The Lost Valley Farm was located in this area in Morrow County. (Brian Posewitz/WaterWatch of Oregon)
Oregon’s factory farms jeopardize our access to fresh air and clean water, our land and our communities.
That’s why Food & Water Watch and our allies in the Stand Up to Factory Farms Coalition successfully pressured the Department of Agriculture six years ago to shut down Lost Valley Farms, one of Oregon’s most notorious mega-dairy polluters. Lost Valley, which was slated to confine 30,000 dairy cows, racked up over 200 environmental violations in just 18 months. The operation failed to provide workers with clean water or working bathrooms, cows were found standing ankle-deep in their own waste and the nitrates stemming from mishandled manure further jeopardized the groundwater used by nearby communities.
After the Lost Valley disaster, the site was quickly sold to the Easterday family, which attempted to reopen the mega-dairy. Like Lost Valley, they were quickly embroiled in scandal, including Cody Easterday being sued by Tyson Foods for fleecing more than $200 million, and the site racked up dozens of water quality violations.