Officials Say Keep Chicken Litter Out of Watersheds by Using it on Farms

Thursday, January 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The goal of Oklahoma agricultural and environmental leaders is to move chicken litter out of the coop and away from the stateâ€™s drinking water. They're urging lawmakers to pass a tax break for farmers who use the litter as fertilizer. First, they have to convince the farmers themselves.

Okmulgee area farmer Chris Ledbetter is preparing to give his wheat crop the boost it needs to stay healthy. Poultry farmers say Ledbetter could give them a boost by using chicken litter as the fertilizer on his farm. Environmentalists say it would help eliminate the threat of contaminating northeastern Oklahoma's watersheds. Ledbetter doesn't use the litter. He says it's too much of a hassle. â€œIt's not necessarily the cost of the product, but the hauling and getting it here,â€ he said. â€œItâ€™s the cost of application."

Agriculture and environmental leaders are trying to make it more cost effective for farmers like Ledbetter, to use chicken litter as a fertilizer. One lawmaker is even proposing tax credits. â€œI don't know if this will solve the problem, but it's a lot better than what we have right now," said state representative Michael Thornbrugh, D - Tulsa.

Representative Thornbrugh has proposed a bill where farmers who buy chicken litter would receive a $5.00 tax credit for every ton they buy. â€œThe purpose of the bill is two-fold,â€ said Thornbrugh. â€œNumber one is to get rid of chicken litter from where we have our water resources. Secondly, those who can use it and benefit from it will have the ability to do just that."

Under Thornbrugh's proposal, Ledbetter could knock as much as $5,000 off of his tax bills. Ledbetter says chicken litter could then be an option as fertilizer. â€œWe would take a look at it,â€ he said. â€œWe always have an open mind on things.â€ That answer sounds sweet to the ears of poultry leaders who just want farmers to give the litter a try as fertilizer.