Listen to Thomas Stone, Director of Marketing for Bell & Evans
Many people are aware of the importance of family farms in our State, and the vital role they play in supporting local economies, providing tax revenue to local government, and maintaining a healthy rural environment with lots of open, "green" space, but when considering nearby factories and processing plants perspectives can often be quite different. For some, factories represent urban sprawl or undesirable land use, and when these factories are linked to agriculture, or labeled as "Factory Farming", it can cause tensions to rise as traditional rural residents perceive a loss of simple, family farming the way it use to be.

However, times have changed, and in many cases it is impossible for traditional corp farmers to survive in today's economy - so farm families often need to partner with processing plants to ensure their livelihood. Our society needs to develop workable scenarios for family farm survivability, healthy local government, and suitable employment of residents. In the following sound file you will hear Thomas Stone, Director of Marketing for the newly expanded Bell & Evans poultry processing plant in Fredericksburg, PA describing how they work hand in hand with local farmers and their employes to create a partnership that maintains the viability of today's family farm, while providing excellent employment opportunities to local residents, and a strong tax base to local government.