Falls Church, Virginia (April 7, 2010) -- Food safety and optimal nutrition aren’t mutually exclusive goals according to organic farming legend, Tim Wightman. A farming expert of 35 years, Wightman teaches dairy farmers to reach well beyond conventional food safety goals. He mentors farmers in low-tech yet high quality approaches to production of intrinsically safe and optimally nutritious raw milk.  

A modern pioneer of the cowshare/herdshare concept, Wightman now serves as President of the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation. The 501(c)(3)  educational non-profit aims to equip farmers and consumers with safety advice on raw dairy products via conferences, tele-seminars and printed materials.

The Foundation now provides two of Wightman's educational tools to the public free of charge. These free resources include online copies of Raw Milk Production Handbook and a micro dairy farm educational DVD, Chore Time available at  farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/fsr.

"We believe all food can be produced safely, including raw milk," says Wightman.  "These materials are the starting point for a collaborative effort to develop 'best practices' to guide dairy farms working to meet the rising demand for raw milk from pasture-raised cows, whether the legal framework is loose (as with voluntary farm-to-consumer standards for cow shares) or more formal (as with larger scale retail sales)."

Steve Bemis, attorney and Foundation Board Member, asserts that these free resources are an important step in building a working relationship on raw dairy safety issues. "In many cases, academic and government entities will not (for policy and ethical reasons) link to resources that are for sale; so, by providing these 'freeware' resources, we hope to encourage links from others' websites, and thereby engage a broader audience," Bemis explains.

The announcement of the free online resources is being made in conjunction with the 2nd Annual International Raw Milk Symposium being held in Madison, Wisconsin this Saturday, April 10, 2010 which is sponsored by the Foundation. The event is open to the public. For more details, visit rawmilksymposium.org or call 703-208-FARM (3276) (10 a.m. - 6 p.m. EDT).  [Editor's Note: Audio recordings of the symposium are available for purchase at our Online Store.]

The Handbook and DVD, as well as the booklet, Safe Handling:  Consumers’ Guide to Fresh, Unprocessed Whole Milk by Peggy Beals, RN, will continue to be for sale as hardcopies at farmtoconsumer.org/fs.

The Farm-to-Consumer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, through education and charitable relief, supports farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promotes consumer access to raw milk and local, nutrient-dense food.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund defends the rights and broadens the freedoms of family farms and protects consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods. Both organizations are based in Falls Church, Virginia. The phone number is 703-208-FARM (3276).