Poultry giant Perdue says it signed an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency under which it will provide training and other assistance to its chicken producers to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. Runoff from poultry farms can harm water quality as well as fish and plants. Salisbury-based Perdue Farms says 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 producers in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Perdue says its poultry processing facilities also will implement an environmental management system.