PARADISE, Texas _ Hours before sunrise, Kim Lambert greets her "little pets," as she calls the herd of dairy cows that swarm toward her waiting to be milked.
As owner of K-Bar Dairy farm, Lambert has the routine down _ briskly rounding up 31 cows and filing them seven at a time into the milking machine. It's a schedule she and her husband follow most days of the year, with few breaks for vacation.
The family-run dairy farm in this Wise County town of fewer than 500 residents sells about 1,800 gallons of milk a month to a loyal clientele. Some drive over an hour just to buy the products.
K-Bar is one of the few farms in Texas that's registered to sell "raw" milk. That is, milk that has not been put through the pasteurization process that kills most bacteria.
Texas is one of 31 states that allow its sale to consumers; here, it can only be bought directly on farms like Lambert's.
Raw-milk farmers are emerging to fill a growing demand for local, "whole food" goods. But they struggle in the market. Of the 96 companies registered to sell raw dairy in Texas, only 47 are currently operating.
Enthusiasts claim a range of health benefits, from the easing of allergy symptoms to increased bone density. But raw dairy vendors face scrutiny by scientists who see it as a fad and warn of the hazards.
K-Bar Dairy's owners now know those hazards all too well. Lambert thought about leaving the raw milk business this summer when K-Bar was forced to stop selling its dairy for about two months.
The presence of Brucella bacteria in two cows resulted in one woman being hospitalized and two 3-year old cows being put down. The woman has recovered and no one else was sickened.
But for Lambert, whose family prides itself on a product they both produce and drink, it was a serious blow. They had to dump out a month's worth of supplies and recall milk that they had sold.
"I'm not a 'woe is me' person," Lambert said. "But we do cry over spilled milk out here."
