Alan Hudson

Alan Hudson told a federal district court yesterday that it is possible water containing cow manure runs off into a ditch that drains from his property.

His testimony during a lawsuit filed against Hudson and Perdue for violations of the Clean Water Act by the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance.

Capital News Service reports that water samples taken near the farm in 2009 and 2010 showed a sharp spike in bacteria and nutrient levels.

BALTIMORE (AP) - A Maryland chicken farmer at the center of a lawsuit that could impact the state's poultry industry said in court that the lawsuit has been stressful for him and his family and also made him paranoid.

Alan Hudson, who raises chickens for poultry giant Perdue, is being sued by a New York-based environmental group which also sued Perdue. The group says Hudson's chicken-raising operation in Berlin polluted a nearby river.

Hudson says that the lawsuit, which was filed in 2010, has been difficult for his family.