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There are lots of different events around the state in preparation for Monday's solar eclipse. Special deals on camping sites and entire music festivals are gonna roll into town just to watch the moon completely block the sun.
One McMinnville farmer plans to celebrate the eclipse in the best way known to man—with goats.
Ramsey McPhillips will host GoatEclipse from August 20 and 21. Attendees can meet and pet 35 goats while enjoying some local barbecue, swimming and a blueberry pancake breakfast. The event is already sold out.
The goats are joined by 100 sheep, an estimated 200 attendees and one pet turkey named Dave. "He's very excited to meet everyone," McPhillips says, almost proudly. All of the goats have names too. McPhillips named them alphabetically at birth. This year, their names are in the G's.
"It's like a herd of dogs," he says.
It turns out his makeshift petting zoo has a larger purpose. Each ticket will help fundraise an effort to fight against corporations developing farmland. In particular, plans to expand McMinnville's Riverbend Landfill—a dump near McPhillips farm run by Waste Management—have drawn criticism and legal attention from a number of groups and farmers, including McPhillips.
"Everyone thinks the cute goats are really great," he says. "But the reason I'm doing this is to protect all of Oregon."
A statute in Oregon state law states that land could only be used by corporations and other groups as long as their use doesn't amount to "significant cost or change in practices" for surrounding farmers. But in March an Oregon appellate court widened the definition of the phrase, arguing that development could continue as long as farmers were paid for the significant costs of damages and the damages didn't affect every similar farm in the entire state.
The ruling effectively greenlit the landfill's planned expansion and opened the door for other nonfarm uses on Oregon land. "Which is ridiculous," says McPhillips, emphasizing that the ruling would have completely negative impacts on the state's farmers.
A collection of groups—including the Stop The Dump Coalition and Friends of Yamhill County—petitioned to bring the case to the Oregon Supreme Court and published a series of amicus briefs on the ruling. The Court picked up the case on June 29th, halting Waste Management's plans until the case can be settled.
Oral arguments begin on November 13th, and the money raised from GoatEclipse will help pay for legal representation.
"I've got my herd of warriors here," McPhillips told WW. "Guarding the fences and trying to keep Waste Management back."