You can help farmers and families thrive by donating for milk testing equipment!

Ongoing bacterial testing is one of the pillars of low-risk raw milk production. With testing, farmers can easily detect small issues before they turn into big problems. However, testing costs can be an ongoing financial burden which makes small-scale farmers hesitant to test their milk often. The solution is on-farm labs, where farmers can perform their own bacterial tests for just $1-$3 per test.

On-farm labs don’t take up much space or need a lot of sophisticated equipment. With a simple incubator, set-up costs for on-farm labs are in the range of $800-$1,000. Because even those costs can be too much for small-scale farmers, at the Raw Milk Institute we devote $5000 of our budget yearly to providing grants for on-farm labs. We give 10 farmers $500 each to help cover the costs of setting up their on-farm labs.

As a 501c3 non-profit, we rely on donations and run on a low operating budget, but nonetheless we want to help as many farmers as possible have the capability to test their milk. However, with so much increased interest in raw milk, we have already given out all 10 of the lab grants we budgeted for in 2024! There are still many more farmers who want on-farm labs to help in producing low-risk raw milk, but we do not have the budget to continue giving out more lab grants this year.

This is where you come in. Your donations, no matter how small, can help more farmers build their on-farm labs so they can test their raw milk regularly. For every $500 we raise, we will be able to gift another farmer with a grant to make on-farm testing a reality.

Will you donate today to help farmers purchase on-farm labs for testing their milk?

100% of your donation will go to helping farmers purchase testing equipment.