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June 24, 2024

Statewide Waiver of 72 Hour Time Limit for Milk Storage

Update for Dairy Industry Field Service Representatives

Per MINN. STAT. 32D.11(b), milk from Minnesota dairy farms cannot be stored longer than 72 hours without having a waiver from MDA:

“Milk must not be stored for longer than 72 hours at a farm before the milk is picked up by a milk hauler for transport to a plant. The commissioner or an agent of the commissioner may waive the 72-hour time limit in the case of hardship, emergency, or natural disaster.”

On June 27, 2023, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) issued a statewide waiver of the 72-hour storage requirement effective through June 30, 2024. The waiver was issued due to increased fuel costs and hauling workforce shortages. To ensure these hardships continue to be addressed in an equitable way and because the MDA has not observed significant issues with milk storage on farms during the past year, the MDA is reissuing the statewide waiver, which will now be effective through June 30, 2025. This waiver is effective provided the following requirements are met by the farm:

• Raw milk bacterial counts remain within the legal requirements. Any farm that receives a suspension for bacterial counts and that is storing milk for over 72 hours will be required to revert to a 72-hour-or-less pickup interval until they have passed accelerated sampling and reinstated their permit. Accelerated samples must be submitted on a three-day interval (or less) to qualify as passing samples.
• All milk stored on the farm MUST be stored in approved bulk milk storage tanks. Milk may not be stored in buckets, barrels, or other unapproved means to accommodate a longer storage time.
• Milk picked up from farms using a storage time of more than 72 hours must be diverted to Manufacturing Grade plants and cannot be used in Grade A products.
• Milk is not stored on farms for longer than 96 hours without prior approval from the MDA. Approval for storage times of longer than 96 hours will only be granted on a situation-by-situation basis and will require the farm to go through the full waiver approval process.

Interstate Milk Shipment Impact

In addition to the above provisions, farms and plants using the statewide hardship waiver must be aware of potential adverse impacts on Interstate Milk Shipment (IMS) survey and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) check rating results.

The Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance also requires milk be picked up at least once every 72 hours. While state law provides the opportunity to waive this requirement, assessments made by IMS Rating Officers and FDA Regional Milk Specialists are made using the 72-hour standard. Such violations may be noted on surveys and check ratings as deficiencies/violations. The MDA and Minnesota dairy farms have been using hardship waivers for many years, and such waivers have historically impacted survey results very little; however, a broader implementation of longer pick up times on Grade A farms may influence survey results negatively and the impacts of such results are the responsibility of the plant, and not the MDA.

Issuance of Formal Waivers

Because this action is a statewide waiver, formal waivers for farms will not be issued for farms using storage times of up to 96 hours. All farms using this provision may use it without applying individually for the waiver; no formal documentation is required for approval. Any farm wishing to store milk for longer than 96 hours on the farm must contact the MDA and apply for a formal waiver if they do not already have a waiver for 120 hours. Farms with existing waivers for storage times of up to 120 hours (primarily applicable to goat farms) do not need to reapply for new waivers; existing waivers will be honored.

Timeline

This statewide waiver will remain in effect through June 30, 2025. The MDA may at that time choose to reissue the statewide waiver or resume its normal process of issuing waivers to individual farms based on specific circumstances. Farms with existing waivers will see them remain in effect after June 30, 2025 if the statewide waiver is not reissued, and all conditions of the waiver still exist. The MDA also reserves the right to revoke this statewide waiver at any time, or to revoke the waiver for individual farms if milk quality or safety is adversely affected, and/or milk storage times are contributing to a quality or safety issue.