Ohio grants permits for new Cooper Farms egg facility

Permits for a new egg production facility that will be part of Cooper Farms’ operations have been granted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).

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Jiri Hera | Dreamstime.com
Jiri Hera | Dreamstime.com

Permits for a new egg production facility that will be part of Cooper Farms’ operations have been granted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).

According to a notice on the ODA website, the agency has awarded a final permit to install and a final permit to operate for the Cooper Farms-affiliated Golden Heritage Egg Farm.

The facility is expected to have six barns that will house about 4 million hens, reported the Daily Advocate. It will be located in Darke County, in the far western part of the state.

According to information from ODA, the facility will also have two solid manure storage barns, two liquid manure storage ponds, and a disinfecting station that vehicles will drive through as a biosecurity protocol.

Public comments

The permits were approved in early February, following a public hearing and public comment period. ODA received 47 public comments/concerns. Some of those with concerns expressed them at the hearing, while others submitted questions via email, fax or the U.S. Postal Service.

ODA published a responsiveness survey on its website, which listed questions asked by citizens and responses from the agency. Most of the questions were related to environmental concerns. ODA reassured those with questions that in the few instances that Cooper Farms was noncompliant with environmental regulations, “all past violations have been resolved in a timely manner and do not indicate that Cooper Farms, Inc., lacks the competence to operate a concentrated animal feeding facility in substantial compliance” with such regulations. ODA also stated that the manure storage facilities “were designed in accordance with ODA rules,” and that ODA rules require that a licensed professional engineer develop the design in accordance with these rules and standards.

Additionally, Golden Heritage Egg Farm identified specific Best Management Practices (BMP) to minimize odor, and that odors would be evaluated during routine ODA inspections, the agency said.

Biosecurity concerns

ODA also addressed concerns from a family member of a nearby turkey grower, who was worried about biosecurity and the potential health of the turkeys housed in the vicinity.

Once in operation, the Golden Heritage Egg Farm will have a strong interest in maintaining biosecurity protocols to prevent not only the spread of disease to the facility, but also to prevent the spread of disease to any other livestock and poultry operations in the area,” ODA stated. “Implementation of the biosecurity plan is the responsibility of the permitted facility and ODA-DLEP personnel will adhere to this plan for any visit. If a reportable disease or a disease of concern becomes an issue, ODA-Division of Animal Health, through the state veterinarian, has the authority to implement additional controls to prevent transmission of the disease.”

ODA stated that the final permits may be appealed.

According to the Egg Industry Top Companies survey, Cooper Farms is the 20th largest egg company in the United States, with a flock of 5 million hens. With the proposed addition of 4 million hens with the Darke County facility, Cooper Farms would become the country’s 11th largest egg company, based on 2019 figures.

Cooper Farms is also a major producer of pigs and turkeys. The company slaughtered 286 million pounds of live turkeys in 2019.

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