<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576784214211.jpeg" alt="Goat kids play in a barn at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy in Russell County, Kansas.&nbsp; Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service &nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Goat kids play in a barn at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy in Russell County, Kansas.&nbsp; Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service &nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>BY CORINNE BOYER Kansas News ServiceGARDEN CITY — Wearing sweaters, small kids 
(of the goat variety) went springing over hay-lined pens in the Good 
Karma Micro-Dairy barn in Russell County. Here, Erin and Doug Renard 
milk goats and cows and make raw cheese, Greek yogurt, butter and 
gelato.“As you noticed when you came here, there's no signs,” 
Erin Renard said. “One of the reasons there's no signs is expense. But 
the other reason was we couldn't even put 'raw milk' on the sign. Now we
 can.”&nbsp;Prior to November, the Renards and other Kansas raw milk
 producers could advertise their products with only a sign on the farm —
 a 1967 law outlawed raw milk advertising otherwise. That changed when 
the Kansas Department of Agriculture settled a lawsuit with Mark and 
Coraleen Bunner, the owners of&nbsp; Shepherd’s Gate Dairy.In Kansas,
 raw milk products — which aren’t inspected or pasteurized — still can’t
 be sold in stores. And while the agriculture department plans to 
propose legislation in 2020 to remove the advertising ban from state 
law, it won’t require ads to have warnings about the unregulated dairy 
products.So, some raw dairies say that the key to preventing 
illness is for consumers to visit farms and do their research before 
drinking unpasteurized milk.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576784262013.jpeg" alt="Doug Renard milks a cow at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Doug Renard milks a cow at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Raw milk’s reach</h2>There are approximately 260 licensed dairies in Kansas, meaning they’re regulated.When it comes to raw dairies, Kansas has about 45 <a href="https://www.realmilk.com/real-milk-finder/kansas/" target="_blank">producers</a>, and is one of 17 states that allow direct <a href="https://milk.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005192" target="_blank">raw milk</a> sales from farms to consumers. Thirteen of those states allow raw milk to be sold in stores.Raw milk comes from goats, cows or sheep and is sold without pasteurization — <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/dangers-raw-milk-unpasteurized-milk-can-pose-serious-health-risk" target="_blank">a process</a>
 that heats milk and kills bad bacteria without changing the nutritional
 content. But advocates say raw milk is more nutritious, can cure 
lactose intolerance and treat asthma and allergies.The Food and Drug Administration, however, has debunked a host of raw milk <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/raw-milk-misconceptions-and-danger-raw-milk-consumption" target="_blank">claims</a>.
 And for decades, the FDA has warned consumers about the dangers of raw 
milk. It may contain bacteria like E. coli, listeria and salmonella. If 
pregnant women consume raw milk products with <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/dangers-raw-milk-unpasteurized-milk-can-pose-serious-health-risk" target="_blank">listeria</a> in it, it can cause a miscarriage or even death of the newborn — even if the expectant mother never gets sick.Plus,
 illnesses from bacteria in raw milk can be more dangerous for adults 
over 65, children under 5 and people with compromised immune systems.Past
 outbreaks in Kansas from raw milk have sickened dozens of people, said 
Daniel Neises, an epidemiologist with the Kansas Department of Health 
and Environment. His agency stands behind studies and evidence they saw 
during past outbreaks.“Some ... bacteria can cause severe 
illness with long-term consequences like hemolytic uremic syndrome, 
which can cause kidney failure, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can 
result in paralysis,” he said.<h2>Producers’ concerns</h2>Third-generation
 farmer TeCoa Seibert is from Chapman, Kansas, and has had a goat herd 
for 35 years. She said she’s never gotten sick from consuming raw milk. 
But because it isn’t inspected in Kansas, she understands the potential 
health risks posed by sick animals and unsanitary milking conditions.“Does
 the animal have a shiny coat? Are there any abscesses? Does the animal 
have a snotty nose?” she said. “Most of the people coming in to pick up 
milk from me would have no clue what a healthy animal or a clean farm is
 supposed to look like.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576784306653.jpeg" alt="Goat kids and a doe at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Goat kids and a doe at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Now that any raw milk producer can advertise, Seibert is worried. On 
one hand, she said advertising connects the consumer directly to the 
farm, so people can see the origin of the food.“It's what the farmers want — they want people to come back to the farm and have a relationship with their food,” Seibert said.But more advertising could open the door for unsanitary farms, she said.“But
 without any inspection, without any kind of regulation … without 
understanding what our waste-handling facilities are or any of that, now
 you start getting a complication,” Seibert said, adding that she’s 
worried there might be “an increase in the number of people exposed to 
harmful diseases.”The old law banning advertising of raw milk 
off of a farm was unconstitutional and violated free speech, said Kansas
 Attorney General Derek Schmidt.“There's really not a logical 
connection between the advertising restriction and the government 
interest that's in play,” he said in November. “So, you know, it's 
pretty clear that on its face the advertising restriction would have 
fallen as we continued to contest the case.”The Kansas 
Legislature must approve the bill that’s being drawn up by the Kansas 
Department of Agriculture in order to reflect the changes of the 
settlement. In the bill, the agency will push for labels on the 
advertisements, so it’s clear the product includes raw milk.“For
 example, printed, written, or visual forms of advertisement should 
clearly state that such milk or milk products are raw,” said Jeff Jones,
 program manager for the KDA’s Dairy and Feed Safety Program. “In 
addition, containers of any unpasteurized milk offered for sale should 
be clearly labeled as ungraded raw milk.”Neises, with the 
state’s health department, said the ads should have a warning. He said 
more advertising could lead to more widespread consumption of raw milk.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576784335092.jpeg" alt="Erin Renard holds goat kids at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Erin Renard holds goat kids at the Good Karma Micro-Dairy.&nbsp;Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>“If raw milk is being sold, it should be clear to the consumer that 
consuming that unpasteurized milk increases the risk of illness,” Neises
 said.But Jones said his agency won’t seek a mandated warning label.“I think that's where the people, you know, have to make that choice,” Jones said.Raw
 dairy owners say consumers should do their due diligence. Erin Renard 
said they should research and ask several questions of the producers 
before purchasing raw milk.“Do you have your milk tested? What 
are your methods? Can I watch you milk? ... Have you ever had any 
illness?” she said, adding, “we haven't.”&nbsp;And as for some raw 
milk producers’ initial concerns that the state would try to completely 
rewrite the law to ban the sale of raw milk, Jones said that is not the 
case.“Our intent is not to ban the sale of raw milk,” he said, 
“but to propose additional advertisement labeling requirements for 
public awareness.”Corinne Boyer covers western Kansas for 
High Plains Public Radio and&nbsp; the Kansas News Service. You can follow 
her on Twitter @corinne_boyer or ror email cboyer@hppr.org.&nbsp;The
 Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, 
KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on the health and well-being 
of Kansans, their communities and civic life.

Raw milk? Kansas producers and experts say buyer beware