DRIGGS — It was personal health issues that led Mike Reid to turn to raw milk as a possible solution, a choice that put him on a path to becoming Idaho's first state permitted raw milk dairy after more than a decade without one in the Gem State.
Reid got his first milk cow in 2001 and it didn't take long for him to decide it made a positive impact on his health.
“I do it because this is my primary source of my own nutrition, the cream, the butter, the milk, cheese,” he said. “It's more than 60 percent of my diet. It's healed my microbiome. It has healed my gut.”
Reid was diagnosed with Celiac disease, part of which is gluten intolerance and was told to stay away from wheat products.
“In my search to heal myself, I discovered that milk from pasture fed cows was incredibly healing for your gut,” he said. “When I figured that out, I figured other people would figure that out and decided to open the dairy.”
That wasn't an easy process, however. Reid said the agricultural system is geared toward pasteurization of milk, for reasons he fully understands. In fact, Reid was initially told he couldn't do it.
“In 2007, I contacted the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and told them I was going to open a raw milk dairy,” Reid said. “They told me there was no raw milk in Idaho. I asked them about the raw milk ordinance.”
After the representative Reid spoke to did some digging, he called Reid back and told him he had found out raw milk dairies were legally allowed in Idaho. Reid said the last raw milk dairy in Idaho closed in 1992 and believes no one had started one since because it required the creation of a “Grade A” facility, which is costly to put together.
“It took five years of me putting every nickel and dime into building a Grade A facility,” he said. “Then I had to spend more money on other requirements that they decided I needed. It took until 2008 for them to approve it. I reopened that whole can of worms. I am (raw dairy) permit number one.”
He has been distributing Paradise Springs Dairy milk and cheese himself since then and has a steady clientele. Most of his distribution is to people in the Teton Valley area but his milk is also sold at the Barrels & Bins Natural Market, located at 36 South Main Street in Driggs.
Reid said the reason he had so much push back in starting his raw dairy farm are government concerns over bacteria and a preference for pasteurization to eliminate that worry.
“They are all about pasteurization,” he said. “That's reasonable because most of the big dairies are not extracting the milk from the cows in a way that they can sell raw milk.”
There are several cost prohibitive factors when it comes to trying to produce a raw milk product when operating a large-scale dairy farm. To start with, those cows are all kept huddled in the same buildings day in and day out, not allowed to roam the pasture like on Reid's farm. He said trying to bring in thousands of cows at milking time just wouldn't be cost effective or an easy thing to do.
All those cows in one building can be a breeding place for bacteria and disease. Reid will typically have between 10 and 15 milk cows at any given time.
“My cows are out in the field and pasture feeding every day,” Reid said. “I am not locking them in a barn. That is one of the keys, not locking them in a barn where they are breathing the same air, not putting too many inside one location.”
As far as calling them in for milking, Reid says each of his cows is highly trained, they each know their names and many come straight in when called out to.
“A lot of it is making different decisions, making decisions for the cow and not for the bottom line,” he said. “My whole goal is to make sure the cow is healthy. There isn't much I can do for a cow that gets sick because I can't use antibiotics or steroids.”
Reid is also aware of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare's current investigation into what it calls a recent increase in illnesses after consumption of raw milk. The Idaho DHW said in a release that nearly 60 people have become ill after drinking raw milk tied to operations in Northern Idaho and Southern Idaho. They did not name those operations.
Although everyone who became ill has not been tested, at least 45 tested positive for campylobacteriosis, a bacterial infection. The bacteria can cause stomach pain and cramps, nausea and vomiting, fever and watery or bloody diarrhea.
But raw milk, while a possible source of campylobacteriosis, is not the only source. It can also be contracted by eating undercooked poultry and untreated water.
The number of people who have become ill is not uncommon when there is a milk bacteria outbreak, Reid said, but he takes issue with how the Idaho DHW reported the issue and the investigating it does. He believes the Idaho DHW doesn't release the names of the suspected sources because they consider all raw milk an issue. He also said that once the Idaho DHW hears from the ailing individual that they consumed raw milk, they stop further investigation, attributing the milk as the source when other possibilities still exist.
Reid has a degree in biology from Colorado State University, where he also spent five years working in their biology lab, mostly studying microbiology. He has a higher-than-average understanding of bacteria and employs several practices to stave off bacteria as well as kill any that might come along.
“I don't think I am immune from having an outbreak, but in 25 years, I haven't had an outbreak,” he said. “I am really trying to make sure the milk I get out is as high quality and as clean as possible.”