SALISBURY — Poultry giant Perdue said Tuesday that is has signed an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency under which it will expand a program that provides training and other assistance to its chicken producers to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

Farms are a significant source of nutrients that spur algae growth and, in turn, rob oxygen from waterways such as the Chesapeake Bay. The poultry industry, for example, has more than 2,000 poultry feeding operations on the Delmarva Peninsula alone, the EPA said.

Salisbury-based Perdue Farms said the company is expanding a pilot program on the Eastern Shore to cover all of its chicken producers. The four-year initiative will eventually cover more than 1,600 Perdue producers in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

The agreement covers producers in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, a company spokeswoman said.

Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic region, said runoff from improperly managed poultry farms can harm water quality as well as plant and fish life, and the agreement will ensure poultry growers are in compliance with environmental regulations.

Perdue chairman Jim Perdue said providing the company’s producers with the knowledge and resources to be good environmental stewards is the most productive route to “protecting our natural resources and preserving the family farm.”

Perdue says its poultry processing facilities will also implement an environmental management system. Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said the initiative will not cover the company’s turkey producers or its chicken breeding operations.

The initiative will help growers comply with guidelines for controlling runoff and managing litter disposal. Under the pilot program, trained flock supervisors visited each farm with a checklist and examined how farmers complied with nutrient management regulations and best management practices, noting where improvements were needed. The initiative will also include an awards program to recognize poultry farms that demonstrate environmental excellence.

Under the agreement, Perdue has modified the feed used by its growers to cut levels of phosphorous in waste produced by the chickens. The company has also agreed to limit the use of arsenic compounds to cases where other efforts to maintain the health of flocks has failed.