New Photos Reveal Scale of Oregon’s Largest Factory Farms

Madeline Bove | Food & Water Watch | Sept. 30, 2024

New photos released today by Food & Water Watch and Oregon Rural Action reveal in stark detail the scale of factory farms in Eastern Oregon, particularly the Threemile Canyon Farms Facility. The aerial photos of factory farms in Eastern Oregon show tens of thousands of cows confined on a landscape developed beyond recognition with little to no shade cover and vast manure lagoons, which are notorious for their contributions to air pollution, planet warming methane emissions, and nearby groundwater contamination in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. Unfortunately, this is just one glimpse into the industrialized reality of Oregon’s largest factory farms.

These photos bolster what climate advocates and residents living near these facilities have been saying for years: factory farms like the Threemile Canyon mega-dairy should not be allowed to get any bigger than they already are, and we should not allow more to be built.