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© Guy Hand 2009
Idaho’s milk output has doubled in the last ten years, dwarfing potato production. The state now produces more milk than Washington and Oregon combined. All that milk takes a lot of cows. But how many? Critics say the agencies responsible for regulating Idaho’s dairy industry really don’t know. And if you can’t count the cows, they say you can’t control the environmental problems that come with factory farming. From the Magic Valley, Guy Hand reports.
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Counting Cows at the Jerome County Courthouse © Guy Hand 2009
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Magic Valley Dairy Cows © Guy Hand 2009
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Idaho State Department of Agriculture Dairy Division
Idaho Conservation League CAFO Information
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Guy Hand is a writer, public radio producer and photographer specializing in food and agriculture.
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[...] How Many Cows Now? [...]
[...] In 2009, Edible Idaho looked into the issue of county regulation of the Idaho dairy industry. [...]
Speaking of “broken dairy systems” what about the fiasco in Thief River Falls, Minn. It took the residents more than 3 years to get their case heard in court… Excel Dairy did finally get shut down – but they left 3 full manure lagoons, moldy feed/hay – and a general mess. It’s sad what we will sacrifice to continue to drink the milk of another species. Indeed the continued growing and eating of animal “foods” may be the ruination of us all.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/01/21/excel-dairy-shutdown/