A plea from Canby residents

Stop Foster Farms from ruining our community!

Dear Friends and neighbors:

Two weeks ago the residents of Oak Grove Rd (near Macksburg and HWY 213) learned that the corporation, Foster Farms is teaming up with a Ridgefield, Washington man to site a factory farm at 12310 S. Oak Grove Rd., Canby Oregon

Foster Farms is planning to raise 1.5 million broiler chickens each year in our community within one mile of approximately 200 individual property owners.  This operation would be the 4th largest in the state and has plans to double in size in the years to come.

This plan is a serious threat to our air, our water, and our community and needs to be stopped because:

Flooding and chickens don’t mix
Due to the extremely high water table, the structures where the birds are confined and the manure stored will be at risk of continual flooding resulting in contaminated runoff getting into our wells, groundwater and the Molalla River;

We don’t want contaminated water
Contamination of streams and groundwater can impact the health of surrounding neighbors, livestock, fish and cross-contaminate with migratory birds.  We fear that nitrates, arsenic and pathogens such as E-coli, Avian Flu, West Nile and Salmonella will spread through contaminated water.

We like our air clean
This operation has the potential to release tremendous amounts of ammonia gas, which is not only unpleasant to breath, but can make people sick. It will also be the source of dust and other air contaminates like arsenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition, neighbors or other chicken factories have complained of excessive flies.

We appreciate our rural way of life
This factory farm will have a huge impact on our quiet rural community. We are told to expect as many as 90 semi trucks every 6-7weeks, 24hrs a day.  This will impact our whole community -increasing noisy traffic and decreasing safety.  In addition, this operation has the potential to ruin our tranquil country setting and decrease our property value.

We support family farmers not factory farms!
Corporate factory farms drive small family farmers out of business and undo the fabric of a rural economy.  These types of operations are driven by the bottom line, not by concern for the local community.  Factory Farms are moving into our state to take advantage of the laws put in place to protect small family farmers and it’s time that we put a stop to it!

Please help us stop this invasion and degradation of our land, water and quality of life.   

We need your help.

Please send a message to the Oregon Department of Agriculture that we don’t want factory farms in our area.   Public comment closes July 9th, 2007 email  your comments to: wmatthew@oda.state.or.us 

For more information, contact Friends of Family Farmers at 503.997.7438 or visit: www.friendsoffamilyfarmers.org

Comments

[local anti-liberal farmer]

Several of us residents that are "actually local" extend a warm and hearty welcome to the Foster Farms family!!!

..Quit blowin' smoke about how they do business and tryin' to scare people with your fictional polution stories!