By Associated Press
Tulsa, OK – Exec didn't follow up on environmental handbook
TULSA, Okla. (AP) A Cargill Inc. executive says he didn't check to see if company farmers were following an environmental handbook he helped draft in 2002 warning them not to spread too much chicken manure on their land.
Timothy Maupin, vice president of agricultural operations for Cargill's turkey production, also testified Thursday that his company developed a pilot program to haul excess chicken waste out of a sensitive watershed, but abandoned plans after just two years in part because it wasn't turning a profit.
The testimony supported Oklahoma's case against the Arkansas poultry industry that claims 11 companies, including Cargill, knew about and did nothing or very little about pollution from the tons of chicken manure produced in the Illinois River watershed over the past several decades.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.