MOUNT VERNON — Several industrial chicken farms planned in Knox County may prove to have a bolstering effect on the economy here, according to Case Farms housing manager Mike Keefer.
“As far as local economic growth, there is the opportunity for potential part-time jobs, and local contractors for the construction of the sites,” Keefer said.
The area operations will supply chickens to the Case Farms processing plant in Winesburg, in Holmes County. Keefer said that in order to cover the trucking and other expended operations in Winesburg, Case Farms will end up hiring a few hundred people throughout the region.
Brown Township farmer Charlie Bratton confirmed that his planned chicken breeding operation would result in a handful of part-time jobs, ideal for young people interested in getting involved with commercial agriculture.
“I started out as a boy 40-some years ago, and that’s where I got my start,” Bratton said. “I’m in agriculture today largely because of a neighbor who gave me a job.”
Bratton said that not only does the planned chicken operation have a direct economic impact on the area by creating jobs, but the whole experience is an important one for growing youths.
“Any time that you can get young people interested in doing something that challenges them, gives them a little responsibility, or makes them accountable for a work schedule; any time you can do that, only positive things can happen,” he said.
Bratton said the facility and labor will be provided by his operation, while Case Farms will provide the trucking of animals, the animals themselves and their feed.
Keefer said the feed Case Farms was providing would be bought from regional sources. He said that once the new operations are in full swing by the summer of 2009, Case’s contracted farms will have a total combined need for 7 1/2 million bushels of feed throughout East Central Ohio. This will provide a further economic boost to the area, although high demand could see a further escalation in feed prices.
Knox County officials are glad to see the steps being taken to control potential pollution problems from the farms.
Kim Marshall, director of the Knox County Park District, was optimistic about the likelihood of any pollution troubling the Kokosing Scenic River or any of the area’s parks.
“I think that if the systems for pollution abatement are designed up to the current day’s technological standards, and are maintained correctly, I wouldn’t anticipate significant impact,” Marshall said. She added that, given the distance, any effect on the Kokosing is likely to be minimal.
“You know, streams have an amazing assimilative capacity,” Marshall said. “They can assimilate pollutants, that’s one of the remarkable things about streams.”
But she added that without having recourse to any relevant data, any guesses she would make about impact are conjectural at this point.
