Cow Palace Dairy near Granger to Close, 100 Jobs Lost

A long-time dairy fixture in eastern and central WA will close May 9th, laying off 100 workers.

  A WARN Alert from Employment Security indicates it's closing

WARN Alerts, or Worker Adjustment Retraining Notifications, are issued by WA State Employment Security for businesses that employ 100 or more workers, if they sustain any layoffs.  It doesn't have to be the entire workforce, but any job losses, and why.

Wednesday WARN sent an alert that the Cow Palance Dairy near Granger will shut the gates May 9th, with 100 workers losing their jobs. The large dairy has had as many as 11,000 cows on its 700 acres, producing milk for dairy products.

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However, over the last couple of years, environmental concerns have brought the dairy into the crosshairs of the EPA for alleged contamination. In June of 2024, the US District Court in Spokane filed a lawsuit claiming violations stemming back to 2019. The facility has operated since at least 1973.

The court papers say the dairy failed to properly monitor and report manure disposal as well as spreading liquid manure on pastures without proper testing.  There are also, according to the suit, concerns over nitrates in the area groundwater from the facility.

A trial is set to begin in Yakima March 23rd over the EPA allegations.