Bills would classify large Oregon dairies 'industrial'

Large dairies would be classified as industrial facilities and subject to new restrictions under two bills to be considered by Oregon lawmakers next year. At a Dec. 12 work session, the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources voted 4-2 to introduce the two bills during next year’s legislative session along with a bevy of other “legislative concepts.”Both pieces of legislation would apply to dairies with more than 2,500 cows, or 700 cows if they don’t have access to pasture.If they were reclassified as industrial facilities, such dairies would be stripped of protections under Oregon’s “right to farm” law, which prohibits local governments from imposing restrictions on farms. The statute also bans lawsuits alleging nuisance or trespass against farms.The two bills were prompted by the regulatory problems at Lost Valley Farm, a large dairy in Boardman that’s been cited for a multitude of wastewater violations since it began operating last year, said Ivan Maluski, policy director for Friends of Family Farmers, a nonprofit that supports strong dairy regulations.