milk bill (HB 46) will allow licensed farmers to sell raw milk off-the-farm, at farmers’ markets and consumers’ residences. Right now, consumers have to drive all the way to the farm every time they want raw milk. This bill will help raw milk farmers expand their markets, and help raw milk consumers get reasonable access to raw milk.

Even if you have called before, please call again! (And if you haven’t yet called, it’s more important than ever to do so). This action alert is very time sensitive; please call as soon as possible this week.

Update on Texas Local Foods Bills

With nine bills before the Texas Legislature, the next ten weeks are going to be extremely busy. You won’t be able to take action on every alert, and we realize that. But please do take action as often, and in whatever way, you can.

HB 910, to limit health permit fees for farmers selling directly to consumers & other farmers’ market vendors, has been unanimously approved by the Public Health Committee! It is now in the Calendars Committee, waiting to be scheduled for a vote by the full House.