Michelle Protani-Chesnik
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Wednesday, February 17, 2016
A Letter To The Editor: Poultry Concerns
Michelle Protani-Chesnik
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22 comments:
Ms. chesnik,
why does the taxpayer have to pay to clean up the poultry industries mess?
LOL 7:14 Hell will freeze over before you get an answer. She's a poultry industry mouthpiece, an all obeying a good little slave girl who does as she is told without question and that does not include answering hard pointed questions.
I remember reading in one of the Perdue lawsuit documents that the farmer got grants to build cement pads or something like that. Why are tax payers footing that bill too?
In other words, she's just a big mouth piece for the industry.
Actually the farmer pays for the first pad. After the first flock, the government pays for a new, larger concrete pad. Again, tax payers money!
8:23 - just a big mouth!
Yeah woman why are tax payers paying to clean up the mess and why are they receiving farm subsidies? Read paragraph 3 from the US FoodNews. A decent person would be ashamed to defend this industry that sucks off the tax payers like they do.
"One of the sticking points to passage of the Farm Bill involves subsidies. The Environmental Working Group provides a handy farm subsidy primer that explains the elements of the federal subsidies programs. The EWG also developed a nifty Farm Subsidy Database that allows readers to investigate how much of their tax dollars are being given to whom.
Subsidies are necessary to help small and midsized agricultural businesses recoup losses suffered because of a natural disaster or a drought or wet year. However, farm subsidies also fund large-scale operations. The EWG reports that taxpayers spent $292 billion in subsidies from 1995 to 2012 and that only 10 percent of agricultural businesses collected 75 percent of the money.
For example, Monsanto — one of the largest agribusinesses in the world — has received $617,440 in subsidies. Perdue Farms — one of the big four chicken producers — has received more than $1.5 million of taxpayer money.
Passage of the Farm Bill is inching slowly forward. Congress has the opportunity to pass a bill that protects farmers and consumers without wasting taxpayer dollars on unnecessarily subsidies to mega-corporations. Hopefully, the next five years will be guided by a Farm Bill that makes sense."
Billions of federal taxpayer dollars are spent on crop insurance subsidies. Without those subsidies grain prices would be sky high. Low grain prices benefit the poultry companies tremendously.
Here is a partial list of what the taxpayers pay for.
Cover crops to try to remove excess nutrients.
Manure sheds.
Concrete pads.
Composters to dispose of the dead chickens.
Nutrient management plans.
New chicken house equipment such as heaters, fans, insulation, light bulbs, attic vents, tunnel doors and more.
Poultry Litter ammendments.
I was in a Perdue grower meeting where the Salisbury complex growout manager was informing and encouraging all the growers to get signed up for all this taxpayer provided goodies.
What other industry produces a product but leaves the waste product for the taxpayers to clean up and pockets the money that should be spent on cleanup?
All of them 9:14
Why isn't Perdue and the others paying for the manure shed, concrete pads, composters, etc? That's the big question 10:17? 9:14 talks of fed funds but state funds are available too.
Off topic a bit, but Walmart informs and encourages their employees to apply for Medicaid and other welfare benefits.
Just remember one thing you Liberal Douche Bags. NO FARMS, NO FOOD.
Since you fat a$$es hate chicken so much then why do you eat it. Keep running your mouth and the cost of the chicken you eat will cost you a fortune.
Ok, according to Anon 3:25, if anyone is opposed to corporate welfare that makes them a liberal and chicken haters.... who knew...
I thought being against welfare was a conservative position...
Any clarification?
3:25 must be Charles Wright again.
He is DPI mouth piece.
I am nowhere near a liberal or tree hugger.
I don't have a problem with chicken farms Mr Wright.
I am not dealing in fears but facts.
What is being proposed should not be placed in a neighborhood area.
Should not be directly over the drinking water for the county and city.
And by the way the neighborhood was there first.
So much for right to farm. Some should read the rules carefully.
I believe it states that right is to expand existing farming operations. Nowhere close to farming operations.
It will be the beginning of law suits galore.
Our homes will be worthless so we will have nothing else to spend our
money on other than lawyers.
The problem all you people have is that it is too close to Salisbury. If this project was farther out in the County none of you would give a damn. If the manure from this complex is hauled away and not spread on the property, it will not be polluted as you all claim.
" Anonymous said...
Just remember one thing you Liberal Douche Bags. NO FARMS, NO FOOD.
Since you fat a$$es hate chicken so much then why do you eat it. Keep running your mouth and the cost of the chicken you eat will cost you a fortune.
February 18, 2016 at 3:25 AM"
The reality of the situation is that chicken already does cost a fortune. What you pay for it in the grocery store isn't accurate. When you factor in all the hidden costs the price per pound is astronomical. When you take into account the government grants, subsidies, the welfare benefits a lot of the processing plant employees receive that chicken is costing tax payers dearly.
The reality is food in general costs us a fortune. Food entitlement programs are tacked on Farm Bills because the big food companies lobby for more of and expansions of food welfare benefits. This benefits them 2 fold. First they will sell more product and when expanded it will cover more of their employees so they don't have to give raises. Walmart lobbies big time for more welfare benefits for people too.
Keep complaining about farming... You idiots fail to realize that FARMERS PUT FOOD ON YOUR TABLE. PERIOD. END OF STORY. When will you all realize that there is a price to pay to keep us all from starving. You pay that price in taxes, in the check out line, in agricultural "odors," in some environmental sacrifices, etc. Farming IS THE WAY OF LIFE around here. Farming was established in this area far before you ever existed. Don't like it, MOVE! Farming, particularly poultry, is a major driving factor in our county's economy. If you keep pushing farmers away, they will eventually leave and you will pay the price. Idiots...
" Anonymous said...
Ok, according to Anon 3:25, if anyone is opposed to corporate welfare that makes them a liberal and chicken haters.... who knew...
I thought being against welfare was a conservative position...
Any clarification?
February 18, 2016 at 8:25 AM"
There are very few real true conservatives around here. They don't know what true conservatism stands for. Most self described conservatives are really RINOs. A real conservative is against corp/big business welfare in any form. A real conservative believe in small goverment BUT realizes the government has a few places where it belongs and that taking care of things We the People can't do on our own like making sure the air we breath is clean and the water we drink and the waterways are clean. Conservatives believe deeply in conservation and conserving which means we want to conserve the earth and leave it better for future generations.
"particularly poultry, is a major driving factor in our county's economy"
Maybe at one time but not true anymore. The opposite is true. Factory farming and it's practices have economically devastated this area. It went to a once robust thriving economy to one of the worst in MD and quite possible the nation. FF's cause property values to plummet and other taxes have to be implemented to make up for the lost revenue. Unlike real family farms which purchase feed and supplies from local suppliers, FF operations purchase everything from whoever they contract out with. This hurts economies. Because Americans won't work for the low wages, the companies encourage liberal immigration policies guaranteeing a steady stream of workers ready willing and able to work for low wages. This further devastates communities because they can't afford to purchase homes which lowers prices and they don't have any disposable income.
The critics of the poultry industry subsidies make a good point.We bitch about all the "welfare queens" but its okay for a multimillion dollar privately owned company to get free stuff?
Then the flip side is this:Without the poultry industry the shore economy would collapse on itself.Without subsidies,chicken prices climb.
Read up on the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative. The best thing to happen to that area of VA was when Pilgrims Pride pulled out. Everyone thought doom and gloom initially but it turned out to be the best thing ever for the area.
"Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative was incorporated in the Summer of 2004. Our story is one of perseverance in the face of adversity.
In April of 2004 Pilgrims Pride, the owner of the Hinton Processing Facility, announced the closing of Operations within six months. The Impact of the closure would be felt by nearly 170 farms, 1,800 employees and indirectly through the entire Shenandoah Valley. Following this announcement, the owners of many of these farms banded together and VPGC was incorporated.
Though faced with many challenges, VPGC found support in the local farm-oriented community, and raised the funds necessary to purchase the Hinton Processing plant and Feed Mill located in Broadway, Va. On November 29, 2004 VPGC began processing turkeys.
The farmers that make up the cooperative have been growing turkeys for decades. Many of these farms have been passed down through generations. Today the only difference is they grow an even better turkey and the farmers keep the profits."
The farmers keep the profits and spend the profits in the local economy.
You're a chicken farmer right, no surprise there !!
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