When Dale Johnson sits down twice a day to milk his Jerseys, Sally and Daisy, it’s like stepping back in time for the one-time, longtime Plateau dairy farmer. It’s also like taking a leap into the future.

Now he and partner Nancy Green have opened Happy Cow Dairy on the Veazie/Cumberland Road and they’re serving up raw milk. They join Tom and Darlene Silliman who have also been selling raw milk from their Enumclaw farm Meadowwood Organics for the past three years.

Raw doesn’t mean straight from cow to kitchen, but it’s close.

“It’s very regulated,” Green said.

According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, since at least 1949, Washington state has allowed legal retail raw milk sales, but only by licensed producers and processors. A milk processing plant license allows a person or company to sell raw milk directly to consumers for human consumption. There are additional requirements that must be met for raw milk, such as bacterial and animal health testing and labeling requirements.

There are about 50 raw milk dairies in the state, many selling goat milk.

According to Green, the milk is strained, bottled, capped and chilled to below 40 degrees Farenheit within two hours. Then it’s labeled with an expiration date and needs to stay refrigerated.

Both are certified Grade A dairies.

“We want to be able to produce a safe product,” Green said.

Tom Silliman said raw milk is controversial. There are those who support its health benefits and those who think it’s a health hazard. He said passion runs high on both sides.

Happy Cow and Meadowwood give the Plateau a corner on the market, and both were started out of need.

“I wanted raw milk for myself but didn’t know where to go,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even know it was legal in Washington.

“I remember milking like this as a kid growing up.”

“There’s a demand out there,” said Silliman, who also started with one Jersey to meet his family’s needs and expanded to three cows to keep up with the demand of others. Since one cow can produce 10 to 12 gallons a day, it doesn’t take a big herd to meet needs. “It’s part of the local food movement. People want to know where their food’s coming from.”

“Word’s getting out,” said Johnson, who sells some of his product to a Seattle cheesemaker.

“It’s healthier,” Green said. “Homogenization and pasteurization take away a lot of the nutrient value.”

Happy Cow Dairy is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. A gallon of milk is selling for $7; $3.50 for a half gallon. They can be reached at 206-550-8812 or 425-681-6707.

Meadowwood Organics can be reached at 360-802-3845 or visit www.meadowwoodorganics.com.

An added bonus to the raw milk, the Jerseys produce a high cream content.

“It makes very good butter and ice cream,” Johnson said.