Apparently whoever wrote that letter is not aware of the real problem caused by the use of poultry manure as a “free” form of fertilizer – the relatively high level of phosphorus. If the manure is applied in sufficient quantity to furnish the appropriate level of nitrogen, the soil becomes overloaded with phosphorus, some, sometimes much of which runs off eventually into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Almost half of the phosphorus loading in the Bay comes from manure, primarily that which is applied to fields on Delmarva. Phosphorus is more difficult to deal with than nitrogen and can be just as harmful to the Bay. Mr. Pollitt and his mouthpiece can go here for more information:
https://www.environmentmaryland.org/sites/environment/files/reports/An-Unsustainable-Path-web_0.pdf
For years the Delmarva poultry industry, led by Perdue, has successfully defeated efforts to limit the use of “poultry litter” in crop production in Maryland. No doubt Mr. Pollitt and his pals, including those at the Daily Times, know all about that.
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16 comments:
Pollitt is either clueless or is another political brown noser (probably both). He claims all the jobs the poultry industry generates. What he should have said was the lowest of the low paying jobs there are out there. Just read an article about how little the chicken catchers are paid-about $280/per week and that's if they catch 70,000 chickens.
I'm sure those working in the processing plants are minimum wage earners.
The eastern shore poultry industry has done more than anyone/anything else to bring blight and poverty to the area.
The facts are (and everyone is quick to raise holy heck when someone is not working at all) is that this class (working poor) is the majority who are on the welfare wagon.
We should not be impressed that Perdue, Tysons, etc donate large sums of money to universities, build stadiums and lend their names to charities. This is all self serving. This money would be best spent paying employees a decent wage, so these employees could afford to take their families to Shorebird games.
Ricky says "what's phosphorus"?
Rick:
Fineran was a better mouthpiece for you because he didn't make statements that could be easily fact-checked. Better "educate" your new PIO or get Strausberg to do that.
11:43, amen!
Pollitt's letter was also incorrect in stating that chicken manure is organic. He can't be any more WRONG! Perdue does sell organic fertilizer pellets. The raw manure is treated and then sold as pellets. No one was buying it as intended to be used on golf courses and other large applications until it was treated. The untreated manure some farmer spread on the fields isn't treated in this manner.
Yes, the next time Pollitt signs his name to something he should make sure to fact check either that or keep his mouth shut as it adds credence to those who say he is clueless.
1:54
Before you call someone clueless, you should check your facts. The "treatment" you refer to is simply drying and pelletizing, no alterations to the physical content is made. USDA organic guidelines consider raw manure to be a suitable fertilizer for organic farms.
Whether the government calls it organic is not important -- the problem is that the chicken poop is being applied to grow corn and other field crops and is causing excess phosphorus loadin in the Bay. Pollitt's letter is verbal manure.
The bay is being polluted from the Western shore not here.
The Eastern Shore has been contributing high amounts of phosphorus to the bay for thousands of years, before chicken houses were even conceived. Most soils on the Shore are naturally high in phosphorus and there is nothing you, I, MDE or even EPA can do about it. As long as there has been an Eastern Shore to be rained on there has been runoff of phosphorus. Of course, that doesn't fit the environmentalist's template so the truth will be forever hidden.
yay, 9 times the national average cancer rates! Woohoo for poo!
perdue ought to be sued out of business for all the damage their contract gowers do to the environment around here. They are a private company and should not be allowed to put their profits above the well being of future generations!
Look up the stats. roughly 85-89% of phosphorous that ends up in our water ways is not from chicken manure or fertilizer runoff. I work in the turf and farm trade, and majority of phosphorous in the water ways come from leaves in the fall. When trees produce leaves in the spring and summer, the chemical reaction to the rising and falling creates phosphorous build up in the leaf cells. When they fall and decompose, the leaves by product is phosphorous. I'd like to see how they got their stats and had a complete science experiment and prove that our water ways get phosphorous and nitrogen from our farms.
Check out:
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/news-issues/why-states-pick-lawn-care-reduce-phosphorus-waterw
http://www.gcsaa.tv/view.php?id=179
All this phosphorous laws and restrictions is just another ploy to hurt industry, price of fertilizer goes up, price of bills go up, labor goes up, fuel goes up, and further more, more licenses and restrictions in maryland.
"the 65,000-square-foot plant is capable of converting 94,000 tons of poultry litter a year into organic fertilizer pellets through an environmentally friendly process that recaptures the nitrogen and phosphorus while preserving the organic material"
From the AgJournal June 2001.
So 2:20 it all a lie and they really aren't recapturing the nitrogen and phosphorus? They are just "simply drying and pelletizing" and we are being led to believe otherwise? Wow talk about wide spread deception going on in this industry!
9;11-
The problem is that the P from the chicken litter adds so much to the natural loading in the Bay that it has become polluted with excessive concentration of phosphorus.
Yes there are other sources, but the use of litter as fertilizer is the root of the problem.
The point of the post is that Pollitt is completely ignorant of the facts.
He has his own agenda. We as a town do not need that. We as the people do not need his type. We are people for people. We need to all stick together and vote together. If you are 60 and want him in, great. I am 31, and feel he is destroying my community. I call on all to see our town is slowly declining with Rick in place. I call for all retired people to see what is happening. Don't vote b/c Rick shook your hand or, is a nice guy, but he just ruined the community. Just open your eyes. Crime is higher than last time. I just saw that my door has an attempt on robbery. My wife and I work daily, and I just took a look at the inside plate. We just found out we are having a child. And I just saw someone tried to break in. Enough is enough, Rick and your people bye. I'm done with the crap.
There will come a time that all farmers have to buy their fertilizers (and pay TAX on it) rather than use manure from their own chicken farms.
Right now the state and feds cannot get their cut, watch as they regulate farmers in order to fund their own group.
Thanks for watching out for us big brother.
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