Environmentalists seek clean-air rules for mega-dairies

The number of family dairy farms in Oregon, which typically have a couple hundred cows, has plummetted more than 80 percent the past 15 years — from 1,133 down to 228 — according to the Oregon Dairy Farm Employment Report. As large factory-scale dairies displace smaller operations, that lowers costs for consumers.But some say the emerging breed of mega-dairies, known as confined animal feeding operations, bring worrisome environmental impacts, prompting a bill before the 2017 Oregon Legislature to require their air emissions be regulated. The largest one in Oregon, if not the nation, is Threemile Canyon Farms, which says it holds 24,000 milk cows and 25,000 replacement heifers on 93,000 acres west of Boardman, some 150 miles east of Portland. Lost Valley is perfectly legal, but Morrow County commissioners, along with environmentalists, have raised concerns about the availability of already limited groundwater, and the potential for water and air quality problems.