Owners and influencers behind the viral family-owned farm, Ballerina Farm, recently announced their halt of raw milk sales. Hannah and Daniel Neeleman posted a 12-minute YouTube video to explain why their most controversial product isn’t returning to the shelves.
In the video, Neeleman details how labor-intensive production and testing raw milk overshadowed their other farming ventures: yogurt, cheeses, protein powders, pasteurized milk products, etc.
What is Raw or Unpasteurized Milk?
Raw milk is milk that has not gone through the process of pasteurization. Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to a high temperature for a certain amount of time. This high heat kills bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses.
Both the CDC and the FDA list bacteria that can grow in milk and other unpasteurized products. This includes E. coli, Listeria, Brucella, and Salmonella. Raw milk has become a heated topic of debate due to the health risks it poses.
What Happened to Ballerina Farm’s Raw Milk?
The Utah-based farm founders also explained how strict state laws are around each step of raw milk production.
“There are just so many added steps of regulation. When we sold raw milk, every customer that bought it would have to write down their name, contact, address and how many bottles they were buying. We had to submit that to the state.”
Daniel Neeleman in Ballerina Farm’s YouTube video, “Addressing Raw Milk: Questions with Hannah & Daniel”
The couple reveals in the February 21 video that they stopped selling raw milk in August 2025. In the summer of 2025, health inspectors found two health violations during milk testing. A local news source revealed this in obtained records from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
Tests revealed high levels of coliform, a family of bacteria that includes E. coli, in their bottled raw milk. This led to the decision to pause Ballerina Farm’s raw milk sales. They explicitly deny any unsafe raw milk products sold at their stores.
On February 10, Hannah posted on Instagram and TikTok to address the ‘misinformation’ about unpasteurized milk products.
“It was a business decision for us. We never shut down, there [were] never any [recalled products] … All the milk that was… sold at our farmstand was 100% safe… no one was ever sick from any of our [raw milk products].”
The comment about a 100 percent guarantee of safe raw milk received backlash. Neeleman addressed the backlash in the recent YouTube video, saying that the products never make it to their shelves “without passing that rigorous testing.” They defended their comment and still believe that the 100% guarantee is reasonable.
Ballerina Farm’s New Pasteurized Direction
Both Neeleman and the Ballerina Farm Store Instagram accounts have continued to market their fresh produce and pasteurized dairy products.
Many supporters call for the return of their raw milk products to their store shelves, while critics continue to lambaste the couple for the health risks tied to the production and consumption of raw milk.
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