"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" met "The Grapes of Wrath" in a state Capitol hearing room yesterday.

Advocates for raw milk tried to persuade state lawmakers to ease up on regulations that restrict, or even prohibit, the sale of unpasteurized milk and other dairy products in Pennsylvania. And despite grave concerns from public health experts, members of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee greeted their testimony receptively.

Quick recap: Unpasteurized milk has become a controversial topic nationally — The New York Times wrote an article on it this year — and locally — a Newville farmer had his supply of raw milk and other dairy products seized by the state in August. Raw-milk advocates wanted the state legislature to allow the unpermitted direct sale of raw milk and the sale of raw dairy products like soft cheeses, which the law forbids under any circumstances.

Were the committee members receptive because of the overflow of raw-milk advocates filling the 100-seat hearing room? (I think you had to camp out the night before to get a seat.) Maybe, but senators said they were serious about examining the state's raw milk and other dairy product regulations.

Our own state senator, Republican Pat Vance, who was at the hearing but is not a member of the committee, said she was concerned about the amount of money farmers must pay to support permit-mandated testing. The permit is free, but farmers testified the mandated testing costs $100 a month.

Vance, a drinker of raw milk, said she thought raw milk isn't as dangerous as some people make it out to be.

Will lawmakers push to ease the restrictions? Stay tuned.

Michael Brubaker, R-Chester, the chair of the agriculture committee, said he wants to keep the permit system intact, but he said he needs more information to determine whether he should support allowing the sale of raw dairy products. He said that regardless, the issue has become a pressing concern for many of the state's farmers.

Little will happen in the near future — Pennsylvania politics, or any politics for that matter, don't work that way — but raw-milk supporters might have had their first glimpse at real policy change yesterday.

Sentinel reporter Alex Roarty can be reached at aroarty@cumberlink.com

Informative raw-milk links:

westonaprice.org — A Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for raw-milk farmers

www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/504_milk.html — An article from the Food and Drug Administration, which strongly opposes the sale of raw milk