After a year of lawsuits, ignored warnings and continued violations, state regulators in Oregon have finally made a move to shut down the cruel and environmentally damaging Lost Valley Farm mega-dairy, revoking the farm’s waste management permit.
Numerous groups, both state and nationwide, have pushed for solid action on this issue for the last year, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society of the United States, Center for Food Safety, and more. Last month, the groups sent a letter to Governor Brown, along with nearly 3,000 emails from concerned citizens, asking for action.
“Lost Valley Farm has been a mess since the day it opened its doors,” said a statement released by the groups. “State inspections have documented cows standing ankle-deep in a slurry of their own waste, overflowing manure lagoons and ‘mortality’ boxes. Its violations have put drinking water for local families at risk. We applaud the permit revocation as an important victory for animal welfare and against mega-dairy water and air pollution, which pose massive environmental and public health risks in Oregon and across the country.”
Oregon’s second-largest dairy farm was controversial even before it began operation, with around a dozen state and national organizations – along with thousands of concerned citizens – raising flags about air and water pollution concerns.
The mega-farm is located in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management area, a region where wastewater has to be carefully managed to protect nearby public and private water supply systems.
Lost Valley Farm only operated for 10 months before the state filed a lawsuit attempting to shut it down after it failed multiple inspections, was cited four times and incurred fines of over $10,000.
Regulators reported that in less than a year, there were 32 violations of a single permit condition, which “resulted in significant discharge of liquid wastewater onto unprepared surfaces. Liquid manure and wastewater has repeatedly overflowed storage lagoons and seeped into soil.”
Three months ago, regulators again attempted to shut the farm down, but instead, came to an agreement with owner Greg te Velde that placed new limits on wastewater production and reporting requirements. Velde promised to “remove 24,4 million gallons of manure and wastewater from the lagoons before 1st June.”
However, nothing changed following this settlement, and the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality moved ahead to revoke the permit this week.
The farm now has 60 days to clean up the manure and wastewater and remove around 13,000 cows.
Cruelty needs to STOP!
WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO PROTEST ANIMAL ABUSES! NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL THE COMPANY OR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ANIMAL ABUSERS.
Go vegan, and save all these cows. All animals have the right to their lives and own bodies.
I AM VEGAN…& WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO EATING MEAT!
Circus Animals Who Turned On Their Trainers…
WRONG AND MISLEADING
THE LION DID NOT TURN..
THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE FROM THE AUDIENCE AND THE LION TOOK HIM TO SAFETY OFF STAGE THE ONLY WAY HE KNEW HOW..THE WAY HE WOULD CARRY A CUB.
They will send all of the cows to slaughter because that is what they do on a regular basis. When the cow stops producing milk it is disposed of at the local auction yard. It’s sold by the lb.
If the animal is still producing milk it could be bought by another dairy.
I hope that removing the cows does not mean they can slaughter them all.
Don’t do this again, don’t do this again, don’t do this again—are you tired of this repetition?? Well so are we Dept. of Agriculture and Dept. of Environmental Quality . EXACTLY what is your job? Obviously you’re not doing it. OK, we’re crying “UNCLE”—now do something or just quit your jobs and get someone who gives a damn!!!!
Hear! Hear !!
Yes your right.
Justice finally for the suffering of the cows, the degradation of the environment. Perhaps this will send s message that abusers can no longer thumb their noses at the law. The cows deserve to be treated humanely, not put into service in another dairy farm.
It’s about time. So many people still think it’s okay to treat animals like rag dolls because they don’t believe animals have feelings/emotions or that they are capable of suffering. That and there are people out there who just don’t care about animals suffering awfully for so many reasons. But the number one reason, as far as I can figure, is the abusers’ wallets.
Finally justice has been done. The safety of the citizens and poor cows are looking better. I truly hope these people get what they deserve, treating animals Inhumanely should not be unpunished. Make them pay for all the anguish they caused on these poor animals. I hope the cows go to a place where they can feed in pastures and feel the sun on their backs, they’ve suffered long enough.
Yes, these people deserve whatever punishment comes their way and then some!! And what will come for the poor cows forced to live in such an environment??
At last, those slimy bastards got what they deserve….if it was up to me they would be in jail. What will happen to the poor cows?
Yes!
Yes jail time ??
I TOO am WORRIED about the 13,000 cows!!!! Where will they go??? That’s a lot of cows on one piece of land! Not surprising that there is a problem there!!! Also people really need to THINK about their diets/lifestyles and the negative consequences they have on ALL of us-animals, the planet, etc! YES! The Waste of 9 Billion animals raised in this country alone every year on factory farms is ENORMOUS and NOT treated AT ALL! North Carolina is a CESS POOL due to the hundreds of thousands of pigs raised there! Every body of water has high levels of E-Coli in it! TIME TO WAKE UP! GO VEGAN!! Less water, land is used to grow crops and there is NO Feces, dangerous growth hormones, antibiotics and other drugs. DEMAND that the USDA-the Farm Bill encourage REGENERATIVE, ORGANIC, NATURAL Farming-MORE PLANTS in the dietary food chart-MORE Conservation. MORE regulations and fines for factory “farms”. Factory “farms” are industrialized, systematic concentration camps-HELLS on this Earth and EXTREME animal abuse!! DON’T SUPPORT IT-GO VEGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It took long enough to close this dreadful place, but at least it’s done, all animals suffer such horrible treatment from humans, I have never managed to understand why do humans mistreat animals, animals are kind, loving and very loyal yet they suffer the most, we live in a very dark and cruel world……….
I worry what will happen to these 13,000 cows
I worry what will now happen to these 13,000 cows!
Thank God this farm from hell was shut down. The problem now is you know the owner isn’t going to actually clean the land and water up, right? There is no incentive for him to do so now that he’s been forced out of business. He is going to cut and run, meaning send his cows to slaughter to make a quick profit and then disappear. Those poor animals, first they had to endure inhumane conditions and now they will be killed. Those animals deserve better and should be sent to farm sanctuaries across the nation and the rest put up for adoption as farm pets. Mankind seems to always do more harm than good.
Shutting down one is a beginning! The truth is, cow’s milk is for baby cows, not humans!
I hope they will have a better home. This is unacceptable. Evil, abused, they deserve so much better. I m glad they are shutdown.
Yes – the lack of care for the cows is the worst thing. And this took 10 months to shut down? Horrific! You’d think that the cows should get a reprieve for their suffering, and be moved to an Organic Valley farm, many (or all?) of which are in Oregon.
Why should this “farmer” benefit from the sale of cows that he so mistreated and mismanaged? As part of his penalties, he should turn them over to a true farm where pasture-raised cows reside. Can I get a witness? Can we please petition the judge in this case to consider granting better days for these cows who suffered under his “care”?
Yes Joan, I will be your witness. I agree 100%. Don’t let him get a penny. Also make him stand knee deep in his own waste out in pasture for a long time before carting him off to jail. That’s the least that idiotic bozo deserves. Boy it is a good thing I’m not the law.
Where is the compassion?? These animals also need kindness. Humans can be so very cruel. Factory farms are evil !!!!
Those poor cows – I know the owner will probably have to sell them to another farmer at auction but as far as I know another farm are not what those poor animals need. Factory farms are not good homes for anything living. We need to close all those animal concentration camps and rebuild farming with a fresh perspective.
the lack of care for the cows concerns me most.
These owners cannot go on making money off the suffering of these animals by ignoring regulations! They should be jailed and fined big money (get them where it hurts) so that they cannot continue with this behavior. This is just not acceptable!!!
I agree!!!
HOORAY !!!
Wonderful! Hope this is the end of this barbaric practice!
Hopefully the cows wont just be moved elsewhere but will find good homes. The fines in the past were not harsh enough. It goes to show how much money they were making on the backs of these poor creatures.
I am very happy to heat that these bastards are going to put out of business. My concern however is what will.becone of thd cows.???
Jippii ! Hurraa ! Halleluja !
Thank you.
Will the cows go to a safe sanctuary?
I have to wonder why do people who don’t know what they are doing or do not care about the welfare of animals get involved in businesses like this?
I guess their primary reason is greed. They couldn’t care less about the welfare of these wonderful animals.
Aand what about the cows, What is going to happen to them. Will they be killed in pain, abandoned to starve?
someone has to look out for these animals. They have suffered long enough