Graydon Hallock, a dairy farmer in Tillamook, recalls drinking raw milk as a kid.

“Growing up, I mean, farmers are naturally pathogen resistant from being around (animals) a whole lot. But a lot of people don’t have any pathogen resistance. So hopefully whenever we do things with raw milk, that helps folks with asthma, eczema, other things like that — boost your immune system,” he said.

Hallock, of Heritage Family Farms, has formed partnerships in Oregon to offer raw milk to consumers. The farm has more than a dozen drop sites, including in Seaside and Warrenton. Hallock is in process of setting up a drop site in Astoria.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautions that raw milk can pose serious health risks. The pasteurization process for milk is used to kill potentially harmful germs. “Pasteurization is a proven process with a 100-year history of protecting public health and is highly effective at eliminating the dangers associated with consuming raw milk,” the FDA advises.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says raw milk can expose people to campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria, brucella and salmonella. The CDC says children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of serious illness.

The Raw Milk Institute and farmers like Hallock believe in the nutritional benefits of raw milk.

“You have to be way more diligent for the cleaning process,” Hallock said of Heritage Family Farms. “You’ll notice we’re not using the pipeline, we’re using our buckets to keep everything clean and contained. So there’s nothing from the environment that can get into it. And there’s not a lot of extra stuff to wash without the pipes. (And) we’re working on becoming Raw Milk Institute-certified.”

At the drop sites, Hallock sets up a refrigerator and restocks the milk himself.

Consumers need to buy a membership — a share of Hallock’s herd — to get access to a drop site. The half-gallon bottles of milk are labeled by producer, meaning consumers can directly link back to the cow or cows.

Along with raw milk, the farm also produces other dairy products such as butter, heavy cream, ice cream and more.