Silverton— A new U.S. Department of Agriculture rule limiting the amount of milk that small dairies can handle and produce forced Mallorie’s Dairy to slash its production by one-third, reducing its herd from 1,900 to 1,200 cows. “Now it’s a matter of seeing if we can exist at this size,” says Charlie Flanagan, the dairy’s business manager. Mallorie’s campaigned heavily against the new rule, urging consumers to write letters to save small dairies. Flanagan says dairies that handle cows and bottle their own milk are a dying breed in the Pacific Northwest, with just eight or nine remaining, down from 20 in 2000. |
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