The EPA, which initially fought the Supreme Court's April 2, 2007 decisions on regulating carbon emissions, is now planning on licensing fees aimed at livestock operations with more than 100 tons of carbon emissions per year, according to Nick Butterfield, speaking for the EPA, quoted by Bob Johnson, AP, published in the Washington Post - EPA Targets Farmers. The farmers are against this. Ken Hamilton, of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation says it will cost owners of a modest sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 per year. This seems correct - when you do the math, the fee is $30,000 for 172 dairy cows.
To this suburban non-farmer, the fee seems high and skewed against dairy farmers and cattle ranchers. It reaches $30,000 per year with only 172 dairy cows, 343 head of beef cattle, and 1,500 hogs. However, by generating popular support against carbon emission regulations, this seems really designed to support the coal industry, and to develop antagonisms between environmentalists on one side and dairy farmers and ranchers on the other.
Read More