BY JIMMY SHOCKLEY, Eastern Shore Post —
A Delaware-based company has begun the permitting process for building poultry houses less than a mile from Parksley on Big Road, in close proximity to residences.
According to a March letter issued to adjacent property owners, Musfirah Farm, LLC, was applying to the Department of Environmental Quality to get a poultry waste management general permit.
The letter also stated the operation could contain up to 400,000 broiler chickens.
“The county has received numerous inquiries from concerned citizens regarding the proposed poultry farm on Big Road,” said Accomack County administrator Mike Mason in an email to the Eastern Shore Post.
Mason added that despite residents receiving the letter in March, as of this week the county has not received an application for the project.
Accomack County has few barriers in place to prevent the construction of chicken houses in the county.
The land for the project is zoned for agricultural use and poultry farms are allowed by right in agricultural zoning.
Since they are permitted by right, the county’s board of supervisors does not need to approve the project, the planning commission does not have to review it, and no public hearings will be held, Mason said.
Nearby residents have many concerns about the proposed operation — odor, pollution, lowering of property values, lack of available groundwater to support a project of this scale, and the attraction of flies and rodents, among others.
One resident said that Big Road, contrary to what its name implies, isn’t exactly big, and expressed concerns over more traffic using the road — namely trucks carrying chickens.
There is already a poultry farm in close proximity to the project, but it is only two chicken houses that are “grandfathered,” meaning they were established prior to current regulations the county has in place concerning poultry farms.
The two smaller poultry houses already cause odor, water contamination, and “thousands” of flies around the decks of homes, some of which make their way inside, residents say.
While many near the potential construction have expressed concerns, Accomack County officials also receive complaints from parties interested in building poultry farms, with some saying the poultry ordinance is not liberal enough, Mason said.
Excluding the recent complaints from the Musfirah Farm, LLC, project, Mason said there has only been one nuisance complaint pertaining to a poultry farm in the last four months.
According to the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s agricultural census, Accomack County ranked third in the state with $260,761,000 in poultry and egg market value.
In the same year, which is the most recent data available, nearly 80% of the county’s agricultural production came from poultry and egg production.
Perdue Farms in Accomac and Tyson Foods in Temperanceville, two facilities that process poultry, are the largest employers in the county.
