Evergreen Ranch - Thomas Drive Site 

Linn County has approved building permits for the Evergreen Ranch to build 16  (60ft x 600ft) poultry warehouses that will produce approximately 4.5 million broiler chickens each year. The operation is located at 43157 Thomas Drive, Scio, OR 97374. The site neighbors the popular Broken Dam swimming hole on beautiful Thomas Creek. If approved, the operation will be located just roughly a half mile from the Lourdes elementary school and Lourdes Catholic Church.   

 

This site is of particular concern because an East Coast private equity firm (read more here)  that has expanded mega poultry operations into rural communities across the country- changing them forever - is the owner of this operation.  Our best guess is that there are plans to expand many more poultry factories of this magnitude in our community. 

 

Update: After Evergreen Ranch filed a transfer application for water rights on March 15, 2022 a protest was filed and Evergreen Ranch withdrew its application for the water rights transfer on October 22, 2022. You can read the final order here.  As of 1/16/2023 Evergreen Ranch has not paid 2022 property taxes due on 11/15/2022.

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JS Ranch - Scio-Jefferson Site

Linn County has approved a Foster Farms contract grower to build  12 (60ft x 600ft) poultry warehouses at the property located at 37225 Jefferson-Scio Drive, Scio, OR 97374. The proposed operation is called J-S Ranch. It is owned by Mr. Eric Simon of Brownsville, who is planning to build the operation approximately 483 yards (1450 ft) from the Santiam River. J-S Ranch is planning to produce 3.4 million birds annually (580,000 birds per flock, with six flocks being grown out per year) for Foster Farms. According to the permit these birds will produce 4500 tons of manure per year which will be composted with dead birds on site and sold from the operation as commercial fertilizer. Read the 3/21/2021 article Proposed large chicken farm ruffles feathers of neighbors in Scio in the Statesman Journal.  Update: The Oregon Department of Agriculture issued a CAFO permit to J-S Ranch on 5/26/2022. This permit is conditional in that J-S ranch must have all other permits before construction may begin. In October 2022, a number of local farmer groups filed a state court challenge to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's water quality permit issued to J-S Ranch.

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Hiday Ranch- Aumsville Site 

Hiday Poultry Farms LLC is located in Brownsville and owned by Mr. Randy Hiday. Mr. Hiday has purchased the property at 10963 Porter Rd SE Aumsville, OR 97325. Hiday Poultry Farms LLC's Brownsville location grows approximately 550,000 broiler chickens per flock for Foster Farms. Although, Hiday Poultry  Farms LLC has not applied for a permit from the State of Oregon Department of Agriculture's Confined Animal Feeding Operation program the operation has been approved to build by the county. The county permit is approved for 16 (60ft x 600ft) broiler chicken warehouses. While permits for the Aumsville site have yet to be filed with the State this operation will be located approximately 1.5 miles from Stayton and 3 miles from Aumsville. This proposal raises particular concern because the property for the proposed chicken warehouses is one of the original homesteads of the prominent Porter family, who brought other settlers to the area and through donated lands helped to found the cities of Aumsville and Stayton. 

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