A bill in the Maryland General Assembly, entitled the Poultry Litter Management Act and sponsored by Senate and House Democrats, would require chicken processing companies to dispose of excess poultry manure.
During a press conference on Tuesday this week, sponsors outlined the bill, which says that, if contract growers or neighboring farmers cannot use the chicken manure on their fields, as part of their nutrient management plan guidelines, then the processing companies would need to handle and dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way, as approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
After years of debate, the Phosphorus Management Tool was passed in the last legislative session with the aim to limit the amount of fertilizer a farmer can spread on their fields depending on the level that is already in the farmer’s soil, with the ultimate goal of reducing phosphorus runoff into the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.
Maryland Delegates Carl Anderton (R-Wicomico County) and Jeff Christ (R-Caroline County) said Maryland should wait until it is known how well the Phosphorus Management Tool works until more chicken manure initiatives are passed.
“We’re in the process of implementing the Phosphorus Management Tool and to move the goal posts, I think, is disingenuous, and it appears to be what a lot of the environmental groups intend in trying to accomplish,” Ghrist said. “Every couple of years there is a new initiative and these initiatives are getting passed, but they’re not letting the model update with what’s actually happening on these farms.”
Julie DeYoung, spokesman for Perdue Farms, said Perdue already voluntarily takes poultry manure from its contract growers, “and any other poultry grower on Delmarva who doesn’t have an outlet for it.” “Those who claim we are putting the responsibility for poultry litter on our farmers are choosing to ignore the fact,” DeYoung told the Star Democrat, Easton, Maryland. Perdue has spent more than $50 million on its AgriRecycle program to-date and also spends millions each year to fully fund its growers’ participation in Maryland’s manure transport fund, to pay into the Bay Restoration Fund that supports environmental programs and organizations, DeYoung said
