It’s likely to get easier to set up large chicken barns in Kansas.
The House is one step away from sending the governor a bill that would allow farms to pack in more birds closer to homes. That comes after public outcry last year stopped a proposed Tyson plant in Tonganoxie.
Republican Rep. Jim Kelly of Independence is hoping the new rules will attract major poultry processing operations to the state.
"We don’t know that we’ll get a plant, but it opens up an opportunity for the poultry industry in Kansas," Kelly says. "I think it can be very beneficial to the state."
Critics of the bill raised environmental concerns and tried unsuccessfully to amend the legislation to give local residents more options for blocking large poultry operations.
--
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @KPRKoranda.
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.