Lancaster County farmer Amos Miller can continue selling raw milk to out-of-state customers while the Pennsylvania Ag Department pursues a lawsuit against him, an appeals court has ruled.
Miller faces substantial harm to his business if he is blocked from out-of-state sales while the case proceeds, Commonwealth Court Judge Stacy Wallace said in a Jan. 3 ruling.
The decision on this side issue does not address the merits of the Ag Department’s case, though Wallace found the trial court reasonable in determining the state milk law is ambiguous on the ability to regulate out-of-state sales.
The Ag Department sued Miller in January 2024 to stop him from selling raw milk products without a permit. The agency also searched his farm after two out-of-state children were reported to have been sickened by E. coli from the farm’s raw dairy products.
Common Pleas Judge Thomas Sponaugle granted a preliminary injunction against Miller last March, then limited it to out-of-state sales after Miller’s attorney, Robert Barnes, objected.
Barnes has questioned whether state regulation of out-of-state milk sales would intrude on federal jurisdiction over interstate commerce. Wallace said that’s a matter best resolved after a full trial.
Miller remains blocked from selling raw milk within Pennsylvania, though he has a substantial customer base outside the state.
The ruling may shift the focus of the case back to the main issue of selling raw milk without a permit. Barnes has said Miller refuses to get a permit because it would limit the variety of raw milk products he could produce.
Regardless of Miller's marketing practices, federal law bans raw milk retail sales across state lines, and the Food and Drug Administration discourages raw milk consumption because of the risk of microbial contamination.
Raw milk supporters hoped to get more favorable rules with President Donald Trump appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, but Kennedy is facing intense opposition over some of his views that are outside the scientific mainstream.
