A4O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 3,2001
Checklists, Consumer Trends,
Disease Control At Poultry Day
Continued from Page A 1)
eludes components such as envi
ronment, sanitation, isolation,
personnel, farm traffic, and
flock health history and man
agement.
An evaluation takes into con
sideration, for instance, how
many backyards flocks are in
the grid area, which impacts the
score of the assessment. Biosecu
rity measures such as locked
doors on the poultry houses also
figure into the score.
The overall cleanliness for
instance, if the facilities are
washed and disinfected between
flocks makes up the sanita
tion score. Whether or not em
ployees wear dedicated boots,
use footbaths and disinfectant
spray, or work on other poultry
farms also changes the score.
Scores are broken into ranks
of 50 points to determine the
risk figure for each farm.
Looking into the future, Owen
predicted that food safety and
animal welfare issues will
become increasingly important.
“We in animal agriculture have
a moral obligation to provide the
best care for them each day. If
we do that, animal welfare will
become much more of a non
issue.”
Recognizing Excellence
A panel of industry represent
atives educated the audience
about “protecting the environ
ment” and “being a good neigh
bor.” Tyson representative Tom
Pantano highlighted the busi
ness’s efforts to recognize pro
ducers who excel in both
environmental and community
categories.
“People are moving in and
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surrounding our farms,” said
Pantano. For starters, “We need
to educate people on nutrient
management practices and keep
bad publicity out of the newspa
per.”
Tyson foods, which includes
35 production complexes in 15
states and 7,500 growers nation
wide, gives an environmental
award for producers. The farms
are judged locally, then go on to
national competition for manure
management, off-farm, ag
related activities, the appear
ance of the farm, community
involvement, innovations, wild
life management, and relations
with neighbors.
Responsibility Checklist
Bill Achor, environmental
coordinator for Wenger Feeds,
presented a checklist for respon
sible poultry production. First
on the list was appearance, as
producers should evaluate the
amount of mowing done on the
grounds along with the look of
the buildings and equipment.
“It’s for the nonfarm neigh
bors driving by, trying to see
what kind of a producer we
are,” said Achor.
Mortality management is also
a factor in being a responsible
producer. Birds should be le
gally taken care of in a clean,
screened, or fenced area.
Careful manure management
can also make or break a poultry
farm. Stockpiling manure that is
close to water or neighbors
should be carefully monitored.
Also the brokers who will take
the manure away should be held
to your standard, said Achor, so
manure is not left on the roads
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for your neighbors to drive
though.
Educational tours are increas
ingly recognized as a valuable
tool to reach nonfarm neighbors,
legislators, and environmental
groups.
“Agriculture’s changed a lot
in the last 10 years, so get people
out to show what we’re doing
and what our challenges are so
they can have a commonsense
approach to decision-making,”
he said.
A producer can ease expan
sion pains by discussing plans
with the township supervisor,
DEP field supervisors, and the
county conservation district to
tap their knowledge and develop
a game plan, suggested Action
“Go beyond compliance,” he
said. “Don’t just be a box
checker.”
Leon Ressler outlined results
of a six-week odor control
project with Penn State. Re
searchers studied three odor
reducing strategies and
surveyed neighbors which pro
duced results applicable to the
poultry industry.
For instance if neighbors
knew the producer, scores
tended to be lower, said Ressler.
Howevfcr if the neighbors could
see the barn, scores tended to be
higher. Attractive farms had
smaller odor scores.
“We should take to heart
these points and do all you can
to improve your circumstances
with your neighbors. We’re a
small portion of the total popu
lation,” he said.
Practical Farm
Experience
Tony Brubaker, who farms
with his father and brother,
shared basic tenets which help
to make their operation success-
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Neighbor Relations
Tony Brubaker, representing Brubaker farms in Mount
Joy, believes that being responsible, considerate, and
keeping communications lines open are integral to a suc
cessful operation.
fui.
Winners of the national
Tyson environmental award two
years ago, the Brubakers and
eight full-time employees oper
ate two broiler houses con
tracted under Tyson, milk 500
cows and have 410 replacement
heifers.
Sound environmental prac
tices and solid neighbor rela
tions are especially important,
as “we farm up to the back
yards of 160 homes,” said Bru
baker, who also noted the hun
dreds of other homes in close
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Brubaker Farms operates
under three objectives, he said,
“be responsible, be considerate,
and communicate.”
Under the heading of respon
sibility, Brubaker recommended
having a nutrient management
plan.
“It helps explain what you are
doing” and helps to protect
against neighbor accusations.
Additionally streambank fenc
ing not only protects water qual
ity but affords greater aquatic
life.
(Turn to Page A4l)