Neighbors of egg farm fed up with stench, flies Complaints target former DeCoster facility

TURNER – The former DeCoster Egg Farm, longtime target of allegations of health and safety violations affecting employees, now finds itself on the receiving end of complaints by neighbors.

Representatives of 14 households and businesses located within three miles of the sprawling DeCoster complex want the state and the courts to put an end to the stench and the flies emanating from the giant agribusiness.

The neighbors are asking the state Department of Agriculture to rescind permits allowing the egg farm to operate. The department plans to hear their appeal Wednesday.

Also in the works is a lawsuit asking the courts to end what the neighbors say is “gross mismanagement of waste” at the farm.

Katrina Morgan, a spokeswoman for neighbors of DeCoster holdings and subsidiaries, said some have been calling for improvement for more than a decade. They organized about three years ago, she added, and now have hired both a Boston-based lawyer and an animal waste expert from Delaware to bolster their case.

“We’ve had enough,” she said.

Morgan claims the facilities have improperly administered barns filled with manure generated by millions of chickens.

As a result, the stench of decaying manure can permeate the air, forcing some to close windows in warm weather, she said. Worse, it serves as a breeding ground for millions of flies that go on to invade homes.

Morgan said the flies spread germs and threaten the health of people living in the area. They also have harmed the quality of life of the neighbors, she noted, ruining outdoor activities such as barbecues.

No one involved with the farming operations could be reached immediately to discuss the appeal or pending lawsuit.

The DeCoster Egg Farm was the world’s largest brown-egg producer when it was fined for workplace health and safety violations in 1996. The operations owned by Austin “Jack” DeCoster subsequently were split into several entities.

In February, the company paid millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit alleging discrimination in its treatment of Hispanic workers.