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MONTGOMERY: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing farmers extra money if a U.S. government 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 (EPA) 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. 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. An official of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation 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.” Mr. Sparks said he was worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported. “We’ll let other countries put food on our tables like they are putting gas in our cars. Other countries don’t have the health standards we have.” An EPA spokesman said the fee was proposed for farms with livestock operations that emit more than 90 tonnes of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions. The EPA has not taken a position on any of the proposals. But farmers from across the country have expressed outrage over the idea, both on Internet sites and in opinions sent to EPA during a public comment period that ended last week. The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organisation supporting the proposal hopes it forces the farms and ranches to switch to healthier crops. “It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses,” said a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville in northwest Alabama, said he has spoken with EPA officials and does not believe the cow tax is a serious proposal that will ever be adopted by the agency. — AP
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