A group of Maryland lawmakers want to make the large poultry processors to take responsibility for the manure that their chickens generate on contract farms. The Poultry Litter Requirement Act would change the existing practice in the industry, where the farmers have to manage the manure that the chickens leave behind.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the bill is expected to face stiff opposition from poultry companies. Environmentalists say the industry's practices place an unfair burden on farmers to deal with the pollution.