SALEM, Ore. – A federal bankruptcy judge has allowed the proposed sale of the troubled Lost Valley Farm to proceed despite objections by Oregon agencies over who will clean up the dairy’s wastewater and manure.
Court-appointed trustee Randy Sugarman recently entered into an asset purchase agreement for Canyon Farm LLC to buy the dairy’s land, equipment, property and water rights for $66.9 million, the Capital Press reported this week.
The state Department of Agriculture and state Department of Environmental Quality objected last week to the sale, questioning who will be responsible for cleaning up the property to avoid potential environmental harm. The Boardman dairy farm has approximately 47 million gallons of liquid manure.
Judge Fredrick Clement overruled the objections this week, allowing the sale to move forward.
Officials say the dairy has been out of compliance with its wastewater permit since it began operations in 2017. Lost Valley owner Greg te Velde declared bankruptcy in April 2018, forestalling a planned auction of his cows as part of a bank foreclosure.
