Two planned chicken farms near in southern Kent County will be the topic of a public meeting Tuesday at Kent County Levy Court.
The plans, which would be far larger than the average chicken farms in Delaware, are possible under First State rules that allow as many chickens as a producer wants on a given agricultural property.
The proposed farms would house hundreds of thousands of broiler chickens at a time for use by industry giants Purdue and Mountaire.
If the plan moves forward, 30 chicken houses with between 35,000 and 50,000 chickens each would be built in Farmington.
The potential for two “superfarms” spring up in the area has raised the concerns of some regarding noise, smell and pollution.
Kent County Levy Court Commissioner Eric Buckson organized Tuesday's hearing. He says the idea is to start a conversation about the issue.
"The ideal outcome of this meeting is a public discussion to enable the public, along with people who are charged with understanding and approving these types of operations, to have a conversation about 'Has the landscape changed?', 'Has the game changed?'"
Buckson adds that the idea for the meeting is to educate the public on the issue, rather than produce legislation. He notes its an issue that affects more than just the Farmington area.
"Probably the most important thing to take away from this is that it’s not a Farmington problem if it is a problem at all, it’s a county problem if it is a problem at all, because this type of operation is enabled to occur anywhere in the county and in fact the state," said Buckson.
Tuesday’s meeting will begin at 5:30pm.