Statement Regarding Lost Valley/Easterday Farms

We are opposed to any new mega-dairy at the Lost Valley site, especially one of the same size and with the same problems as the disastrous Lost Valley Farm. Oregonians need a time-out on any new mega-dairy permits until Oregon can better protect our water, air, family farmers, and animal welfare, prioritizing what is special about our state over corporate profits. If Governor Brown’s Department of Agriculture has really learned the lesson of the Lost Valley disaster, it will not entertain another “too big to fail” mega-dairy permit for nearly 30,000 cows on the same site. The Lost Valley site is still polluted with millions of gallons of waste and has cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of taxpayer dollars to bring into compliance with the law. Allowing a new mega-dairy in an area with existing groundwater pollution, water scarcity, and air quality issues will only exacerbate these public health, economic, and environmental harms. Oregon dairy farmers are already suffering from low milk prices and permitting a new mega-dairy to come in from Washington will only make it harder or impossible for Oregon family farmers to stay afloat. Should Governor Brown’s agencies move forward with this permit, the administration will be failing rural Oregonians who suffer the impacts from these mega-dairies, while siting a new major and unregulated source of greenhouse gas emissions. We urge Governor Brown not to repeat the same mistakes and hope for a different outcome, particularly in the wake of the legislature’s failure to pass a much-needed mega-dairy moratorium bill this session. Oregon does not need any more mega-dairies. 

Signed,

Columbia Riverkeeper
Friends of Family Farmers
Oregon Rural Action
WaterWatch of Oregon
Humane Voters Oregon
Friends of the Columbia Gorge
Center for Food Safety
Food & Water Watch
Center for Biological Diversity
Humane Society of the United States
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Farm Forward
Factory Farming Awareness Coalition