| |
Source: NATIONAL ASSOC. OF STATE DEPTS. OF AGRICULTURE, 6/4/13
A recent University of Delaware-led study in partnership with the Delaware Department of Agriculture has concluded that nitrogen levels in manure originating within poultry houses are 55 percent lower than figures EPA has used to set pollution limits in the Chesapeake Bay.
The study, headed by Professor James Glancey at the university’s Bioresources Engineering and Mechanical Engineering departments, was based on thousands of manure tests throughout the Chesapeake Bay region, including Maryland. In one particular case in Sussex county, the study found 260,000 tons of poultry litter were produced annually, in stark contrast to the current EPA model estimate of 1.46 million tons.
An article in the News Journal of Wilmington stated that genetic improvements in birds, enhanced growing environments, and other moves to limit pollution from poultry producers have had a positive effect on the industry’s environmental footprint.
|
