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One million acres of forest protected under The Conservation Fund, including in OR; Trump seeks to set aside his New York hush money guilty verdict after Supreme Court immunity ruling; 'Share the Pennies' weatherization program tackles climate solutions, reduces cost; Utah feels the impact of California's ban on gestation crates.

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SCOTUS gives former President Trump a huge win in terms of immunity, which might apply to charges of election interference. A new poll finds future court appointments are crucial for voters, and President Biden continues to face post-debate calls to leave the race.

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Ugly, imperfect produce destined for the landfill is being upcycled by a California candy company, a Texas volunteer uses his Navy training to map the gaps in broadband, and Pennsylvania has a new commission tasked with reversing its shrinking rural population.

Pollution concerns prompt OR county to limit large-scale farms

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Thursday, December 21, 2023   

An Oregon county has enacted new restrictions on large-scale agriculture operations.

Linn County commissioners approved a one-mile setback rule from property lines for Confined Animal Feeding Operations. Small farmers in the county have celebrated the new rule as a win.

Kendra Kimbirauskas, a farmer in Scio, said the large-scale operations cannot help but have effects on neighbors.

"Mega-livestock operations come with a bunch of problems including air pollution, water pollution, traffic, noise," Kimbirauskas outlined. "The issue isn't so much the livestock operation itself. It's the scale of the livestock operation."

During the legislative session this year, Oregon lawmakers passed Senate Bill 85, which gives counties authority over the siting of large-scale ag operations. Opponents of the Linn County rule called it a ban on new livestock farms. According to the county, the setback rule limits the number of properties capable of having CAFOs to 89.

Kimbirauskas argued the rule makes sense for locals.

"A lot of these large-scale industrial farms are not local farmers," Kimbirauskas pointed out. "What we were experiencing in Linn County is these out-of-state corporations that were coming into our communities, buying up our farmland and taking our water."

Kimbirauskas noted others could follow Linn County's lead.

"Certainly, other counties in other areas are going to have to put something in place that works for their residents," Kimbirauskas suggested. "We think this is a model that can be looked at, and we think that adding more local control to communities is a good thing."


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