California regulates cow farts

This is why we have the Electoral College folks.

The nation's leading agricultural state is now regulating cow farts targeting methane.

Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September that for the first time regulates heat-trapping gases from livestock operations and landfills.

Cattle and other farm animals are major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas. Methane is released when they belch, pass gas and make manure.

California may think it's a good idea to kill of their dairy industry (I am right now finishing off a wonderful goat cheese produced in Cali that will suffer under these regs), but imagine if the people who vote for the politicians who sign this nonsense into law were indicative of the sort elected by popular vote over the ENTIRE country! Instead of just Cali potentially losing its dairy industry, we might be also looking at losing the dairies in Wisconsin and the prime beef regions in the rest of the midwest too.

In the nation's largest milk-producing state, the new law aims to reduce methane emissions from dairies and livestock operations to 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, McCarthy said. State officials are developing the regulations, which take effect in 2024.

They expect this to be a model for others, meaning they would like this to go nationwide.

Dairy farmers say the new regulations will drive up costs when they're already struggling with five years of drought, low milk prices and rising labor costs. They're also concerned about a newly signed law that will boost overtime pay for farmworkers.

"It just makes it more challenging. We're continuing to lose dairies. Dairies are moving out of state to places where these costs don't exist," said Paul Sousa, director of environmental services for Western United Dairymen.

The dairy industry could be forced to move production to states and countries with fewer regulations, leading to higher emissions globally, Sousa said.

So now not only are the jobs possibly moving out of Cali, but so are the cows (and goats).

State regulators want more farmers to reduce emissions with methane digesters, which capture methane from manure in large storage tanks and convert the gas into electricity.

The state has set aside $50 million to help dairies set up digesters, but farmers say that's not nearly enough to equip the state's roughly 1,500 dairies.

New Hope Dairy, which has 1,500 cows in Sacramento County, installed a $4 million methane digester in 2013, thanks to state grants and a partnership with California Biogas LLC, which operates the system to generate renewable power for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Co-owner Arlin Van Groningen, a third-generation farmer, says he couldn't afford one if he had to buy and run it himself.

So one guy here is lucky, and he even admits that he couldn't bear the cost of this himself, but this is the model the regulators want to force on all the belching, farting cows and their poop. Good luck with that one California.

a reply to: ketsuko

Start buying your goat cheese from Wisconsin, it's better from there.

a reply to: ColdWisdom

Oh, this is a specific small batch variety. I am not wedded to my goat cheese having to come from Cali.

a reply to: ketsuko

Is there any indication as to how much money will come from the utility industry that stands to profit from this?

Confirmation that all taxes are manure based.

a reply to: ketsuko

what makes you think that cow farts is in relation to the diary industry and not hollywood actors preaching?

a reply to: ketsuko


I'd bet if you traced the spider web far enough, you will find this is directly tied to Agenda 2030 and the "Sustainable Development" goals therein.

As a matter of fact a group of Oxford scientists just recommended raising the price of beef and dairy to compromise "Climate Change"!

Tax meat and dairy to cut emissions and save lives, study urges

This is how it all starts and it has been ramping up to the point I think anyone paying attention can start to see the Control grid coming.

a reply to: introvert

Based on that $4mill figure for the one dairy, you would need $6,000,000,000 to outfit each dairy with a similar setup. I note they only have $50 million, far short of the needed total. Do you think that A. there is enough need for the biogas utility to setup 1,500 more digestors? and that it has enough money to foot the rest of the bill for the others dairies?

And I know there are some big cities, but I doubt many of the dairies are convenient to those cities like I'll bet this dairy is to Sacramento.

All the more reason to help them in their goal of secession as quickly as possible.

So they are going to tax cow gas now? How do they plan on doing that, put a meter on their butts? Maybe they can hook up a hose and propane tank to the cow and catch the gas then they can tax people so they can sell the gas way below production costs like our corn gas.

Changing the feed for the cows will lower gas emmissions, cows that graze put out far less farts than grain fed cows. That is well known in agriculture, but it is not promoted as real because most of our beef cows spend a lot of time in feed lots eating grains so they grow faster.

Better watch out, they will be hooking up meters to us, the more you fart the more tax you pay. Vegetarians will pay the most if that happens. Natural plant chemistries actually cause gas to form.

This is why California needs to secede from the US

a reply to: rickymouse

Scientists plan to reduce greenhouse gases by breeding fartless cows

This is one of my favorite headlines.

Think about the digestive process of a ruminant ... just for a bit, and then let that headline sink in. Now consider that some scientists likely have government money for this.

Will this be considered another form of "wind" energy. Some may get to use the label Powered by Cow Farts. Cool.

Don't worry, the meat and dairy industry will turn to Monsanto Bayer with hopes that they can genetically modify the cow to release an Earth friendly noble gas instead and maybe an anus that sings Love Song to the Earth every time the cow lets loose.

Or this...

No doubt the best idea yet, at least from a purely visual standpoint, is the nifty “methane backpack” invented by the Argentina National Institute of Agricultural Technology. It basically bags up farts in a plastic container that conveniently straps onto the cow’s back. The device is said to be in “its early stages,” but the creators claim the packs can trap 300 liters of methane in one day, which is enough to power a refrigerator.

Link

If I was a California dairy farmer I'd move my business across state lines. Would be cheaper than having to meet new regulations for... Cow farts..

Not that it will happen because there's no way 2/3rds of the nation is going to put our West coast in control of California but I kinda hope they succeed and realize the world of hurt they will be in having to import grain, beef and other essentials in to California. Pay for their own military, etc.. Gonna have to pay that import and export tax too. If(when) there is an earthquake they won't exactly have fema obligated to help them out either. California succeeding is just a terrible, terrible idea.

a reply to: ketsuko

Increasing taxes on dairy and meat, whatever... but that there is seriously messed up. So what's gonna happen? Either they don't produce gas at all, which certainly brings digestion and nutrition into question, or it builds up inside them and they explode.

a reply to: ketsuko

Quit your BS.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: ketsuko

Quit your BS.

Chill out, have a Trump steak.

It appears that FOX News is the BS artist and I seriously doubt that ketsuko has an agenda to promote misinformation.

a reply to: ketsuko

Stop the presses, is the stupid moron Gov. Jerry Brown going to install gas meters on the arses of the cows? I will love to see that.

This is one of those moronic legislations that are thrown out there for the heck of it like crap to see if it sticks, is not way in hell you can measure gas emissions from cows or humans.

Talking about humans, will the moron governor got after the states residents too and install gas meters in the arses?.

Somebody should stick one on his butt to.