In a letter to Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, Bill Satterfield, executive director of the Delmarva Poultry Industry, called the Poultry Litter Management Act a threat to the future of farm families on the Eastern Shore. The bill would require poultry companies to haul away litter from the property of farmers who grow chickens for them, if the farmer does not have plans for the litter, such as selling it or using it to fertilize their fields.
“If the cost of growing chickens in Maryland is increased because of the costs of this legislation, chicken companies might decide they no longer want to grow chickens in Maryland. They can find growers in Delaware and Virginia. While they won’t necessarily move their headquarters, administrative, and other facilities from Maryland, they could stop placing birds in Maryland and it will be the farm families that will suffer,” Satterfield wrote. “If chicken companies are forced to become owners of manure, what are they to do with it? Store it? Where,?” Satterfield said.
Maryland Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, who opposes the bill, called it a “solution in search of a problem” that would just “add another layer of unnecessary regulations.” The Maryland Farm Bureau also is opposed to the bill.
“We all agree about meeting our environmental goals and protecting the health of the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal waters. That’s a given,” Carozza said. “However, all the stakeholders need to work together to achieve that goal instead of placing the burden on one industry. We made great progress in getting the Phosphorous Management Tool last year–six months ago–and we have to give it time to work without adding more legislation,” Carozza told the Salisbury Independent this week.
Perdue Farms has said it will certainly remove excess manure from a farmer’s property, if asked. and the company is looking into converting chicken manure pellets into energy.
