Raw ambition: Carthage dairy avoids pasteurization process

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January 12, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Tue Jan 12, 2010, 06:47 PM CST

By Mike Pound

mpound@joplinglobe.com

Raw milk — that is, milk that does not go through the pasteurization process — treated properly is just as safe, if not safer, to drink than pasteurized milk.

So says Mark Robinson, who along with his wife, Leesa, owns and operates Marlee’s Creamery located at 10240 Kafir Road, off Highway 96 just east of Carthage. The Robinsons specialize in producing raw milk.

Mark Robinson, who is also a practicing chiropractor, said the stigma of raw milk dates back more than 60 years, when the dairy industry’s sanitation practices were nothing compared to what they are today.

“The health of the cows is much better now,” Robinson said. “There was a greater chance of bacteria contaminating the milk then.”

The Carthage couple operate one of only three licensed raw dairies in the state. With that license comes increased scrutiny from state health inspectors. The Robinson’s operation faces more inspections, state-required restrictions and hoops that must be jumped through than dairies that produce milk for pasteurization.

Robinson said the key to his milk is that, unlike pasteurized milk, his raw milk goes directly from the cow into the bottle.

That greatly reduces the chance for contamination, he said. When the milk leaves one of the Robinson’s 60 or so Jersey cows, it is piped directly into bottles and immediately cooled.

“It’s the only product from the cow that goes direct to the human mouth,” Robinson said.

So why drink raw milk?

For one thing, Robinson said, it’s healthier for you. Raw milk has no added hormones and contains flora and lactic acids that are actually very good for you, he said.

Because Robinson doesn’t spin off the cream, his raw milk has a richer flavor and contains a number of fats that are also good for you. And since the state regularly inspects Robinson’s herd he is assured that his cows are certified to be both brucellosis and tuberculosis free.

The Robinsons also practice something known as a paddock rotation method, as opposed to a traditional confined dairy operation. The Robinson herd is regularly rotated through five-acre lots to ensure that the herd spends almost all of its time on grass.

But just as important, people who purchase his milk know exactly where it comes from — something you can’t be sure when purchasing milk at the store, Robinson said.

With Mark Robinson being a chiropractor and Leesa a natural health practitioner, the idea that their milk is grown and produced organically means a lot to the couple. The Robinsons believe that people should return, as much as possible, to eating pure, wholesome and unprocessed foods.

The Robinsons feel so strongly about the importance of locally produced foods that they have invested a tidy sum of money in milk processing equipment. And while they will continue to produce raw milk, they hope that local dairy operations will send their milk to the Robinsons creamery to be pasteurized and then sold locally.

For sale

The Robinsons sell their milk at their dairy and at the couples’ Pathways Family Health Center. For information and directions you can call Marlee’s Creamery at (417) 358-9381.

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