SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers are asking questions about what went wrong with a large dairy that is facing a lawsuit, regulatory problems and bankruptcy in an effort to find ways to prevent a similar situation in the future.
The Senate Interim Committee on Environment and Natural Resources scheduled a legislative hearing with the state’s top agriculture and water regulators on Monday to discuss the problems with Lost Valley Farm, an 11-square-mile dairy with nearly 14,000 cattle, in Boardman, the Capital Press reported .
The state should be wary of confined animal feeding operations deemed “too big to fail” due to the large numbers of animals involved, said Sen. Michael Dembrow, committee chairman.
Lost Valley Farm is the second-largest dairy in the state.
Its size was used as an argument against its forced closure, since cows will continue generating milk and waste regardless of a court order.
