April 18, 2006

US poultry operations meet resistance as it expands into other states

Farm operations in the US state of Georgia, a major broiler-producing state, are now facing a serious land crunch and are spilling over into the neighbouring state of South Carolina, where it is meeting increasing resistance from residents.

Homeowners often lobby strongly against having agricultural operations in their counties as they can create strong odours. Many are also worried that manure generated from these farms may pollute water supplies.

In the past five years, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has received more than 400 poultry-farm complaints, mostly about odor and manure.

Oconee county, in the south-western part of South Carolina, is considering ordinance that would prevent chicken operations from locating their farms there. However, the state government is planning to pre-empt that measure by drafting laws that would limit the local government's authority over such measures. 

Steve Collier, an executive with Fieldale Farms, which has poultry processing plants in Georgia, felt that local governments should not be so restrictive as to ban all agricultural operations.

Georgia's land is already saturated with chicken farms and companies have no choice but to move to another state, Collier said, adding that more would be coming.