A special use permit for a turkey house project was unanimously approved by the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors during its meeting Monday.

This is the second turkey house project approved in 2019 so far in Buckingham. The first was approved in February in the area of Deer Run Road.

The turkey house project would be located on an 86-acre parcel on Francisco Road. The proposed houses, 63 feet by 704 feet, would contain approximately 25,000 turkeys per house.

The property owners are included on the application as Ruby Harris (life estate) in the care of David and Faye Bryan. The applicant is Justin Bryan.

The houses would be operated through a contract with Cargill Foods.

“Currently the land is a mixture of timberland and farmland,” the application cited. “With the approval of this permit we will be able (to) continue to keep the land as farmland and have a more stable income for our family farm.”

The conditions include a list of state, federal and local requirements that the applicant would need to fulfill before a building permit could be issued.

Three members of the public were signed up to speak during the hearing. Quinn Robinson expressed concern about adjacent property owners and the water supply in the area, and asked about whether insurance that could be available to adjoining residents. Sammy Smith was slated to speak during the hearing but declined.

Ivan Chip Davis with the Buckingham County Farm Bureau spoke in support of the project, praising young farmers and saying that Bryan’s family has a history of reputable farming.

Bryan was present at the meeting and answered questions.

“My family and I feel this was an opportunity to have additional income to our farm and have it be sustainable into the future,” Bryan said. He said the location would be secluded and has natural barriers to adjoining properties or roads.

“We have chosen this location with neighbors in mind,” Bryan said.

He said he would follow requirements from organizations such as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.