I’ve been notified that I must have a nutrient management plan for my flock of 20 chickens. It had been 21, but a hawk killed one yesterday. Nutrient, by the way, is the word now used for manure. The plan must detail just what I am doing with the manure, including what fields on which it is being spread. I must keep a record of each load and when it is applied.
I really don’t have a problem with the requirement. I am in the watershed for Beltzville Lake, and it would be unfortunate if chicken manure, with its high nitrogen and phosphorous content, washed into the lake. The algae bloom now occurring in Lake Erie is largely the result of run-off infused with agricultural fertilizers.
What bothers me is that while I am required to have a manure management plan for my 20 chickens, Texas oil companies are allowed to pump millions of gallons of chemical-laced liquids into our ground without even telling us what those chemicals are. They don’t even have a severance tax on the gas their fracking process removes.
Obviously Pennsylvania has different standards for different people. Perhaps I didn’t give a large enough contribution to Governor Corbett.
This ends “Ag Week” after only three days. Readers are demanding that I get back to attacking the N.R.A. and Ted Cruz and the Koch Brothers.
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