Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers

Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers

news.yahoo.com

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.

Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.

"This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do," said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Ridiculous.

I don't believe anything like this could ever get put into place...but then again....

The fines on this are ridiculous as well. From the article...

It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.

The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and "all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them."

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Has anyone at the EPA ever farted?

If so they should look at imposing a flatulence tax on all of us.

Another of those "your tax dollars at work" pieces that should show just what a bunch of idiots taxpayer money finances.

An then the cost of food is going to skyrocket more so than it already has because the farmers are going to hav to offset the fines they have to pay so that they can break even or even have somewhat of a life.

Sure they will. Prices would go up to equal this new tax.

Is there anything more useless and backwards than the EPA?

These environmentalists are getting out of hand. I'm all for conservation and protecting our earth, but at what point did these people start caring more about nature than they did other human beings?

Actually, I see something far worse here. This just means the average person, or those who have inherited their farms from their parents are being penalized. This is an attempt to land grab everything, and all farms in to the hands of the very wealthy, leaving all citizens with next to nothing and no rights. Then they set whatever prices they want.

People really have to get together and end their paid public SERVANTS terms of office when they don't SERVE THEIR MASTERS, US!

And this is being said while I think raising a lot more chickens, and poultry, and avoiding red meat, or perhaps even adopting a veggie or semi veggie diest is the best way to go. But this has to do with a land grab.

[edit on 5-12-2008 by mystiq]

Carole Browner, Klintons EPA chief nightmare proposed this during his tenure. Driving our food suppliers out of business will definatly make us a 4rth world country looking to third worlders for help, Complete idiocy based on junk science and folks who moved to the country to get away from the problems, only to drag those complaints with them and think they can force change to comfort their ideals. Selfishness and stupidity!!

Zindo

Its getting to the point that one can not take a fart unless being taxed, farmers are already at the brink of folding. getting paid pennies on the dollar to produce what everyone else takes for granted. Break the U.S. Farmer and you will starve.

Not that I know anything about farming, but that fee seems REALLY steep!
I'm starting to see the benefits in making the public believe in Global Warming. $ $ $ $ $ $ $

I am surprised to see this coming out of Alabama. I would expect this to come from areas with large suburban sprawl. Farmer sells land, builder develops it and oops it is right next to an existing dairy farm and they don't like the smell. The farms have been around long before the subdivisions.

Are they trying to kill farming as an industry? The business is already tough enough without these idiotic fines.

reply to post by nyk537


So no one realizes that Methane is an air pollutant as well as the excess nitrogen in the water?

Hog farmers and dairy farmers have been polluting and externalizing the costs.

Of course they should be taxed for this, and of course food prices should go up as we "internalize" these costs.

Are you people really as ignorant as the replies so far have shown?

I think we should tax BO and gaseous humans, now that's a policy I can stand behind...literally

So no one realizes that Methane is an air pollutant as well as the excess nitrogen in the water?



Methane is a by-product of the breakdown/decomposing (bacteria) of organic material. It is odorless. Just so happens, this is what occurs in the digestive system of every animal on earth. It also occurs naturally on the earth on a grand scale. I have a large pond. I can walk around on the soft bottom near the cattails and large pockets of gas pockets get released with every step thru the silt. It's methane! I also get mini oil slicks in the vegetaion that comes from the shale on the bottom!

en.wikipedia.org...



[edit on 5-12-2008 by Pinktip]

reply to post by troos1


You can't be serious. (although obviously you are)

I'm not even sure where to start with you.

Gotta be one of those vegi folks that hates all meat eaters and wants to tax us out of existence. Thats there only plan to tax everything that they don't like and make every one else change and dance to their tune.

Zindo

Originally posted by mystiq
Actually, I see something far worse here. This just means the average person, or those who have inherited their farms from their parents are being penalized. This is an attempt to land grab everything, and all farms in to the hands of the very wealthy, leaving all citizens with next to nothing and no rights. Then they set whatever prices they want.

Brilliant post, mystiq...

I really have nothing to add but I wanted to make sure that your post was not lost amongst the inevitable fart jokes.

Thank you. They wouldn't be proposing this at all except if the fees could average 30,000 a year, this kind of coin is only affordable to a certain group of individuals, and they've been grabbing everything they can, including rights to rain, seeds (preventing people from harvesting seeds from nature????? As if they can!!!!!) , thinking they own dna strings and virus strings. Well, if they made them, maybe, but then........if they're admitting the viruses came out of their testubes.
To me its so obvious this is a land steal from the middle and upper middle class.

reply to post by nyk537


Ok, I think it's time somebody went to EPA headquarters and torched the building down! These people are getting in the way of progress and should be removed from the gene pool. Charging fees for animals doing what they are born to do??? What's next? A tax on humans who belch or fart too much? Hang these people and get rid of it!

We should demand cleaner emissions from our cows.

It is time that the EPA impose strict new regulations which will force compliance from all beef producers and cattle ranchers, a draft proposal should include new and improved zero emission electric cows.

reply to post by mystiq


The farmers I know back home are lucky to clear 30,000 /yr. They are not big farmers but they do run several forms of livestock as cash entities and this would bankrupt them. Of course the Corporate Farms would end up being exempt I'm sure and the family farms would have to take the brunt of this extra tax burden!

Zindo

Walkswithfish, can't ya just see all these cows with little methane generators on the butts with rechargeable battery packs so the farmers can plug in their tractors???LOL

[edit on 12/5/2008 by ZindoDoone]