Raw milk is not legal to buy in Michigan. State law has required pasteurization of all milk sold to consumers since 1948, and the Grade A Milk Law of 2001 keeps that ban in place. There is one legal path to raw milk for Michigan residents: a herdshare, where you buy a fractional ownership interest in a dairy animal and collect milk from livestock you partly own rather than purchasing it as a customer.
What the Sales Ban Covers
Michigan law requires that all milk and milk products be pasteurized before sale.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 288-538 That covers grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and direct farm-to-consumer transactions alike. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has stated publicly that the prohibition applies to any sale of unpasteurized milk to consumers.2Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. What’s the Scoop on Raw Milk in Michigan?
Selling unpasteurized milk is a misdemeanor. A conviction can bring a fine between $250 and $2,500, up to 90 days in jail, or both, and it reaches individuals as well as officers or agents acting for a business. MDARD can also act administratively, revoking or suspending a dairy license and imposing an administrative fine of up to $1,000 plus the department’s investigation costs.3Michigan Legislature. Grade A Milk Law of 2001 – Section 288.523 That is why licensed farms will not sell raw milk on the side, even to a regular customer.
How Herdshares Make Raw Milk Legal
You cannot buy raw milk in Michigan, but you can drink milk from an animal you own. In 2013, MDARD adopted Policy 1.40, which officially recognizes herdshare arrangements and states that the department will not enforce pasteurization requirements against herdshare operations distributing raw milk to their shareholders. A shareholder is not a customer buying a product. They are an owner collecting milk their own animal produced.
In practice, you pay a one-time fee for a fractional ownership interest in a dairy cow or goat, or in a small herd. You then pay ongoing boarding fees to the farmer who houses, feeds, and milks the animal for you. You pick up your share of the milk on a regular schedule, usually weekly. Because the transaction is ownership plus animal-care services rather than a purchase of milk, it sits outside the Grade A Milk Law’s sales prohibition.
What a Valid Herdshare Agreement Looks Like
The legal difference between “owner collecting milk” and “customer buying milk” lives in the paperwork. A compliant arrangement uses two separate documents: a bill of sale transferring a fractional ownership interest in the animal, and a boarding (agistment) agreement covering the farmer’s care of that animal on your behalf.
The bill of sale should identify the specific animal or herd, usually by registration number or ear tag, and state the exact percentage of ownership being transferred. The agistment contract covers feeding, housing, milking, and veterinary care. Payments under the agistment agreement have to be structured as service fees for animal care, not as payments for a volume of milk. Language matters here, because that structure is what a regulator would examine.
MDARD’s policy also expects the shareholder to acknowledge, in writing, that they understand they are consuming unpasteurized milk and are accepting the associated health risks. Sound agreements also spell out how veterinary and feed costs are allocated, how long the arrangement lasts, and how either side can exit.
What a Herdshare Costs
One-time share purchases typically run between $25 and $100, depending on the size of the share and the farm. A starter share producing about a quart of milk per week sits at the low end; a full share producing a gallon per week sits at the high end. Weekly boarding fees generally run from about $3 to $8. Some farms offer small discounts for on-farm pickup rather than delivery. Numbers vary by farm, so it is worth comparing a few.
Can You Take Raw Milk Across State Lines?
No. Even when you have obtained raw milk legally through a Michigan herdshare, federal law bars transporting unpasteurized milk in interstate commerce for human consumption, with a narrow exception for certain aged cheeses that meet alternative processing rules.4eCFR. 21 CFR 1240.61 – Mandatory Pasteurization for All Milk and Milk Products in Final Package Form Intended for Direct Human Consumption Driving a cooler of raw milk into Indiana or Ohio violates federal law regardless of your Michigan herdshare status. A bipartisan Interstate Milk Freedom Act introduced in 2026 would lift that ban between states that both allow raw milk distribution, but as of mid-2026 it has not been enacted.
Health Risks to Weigh
Between 1998 and 2018, health departments reported 202 outbreaks and 2,645 illnesses linked to unpasteurized milk, including 228 hospitalizations and three deaths.5National Center for Biotechnology Information. Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Linked to Unpasteurised Milk and Milk Products Campylobacter accounted for roughly half of outbreaks, followed by Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). STEC infections are the most dangerous of the three, carrying a 42% hospitalization rate among those sickened and the potential to cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney condition.
Nearly half of the people sickened during 2013 through 2018 were children or teenagers under 20, the age group most vulnerable to the worst complications.5National Center for Biotechnology Information. Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Linked to Unpasteurised Milk and Milk Products Households with young children should weigh that carefully before joining a herdshare.
Legislation That Could Change This
In 2025, the Michigan House introduced House Bills 5217 through 5219, which would amend the Grade A Milk Law to allow direct farm-to-consumer raw milk sales under safety, labeling, and record-keeping requirements, while continuing to ban raw milk in retail stores. Small producers would be exempt from certain licensing requirements. The bills have not been enacted as of mid-2026, so herdshares remain the only legal way for Michigan residents to obtain raw milk.