Poultry Production's Effect on the Environment

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For years now there has been a lot of controversy surrounding poultry production and its effect on the environment, more specifically, the use of chicken manure as a fertilizer. Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) insist that the chicken manure runoff is a major source of pollution; however, it is viewed as “black gold” on Delmarva. It’s hard to believe that this is such a hot topic in Delaware and the surrounding area, yet some people don’t even know what a chicken house looks like. Delawareans need to become more involved and educated on the topic so that the poultry industry that does so much for this state isn’t shut down. In the following, a basic overview of poultry production, benefits of chicken manure, allegations against the use of chicken manure, and arguments against Federal Protection Agencies will be discussed.
Basic Overview of Poultry Production
For those who don’t know, Poultry production is an essential cog in the wheel of the agriculture industry. Last year, Delmarva alone produced 3.4 billion pounds of chicken worth about $1.9 billion (Hurdle, 2011).
The industry got its start in 1923 when Cynthia Steele of Ocean View, Delaware, raised 500 chicks. She sold 387 of them for 62 cents a pound and five years later she was raising 25,000 chickens (Hurdle, 2011). Today, the average chicken house starts with about 90,000 chicks. One woman paved the way for a multi-million dollar industry that has brought a countless number of jobs to the peninsula. Altogether, Delmarva’s poultry industry consists of five major companies that employ about 15,000 people and process about 11 million chickens a week (Hurdle, 2011).
Sussex County in particular is ranked the number one poultry producing county among...

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...1, 2013, from http://www.wdde.org/13455-chickens-play-big-role-delmarva-economy-history/
Johnson, G., & Shober, A. (2013, May 17). Field Crops Growers Can Conserve Nitrogen in Poultry Litter While Retaining Benefits of No-Till | Weekly Crop Update – Cooperative Extension in Delaware. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://extension.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=5581
Montgomery, J. (2013, May 15). Study: Water pollution from poultry farms overestimated. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/15/poultry-pollution-overestimated-study/2161283/
Scudlark, J., Jennings, J., Roadman, M., Savidge, K., & Ullman, W. (2005). Atmospheric nitrogen inputs to the Delaware Inland Bays: the role of ammonia. Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex: 1987), 135(3), 433-443
The Associated, P. (2000). Chicken Cos. To Help With Waste. AP Online,

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