Friends of Rural New York

09/02/2005
Chicken farmers find a home in Nichols
By Patrick Abdalla

The road bringing a chicken farm to Tioga County, N.Y., has come to an end in the Town of Nichols, with an area farmer selling 39.5 acres of his land to the Canadian farmers.

Marty Kuhlman confirmed Thursday that he has reached an agreement with the Drost family, which owns large-scale chicken farms in Beamsville, Ontario, to sell his property for an undisclosed amount of money. One of the farmers, Pete Drost, said it is a relief to have finally found a home in Tioga County.
Family members have been interested in expanding operations into the county because it is a halfway point between New York City, where they sell their chickens, and Beamsville. However, some local residents have resisted the farmers because of concerns over smells and environmental issues. Drost said he believes the perception of the operation will change once it opens up.
“The operation will speak for itself,” he said.
There is no timetable yet for when the farmers will begin construction on the site.
The property is roughly 3.5 miles outside the Village of Nichols and is located between East River Road and U.S. Route 17, Kuhlman said.
The 70-year-old explained he sold the farm because he believed the Drosts ran a smooth operation and that he needed the money because he is retiring.
“I realize the perception is that if it’s a chicken house it must be stinky, smelly, something to be avoided,” he said. “I really don’t think that’s the case. I really didn’t feel this was going to be a negative impact on the area, but rather a positive.”
Kuhlman said he still owns land in Nichols.
Drost said the family never expected the opposition it has seen from some local residents.
When word first leaked out that the family was considering purchasing Ralph Porter’s land in Barton, N.Y., residents got together and held a meeting with local officials over the matter. At the meeting, local resident Don Foster agreed to purchase Porter’s land to keep the farm out of the town.
While residents have contended that the farm would lower property values in the surrounding area and have a negative impact on the environment, the farmers have said it will not because of the way the facility is run.
Drost said there is no slurry because the chickens’ waste is not water and will not be put into a slurry.
The farmers then contacted the Economic Development and Planning Department to find out if the county’s Industrial Development Agency would be willing to sell some of the land next to the Best Buy Warehouse in Nichols.
However, several elected officials from Nichols, and Town Supervisor James Branston, spoke at a meeting to say the chicken farm would not be the best use of the land. The agency voted not to sell the land.
Barton, the director for the department, traveled to the farm with Jeff Stokes, one of the county’s planners, and Wendy Walsh, the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District director. They all said the farm did not have a strong odor and added that upscale housing and a school were being built next to the operations.
Barton explained at the time that the vote meant the farmers would then try to find a private citizen willing to sell his or her land, and the county would not have any more influence in the matter.
Kuhlman ended up being that resident.

©Daily and Sunday Review 2005
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