Small dairy farms across Oregon will no longer be subject to a state policy change some farmers say would鈥檝e been too burdensome. The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that it鈥檚 withdrawing its decision to require small dairy operations to apply for a permit usually intended for larger commercial farms.
Last year, the department reinterpreted its definition of a , or CAFO, to include small dairy farms. A CAFO permit is an enforceable plan farms must follow to protect surface and groundwaters from pollution, such as manure produced by cows.
The change came after dairy industry lobbyists some small dairy farms had an 鈥渦nfair鈥� competitive advantage over bigger dairy farms that had to follow state regulations and pay annual fees.
In its 2023 , the state department of agriculture determined small dairy farms met its definition of a CAFO since farmers usually have to confine or tie up cows while they鈥檙e being milked. Even if it was a cow or two, and they were on a pasture for most of the day and only brought indoors to a barn for about 15 minutes, according to Christine Anderson, who milks three cows and owns Cast Iron Farm in Yamhill County.
鈥淩egardless of where else the cows are during the day, if they cross that concrete floor at some point in their day, they鈥檙e meeting the definition of confinement,鈥� Anderson said.
The rule would鈥檝e required small dairy farms to install expensive drainage systems, put in wastewater holdings tanks, keep daily records and pay annual fees starting at $125, on top of a $100 application fee 鈥� or face fines up to $10,000 if they didn鈥檛 comply.
Anderson said it just doesn鈥檛 make sense to regulate small dairy farms or homesteaders with a handful of cows, sheep or goats the same way as larger farms.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a lobby, we don鈥檛 have an industry group that necessarily supports people that milk a few animals,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淟ike it鈥檚 already hard enough, most of these people don鈥檛 have hired labor and they鈥檙e doing all of this on their own.鈥�
Wastewater plans and CAFO regulations are necessary for larger farms that produce tons of manure, but smaller dairy farms don鈥檛 impact the environment as bigger farms do, according to Sarah King, who runs Godspeed Hollow Farm in Newberg.
鈥淪mall farms are here serving our local communities. We鈥檙e serving families that don鈥檛 have food access,鈥� King said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not working for the same goals that large producers 鈥� beef, dairy, you name it 鈥� have.鈥�
The Oregon Department of Agriculture declined OPB鈥檚 request for an interview. In a statement, the agency said it鈥檚 withdrawing its decision effective immediately.
鈥淚n particular, ODA withdraws its policy that the act of milking an animal in a barn, or the washing of equipment used in milking an animal, triggers a CAFO permit coverage requirement,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淢any small farm operators involved in livestock production could have been required to obtain a CAFO permit under the withdrawn policy, but it is no longer necessary in most cases.鈥�
The state agency鈥檚 decision follows a by Anderson, King and two other dairy farmers. The case seeks to stop the agency from enforcing the regulation, which would鈥檝e kicked in April 1.
Since the withdrawal is only temporary and the department is not conceding that it lacked the power to enforce the new requirements, the lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit , will continue in federal court, according to Bobbi Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the four dairy farmers.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e stopped short of saying that they would never enforce this policy against small farms like Sarah鈥檚 or disclaiming that they had the authority to do so in the first place, which is what we鈥檙e challenging in the lawsuit,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 still a fight to be had and we鈥檙e gonna continue to have that fight.鈥�
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