Poultry operations must register

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the Benton County Conservation District have issued a reminder to all owners of poultry feeding operations (PFOs) that the annual registration for PFOs began Jan. 1, in accordance with the Arkansas Poultry Feeding Operations Registration Act (Act 1060 of 2003).

Registration dates will run through March 31 and affect any PFO with 2,500 or more confined fowl.

The ANRC administers the registration program for the purpose of collecting information on the number and type of poultry feeding operations in the state. The program is designed to preserve Arkansas’ economy and water quality throughregistration, training and research. The goal of this program is to reduce the overabundance of phosphorus and nitrogen that threaten our water resources, while minimizing the impact on fertilizer users.

Each poultry producer must register through the Benton County Conservation District. There will be an annual $10 registrationfee per operation, payable to that district.

Under Arkansas law, persons in the state of Arkansas who own or operate PFOs where 2,500 or more poultry are housed or confined on any given day will be required to register annually with the commission and pay a $10 fee for each operation. Failure to do so will result in penalties.

News, Pages 6 on 01/09/2013