If you’re concerned about the environmental impacts of a poultry operation in your vicinity – or if you’ve got a poultry operation, and are trying to mitigate those impacts yourself – the Oklahoma Conservation Commission has a new program that may help.

Called “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” the program works with poultry growers and their neighbors to address concerns related to the expansion of the poultry industry in eastern Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission recently received a Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant to provide education and funding to implement best management practices for the poultry industry.

The program serves 11 counties in eastern Oklahoma, selected because they contain the largest number of poultry operations in the state.

Practices that can be funded by the program include conservation easements, buffer strips and windbreaks, phosphorus removal structures, litter transfer and storage, water and soil health monitoring, and many others. The program is also open to practices not included on the list, in an effort to encourage new, innovative approaches.

The deadline to sign up for the program is December 15. For more information or to sign up, visit the Neighbors Helping Neighbors webpage, or contact Jeri Fleming by email or phone (405-334-6343). The website also has a form for reporting concerns about particular farms.