Maryland state lawmakers on Tuesday began consideration of the Poultry Litter Management Act, which is primarily sponsored by Senator Richard Madaleno (D-18-Montgomery) and Delegate Clarence Lam (D-12-Baltimore and Howard). The bill would require poultry integrators to dispose of, and bear the cost to do so, of any excess chicken manure that cannot be used by a contract grower on his farm land.
The bill had a hearing on Tuesday in the Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. However, no Eastern Shore lawmakers sit on the committee, which is charged with making a favorable or unfavorable recommendation to the Senate for further consideration. An identical bill was submitted to the House of Delegates and a committee hearing was scheduled on Wednesday.
Those that are sponsoring the bill are calling it necessary to improve the Eastern Shore’s phosphorus pollution issues. Under the bill, poultry integrators would have three options for disposing excess chicken manure: another farm whose phosphorus levels are low enough that it can accept more; a warehouse where manure is stored; or an “alternative-use facility”, such as a waste-to-energy plant.
Opponents of the bill say chicken manure is a valuable resource and losing control over the resource could end up costing small, family farmers. Chicken manure is often used by chicken growers on their own fields as a fertilizer or sold to a neighbor for the same use.
Opponents also maintain that the Poultry Litter Management Act is premature in light of the fact that the Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) was just launched in late 2015. PMT limits the amount of phosphorus farmers can spread on their fields, depending on the amount already in the soil. The Phosphorus Management Tool is being implemented in steps, starting with the most phosphorus-laden farms and over time working toward implementation on farms with a lower phosphors score. All farms above a certain phosphorus score threshold have to implement PMT by 2022.
The Poultry Litter Management Act is “a solution in search of a problem,” said Bill Satterfield, executive director of the Delmarva Poultry Industry, saying it unnecessarily injects Maryland into longstanding business relationships, “with no injection needed.” Satterfield also said, according to a DPI survey, most chicken growers are opposed to the bill.
Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder, who is opposed to the bill, said in his testimony that “with the transfer of this ownership, that takes that value away from the farmer,” and “you’re giving that value then to the major integrators and that’s something the farmer will be then at a loss for.”
Chicken growers who testified at the Tuesday hearing told lawmakers that the bill, if passed, would cost approximately $35,000 a year, if they were not allowed to sell chicken litter anymore.
