New Records Reveal History of Failed Inspections at Grand Barr Dairy

For Immediate Release:
January 20, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Boise, Idaho –

PETA has just obtained records from the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) which reveal that Grand Barr Dairy—where two recent PETA investigations uncovered goats suffering from emaciation, infections, abscesses, overgrown hooves, and severe arthritis—has a history of failed inspections, rampant sanitation problems, and milk tests that indicate unacceptable levels of bacteria. The records also show that Grand Barr continued unlawfully shipping milk to former customer Laura Chenel while its license was suspended and apparently lied to the cheesemaker about its status. Laura Chenel dropped the farm as a supplier after PETA shared the findings of its first undercover investigation with the company.

Issues reported in the ODA records include:

Violations of Oregan dairy law—including problems related to milk house cleanliness and sanitation of milking equipment—at four out of five inspections of Grand Barr in the last year.
Grand Barr failed milk sample tests eight times since July 2024—nearly half the tests conducted during that period. Most of the tests showed unacceptably high levels of bacteria, and some also showed an unacceptably high somatic cell count, an indicator of herd health.
In October 2025, ODA placed Grand Barr on a “Sanitation Warning” due to repeated sanitation-related violations found during several consecutive inspections.
In February 2025, Grand Barr’s Grade A shipping license was suspended after repeatedly failing milk sample tests. An ODA inspector notified Taunia Barr that she could not ship milk out of state while under suspension, but Barr continued to do so, and apparently fabricated a story to Laura Chenel representatives about still being able to ship as Grade B milk—a license classification that does not even exist in Oregon.
In January 2025, an ODA inspector found three dead goats whose bodies had not been disposed of, and all available water for the goats on the farm was frozen.

PETA continues to urge Malheur County Sheriff Travis Johnson to remove all goats from Grand Barr Dairy, which is currently under investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice, but no aid has been provided to the animals confined there.