Lawmakers spark controversy with proposal to address hidden impacts of dairy farms: 'Very critical'

A new bill aims to limit the number of cows on dairy farms in New York — a move that supporters said would protect the environment and small businesses.  

According to The Malone Telegram, Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and Sen. Jabari Brisport introduced the bill, which would prohibit new Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permits for large-scale dairy farms. 

New York has about 500 CAFOs, which are mostly dairy farms with 300 or more cows, per the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. However, large-scale permits are required for farms with more than 700 cows. 

The World Wildlife Foundation said farmers tend to 270 million dairy cows worldwide. However, dairy production emits a significant amount of heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 37% of methane pollution from human activity comes from livestock and agricultural routines. One cow can produce up to 264 pounds of methane each year. 

Per the Watertown Daily Times, the bill's sponsors said banning the CAFO permits for large-scale dairy farms would help reduce pollution and protect surrounding communities.

"These big corporate farms house thousands of animals," Rosenthal said. "They're crammed into confined spaces, which has become a growing animal welfare concern. But the other side of it is the immense environmental damage these farms cause, in many cases, billion-dollar companies are running these factory farms."

However, some agricultural workers criticized the proposed ban. While sponsors said the regulations would benefit small businesses, Jefferson County Agricultural Coordinator Jay Matteson told WWNY that many of the farms with more than 700 cows are family-owned. 

"Even though we may think they're really big by Jefferson County standards, in the grand scheme of things, those are small businesses and very critical to the communities," Matteson said. 

The agriculture and food sectors provided more than 22 million jobs in the United States in 2022, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dairy is described as the largest single segment of the New York agricultural industry, with nearly 3,000 dairy farms throughout the state.

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