‘Gassy cattle? That’ll be a steep fine’
March 6, 2009 by Shane BorerPosted in: Compliance, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest news & views
New fees planned for this industry are raising a stink. Is it an air pollution problem or just business as usual?
After a 2007 Supreme Court ruling claimed that greenhouse gases emitted by flatulence or belching amounted to air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now plans to impose extra fees on cattle farmers.
According to EPA’s proposal, farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 heads of cattle or 200 hogs would have to pay an annual fee of $175 per cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 per hog to offset air pollution from the animals’ various bodily functions. On average, it would cost owners of a medium-sized cattle ranch $40,000 in extra fees.
Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks claims the move is “one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,” and that the fees would likely bankrupt a majority of ranch and farm owners.
EPA claims the fee would cover the cost of a permit for approved livestock operations, and that it would force farmers to switch to healthier crops. The agency’s not alone in its fight, either. A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claimed the move would make “perfect sense if they’re looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses.”
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Tags: Air pollution, EPA, Farm, PETA, Ranch
March 13th, 2009 at 9:28 am
They’re being backed by PETA?
Isn’t that alone proof that it’s an exceptionally dumb idea?
March 13th, 2009 at 9:52 am
If the government was really serious about reducing air polution, they would charge politicians by the word for their speaches to cover the greenhouse gases emitted by them.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Seems to me if the emmissions of these animals are polutants then the ranchers are doing the environment a service by slaughtering them and PETA’s attempts to keep such animals alive are an attack against the environment… In fact, this supports the consumption of veal because it stops the polluters while they’re young! Way to go ranchers!!
March 13th, 2009 at 11:49 am
The Feds have regulated the auto industry to death, now they are working on regulating our farming to death. Only a government bureaucrat could devise a way to tax animal farts and actually get it implemented. For the veggies out there, how much flatulence is created by beans and broccoli?
In case you missed it, farmers are now polluting the air with “dust” when they plow. The government calls dust “large particulates”. Talk about Orwellian double-speak. How about some common sense before we end up as a third-world has-been due to our own government.
Here, here on the PETA comment!
March 13th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
That’s just like our Government to do this to the farmers. If they put the farmers out of business what are they going to eat. As it is our Government pays farmers not go grow crop. When we have so many people homeless and starving. I can think of a lot of ways to spend the money the PETA and other group’s are willing to spend. Like helping the people that need help rather than wasting it on something so outrageous.
March 13th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
beano
March 13th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Aside from dealing with the misguided idea that taxing things of this nature is actually a prudent method of environmental control (”Cap and trade”, anyone?), I guess we also must consider how much food prices will increase when/if the farmers decide to pass the tax on to the consumer. Now that’s a real great idea to stimulate the economy, huh?
March 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I suggest fitting all bovines with “cattle-lytic” converters.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Isn’t it bad enough that our farmers are going out of business in droves because the cost to produce food for this nation is so much higher than what they are actually being paid? Not to mention the fact that corn, which is the most widely used crop for feeding dairy cows, has increased greatly to produce thanks to all those folks who think ethanol is the next best thing in alternative fuel. Most farmers can’t afford to live at a subsistence level, and our government has found yet another way to try and put the remaining farmers we have out of business. Maybe when there’s no more food, PETA will shut their mouths!