Milk is the first thing most of us drink in life.

And as we age, many people still turn to it for vitamins and minerals.

But some choose to drink milk straight from their own cow as opposed to pasteurized.

Our Laura Rogers has more in this report.

One of my friends started drinking it, and so I started doing some research and just realized all the health benefits and how much easier it is to digest.

Megan Vanity and her husband started drinking raw milk three years ago.

I felt my husband's dairy sensitivity.

He can eat all the milk and cheese and sour cream that he wants now.

During that time, she became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Colton.

Now a year old and also a raw milk drinker.

He loves the raw A2.

A2 milk comes straight from the cow right here at Royalty Rock Farm in Bowling Green.

When we go pick it up, we see the cows in their field and we see their new like baby cows, their little calves, and you see their pigs.

As Colton gets older, I want to teach him, you know, like, this is where our food comes from.

I see a lot of people that are like that, and they love coming to the farm.

Getting to come down the driveway.

See the cows that the milk comes from.

Emily Rock grew up on a farm and Shelby County.

So when I turned nine years old, I got my first calf.

It was an Ayrshire calf.

We have jerseys now.

And I showed in four h. And ever since I was nine years old, I've had a dairy cow in my back yard and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Today she doesn't just have cows, but sheep, chickens, pigs, a cat and.

Her chair, corn.

Rock and her husband Kelsey started their herd share program in December of 2022, when she realized she had an excess of milk from her dairy cow.

Dixie Belle.

And you have all this milk.

And I really didn't think there was going to be a market for it.

I expected I was just going to be taking it to the pigs.

But I had posted on Facebook that I was making homemade butter with it, and I probably had 40 people in one day reach out and they were requesting milk.

Today, she has Dixie, Belle and Dottie.

She milks twice a day for the 27 people who have bought into the herd share something the Kentucky General Assembly approved in 2012.

I do not sell raw milk.

I sell hard shares.

But in some states, you can sell raw milk as is.

You don't have to create a herd share program to do that.

I would love to see all 50 states legalize the sale of raw milk.

You don't like the way it currently works.

The client pays a herd share fee that covers boarding expenses and labor.

Technically own part of the cow, and then the boarding fee covers the feed me, milking the supplies of that.

And that's how we're able to get raw milk into the hands of consumers on it.

The CDC says pasteurization reduces the chance of illness.

Rock says she takes the necessary precautions to prevent contamination.

Band Head says she has no concerns and has never gotten sick from drinking it.

The milk is always strained through like a fine mesh in case there was dust or something like that in it.

She says raw milk has a richer and thicker texture and taste and can be hard to find.

Buying local is more sustainable.

It's generally healthier.

We love to support the people that are you know, trying to feed our communities as well.

And it's also usually much more delicious.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Good shot there.

Emily Rock says she hopes to add more cows to their herd share.

She has a waiting list of 40 people wanting to join.

Royalty Rock Farm also hosts a children's farm school inviting kids to visit and learn about agriculture.

Good deal.