farm and land
OX AT F
C H A S E FA R
M,
it’s all about conservation STORY AND PHOTOS BY NANCY L. SMITH | IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE ANYTHING GOOD COMING OUT OF A
CHICKEN HOUSE COLLAPSE THAT KILLED 20,000 BIRDS AT TERRY BAKER’S FOX CHASE FARM IN MILLSBORO, DELAWARE. TERRY FACED A MASSIVE CLEAN-UP CHALLENGE AND, AFTER THAT 2010 DISASTER, HE STARTED THINKING THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER WAY TO DISPOSE OF DECEASED CHICKENS.
Although such catastrophic losses are
SECLUSION FOR
part of the manure relocation program.
Freezers have been used to store
management methods, including
a game changer. There are no buzzards.
environmental inclusion daily mortality for all poultry farms on nothing to eat. The smell is gone. ” Bay Program is studying mortality uncommon, Terry estimates that routine/ the Eastern Shore totals about 70,000
There are no fox dens anymore; there’s
Terry reports the Chesapeake
tons annually, creating an environmental
mortality in the South for more than 30
composting, incineration, landfill
headache and lots of work.
years. “This is a proven technology, but
disposal, and freezing and rendering.
it didn’t exist here. We think it’s because
The panel will determine the credits
composting was adopted across the board.”
that states get toward their nutrient
In 2012, with the memory of the disaster still fresh, Terry and a friend started Greener Solutions, a company that installs large freezer storage units on chicken farms. Greener Solutions empties the
The Natural Resources Conservation
reduction goals. “As soon as the panel’s
VE THE DATE: SA of the freezers and concrete pads. In
work is done, the state will get retro
averages $300 to $400 depending on
have interim Best Management Practice
mileage and the number of freezers, as
(BMP) status.
Service (NRCS) cost shares 75 percent
credit for everything they’ve done for
Delaware, farmers are reimbursed for the past three years, if the assessment 2020 customer events carcasses to a rendering plant for recycling. 75 percent of the collection fee, which is positive,” says Terry. Freezers already units between flocks and hauls the frozen Switching from composting to
freezing on his own farm, says Terry, “was
TERRY BAKER AND HIS WIFE, FILOMENA, HAVE THREE CHILDREN AND A NEPHEW WHO LIVES WITH THEM. TERRY IS A MEMBER OF LEADELAWARE CLASS V, WHICH HE SAYS “HAS BEEN A REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE. I HAVE DONE A LOT OF THINGS I WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE. THEY LIKE TO GET YOU TO PUSH YOUR LIMITS.” HE WILL TRAVEL TO VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA WITH HIS CLASS IN FEBRUARY AS THE CAPSTONE OF THE PROGRAM. FARM CREDIT LOAN OFFICER STEVE MORRIS HAS ENCOURAGED AND ADVISED TERRY ON HIS CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND PRAISES FREEZERS AS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE BIOSECURITY OF THE FARM. 8
| VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 4 | mafc.com
