ODA Changes Rules for Small Diaries

Earlier this year, I wrote about small diaries suing the Oregon Department of Agriculture over a change in rules that had been lobbied for by large diaries. Until last year, Oregon exempted small dairies from rules that required costly expenditures on wastewater treatment. According to the Institute of Justice (IJ), large Oregon dairies lobbied to have that exemption removed.

In another IJ win, ODA has rewritten the rules to restore the exemption by clearly defining what it means to keep animals confined. The Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) requirements now only apply to medium- and large-size farms that generate large amounts of waste or discharge it into state waters. ODA also clarified in court filings that none of the farmers who sued would be subjected to the CAFO requirements’ revised rules.

This should be good for milk prices (from a consumer perspective). Various means of keeping prices down exist, from monetary policy to fiscal policy. However, there are also many thousands of ways government regulations stifle competition, often at the behest of industry representatives. This was potentially one of them, but it was defeated.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is the author of We were winning when I was there.

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