A Letter To The Editor

Bill Satterfield's piece [recently published in the Daily Times] highlights poultry companies' steps towards Environmental stewardship. Satterfield responded to Environment Maryland's recent petition, signed by 55 farmers and others in Maryland's agriculture industry, urging Gov. O'Malley to hold chicken companies more accountable for their animals' manure.

We organized this petition because we want a vibrant, healthy agriculture industry as well as a healthy, restored Chesapeake Bay. Farmers properly managing their land today are proof that farming can be both environmentally sustainable and economically profitable.

Satterfield listed poultry companies' voluntary clean-up measures, which are indeed probably improving our water quality. But the question is not, "are these chicken companies doing anything?" The question is: "Are they doing enough? And if not, what else needs to be done?"

Satterfield wrote: "EPA data show that agriculture, including the chicken industry, is making progress toward reaching 2010 pollution reduction goals." This is misleading. The year 2010 is right now, and we have not reached our goals. According to the EPA, agriculture has met 52 percent of nitrogen and 50 percent of phosphorus reduction goals, baywide. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause the bay's dead zones.

Satterfield's listed measures help, but history shows they're not enough. That's clear in the EPA's data, as well as in soil data on the Eastern Shore.

Manure is useful, but there's too much of it. Soil can soak up a certain amount of phosphorus contained in the manure. But when manure is over-applied, phosphorus can get into our water. According to Water Stewardship Inc., four Maryland counties with intensive poultry operations produce more than 300,000 tons of excess manure, creating more than 4,000 tons more phosphorus every year than localcrops can absorb.

Obviously agriculture is not the only pollution source. To reach our goals, we need to curb pollution from all sectors -- including urban lawns,
sewage treatment plants and other sources.

The only real way to restore the bay is for everyone to pay their fair share to clean up. We organized this petition because Perdue and Tyson are not paying their fair share and are not held sufficiently accountable. The companies own the chickens but not the chicken manure. Therefore, they have no concrete obligation to help growers manage excess manure.

If the poultry companies were liable for their animals' manure, they would have a real incentive to better assist their growers in managing it. That would help level the playing field for farmers who are already doing the right thing. The state could
also require poultry companies to help finance best management practices on farms, or to provide funding for possible biomass energy projects.

If we are to accelerate our lagging bay restoration efforts and also have a more equitable agriculture industry in Maryland, poultry companies should pay their fair share to clean up our water.
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Tommy Landers is policy advocate for Environment Maryland.