North Carolina’s 2025 Farm Act may enhance the state’s ban on raw milk sales, taking a loophole-closing approach to non-pasteurized dairy.

The 2025 Farm Act, Senate Bill 639, passed the state senate on June 17 and cleared its first reading in the House, meaning it’s in line for its final vote by the full House.

The sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal in North Carolina, but loopholes exist. Raw milk can be traded for money if labeled as “pet milk”  and “not for human consumption” or sold within a herd-share agreement. Herd-share agreements allow people to buy a stake in a herd or individual animal and revise raw milk from it.

With the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza in raw milk,  Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler decided it was time to close those loopholes that allow people to buy unpasteurized dairy legally.

“Folks, we need you to drink pasteurized milk,” Troxler said. He says there is no scientific evidence anywher that shows pasteurized milk has less nutritional value or fewer health benefits.

A longtime critic of raw milk for its risks of E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella, Troxler fears the possibility that the avian flu virus could spread among humans. The virus has already been found in raw milk.

The raw milk loopholes translate into nearly 100 locations wher raw milk can be purchased in North Carolina. The state knows raw milk is being sold for human consumption through those loopholes. Troxler calls it the “wink, wink” system.

Under existing state law, sales of unpasteurized milk can be stopped in certain circumstances, and local judges can order the product destroyed.

SB 639 eliminates the “pet milk” loophole. Section 20 of the bill removes provisions “that authorize the dispensing of raw milk or raw milk products for personal use or consumption to, or the acquisition of raw milk or raw milk products for personal use or consumption by, an independent or partial owner of a cow, goat, or other lactating animal.”

Herd-sharing is a way of getting around the state’s rules that require that milk be pasteurized before it can be sold to humans. about 25 North Carolina farms offer herd-sharing contracts.

In April, state officials found four dairy cows in North Carolina that were from Texas infected with the avian flu virus, transmitting it to the herd..

The 15-page North Carolina Farm Act is a comprehensive bill that covers everything from feral hogs to pesticides and raw milk.