Comment submitted by Mickey Baugher, Complex Manager, Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, Inc.

I am the Complex Manager for Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, Inc in Hinton, VA. I represent 156 grower members in the Cooperative. These members own family farms some of which have been in their family for over 100 years. Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative was formed by the grower members after Pilgrims Pride shut down the Hinton operation in 2004. We are a business that is providing income to 600 employees and our grower members. We help feed a hungry world. I ask that the EPA slow down and work with industry on the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Don't force regulations that will surely have unintended consequences. Haven't we learned that working together is better than government mandate? The flaws of the TMDL model have been well documented. Everyone, including environmental groups, agree that farmland is better for the environment than impervious surfaces. Yet EPA continues to move forward with rulemaking that will most certainly reduce the amount of farmland and increase impervious surfaces. There has been considerable progress by agriculture on reducing nitrogen and phosphorous through voluntary methods. Let us continue to work on our issues in a way that doesn't drive us out of business. Please recognize the fact that food production is important and show us the respect that we deserve. The United States is blessed with so many natural resources to help feed a hungry world. It is poor policy to adopt rulemaking that idles these resources while many people in the world go hungry. Thanks for the opportunity to submit these comments.