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Poultry Firms Fight Chicken Litter Bill

creative commons

The poultry industry attacked a measure in Annapolis that would make poultry companies responsible for absorbing excess chicken manure.

During a four hour hearing yesterday before a legislative committee Dave Patey with Mountaire Farms blasted the measure saying that it demonstrates that Maryland is becoming unfriendly to business.

Meanwhile, environmental groups staged a protest yesterday saying that the legislation would be better for small farmers because the poultry firms have deeper pockets.

In short the Salisbury Daily Times reports that the measure would take the responsibility for selling excess manure away from the local farmer and place it in the hands of the large poultry firms.

The paper adds that the legislation comes less than a year after the implementation of the new phosphorous management regulations that could turn an estimated 228-thousand tons of chicken manure into excess waste.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.