A group of four dairy farmers, including one in Newberg, is suing the Oregon Department of Agriculture over a new policy that they say will threaten their small businesses.
Starting April 1, some small dairies will need to register as Confined Animal Feeding Operations, or they could face fines. That process includes creating a plan for wastewater management.
In a memo last year, the ODA said some raw milk producers were ignoring the registration requirement. The agency said this has created environmental concerns, and other dairies had complained about unfair competition.
Now, some farmers are pushing back. On Jan. 24, they filed a complaint in federal court, arguing that the requirements don’t reflect how small businesses operate. And they accused the state of protecting the corporate milk industry. The lawsuit was first reported by the Statesman Journal.
“These farms are not in competition,” Bobbi Taylor, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told KLCC. “They sell a different product. Their customers seek them out, because they’re a small farm, they sell raw milk, their operation is sustainable, and their customers prefer to buy small.”