Landmark ruling issued in Oregon landfill dispute

Negative impacts from non-farm developments can’t be offset by making payments to surrounding farmers, according to the Oregon Supreme Court. The state’s highest court has also concluded that such developments can’t significantly change agricultural practices or costs for individual growers in “exclusive farm use” zones.A longstanding legal battle over a planned landfill expansion in Yamhill County has led to the landmark ruling, which requires such developments to be analyzed “practice by practice and farm by farm.” The decision has determined that it’s not enough for such developments to avoid reducing the “overall supply of agricultural land” — they must also refrain from disrupting “particular farms and farming practices."