Homestead mailing list

["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>]

It's an incredibly stupid idea, but it wouldn't affect homesteaders...most 
homesteaders don't have that many animals (I have 9 beef cows). It WOULD 
significantly raise the price of meat and milk....commercial livestock 
farmers make so little per head already.

Lynn Wigglesworth

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "bob ford" <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 8:56 AM
Subject: [Homestead] You think they won't tax your homestead...............


> I saw a similar article last week about small farmers in rural NY 
> protesting about this very same issue.  They will  t*x our spit if they can 
> figure a way.  This is just a proposal, likely to fail at first, just like 
> all other t*xes started out as a 'likely to fail' proposal....
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers
>
> Associated Press Writer – Fri Dec 5, 4:43 am ET AP –
>
> These Montgomery, Ala., cows seem unaware of a proposal Thursday, Dec. 4, 
> 2008 by the Environmental … 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.
>
> 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."
>
> Sparks said Wednesday he's 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," 
> Sparks said.
>
> EPA spokesman Nick Butterfield said the fee was proposed for farms with 
> livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a 
> year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions.
>
> Butterfield said 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.
>
> "It's something that really has a very big potential adverse impact for 
> the livestock industry," said Rick Krause, the senior director of 
> congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
>
> The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. 
> While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organization 
> 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 Bruce Friedrich, a 
> spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
>
> "We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share," he said.
>
> U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville in northwest 
> Alabama, said he has spoken with EPA officials and doesn't believe the cow 
> tax is a serious proposal that will ever be adopted by the agency.
>
> "Who comes up with this kind of stuff?" said Perry Mobley, director of the 
> Alabama Farmers Federation's beef division. "It seems there is an ulterior 
> motive, to destroy livestock farms. This would certainly put them out of 
> business."
>
> Butterfield said the EPA is reviewing the public comments and didn't have 
> a timetable for the next steps.
>
>
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene_cow_tax_2
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Homestead list and subscription:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
> Change your homestead list member options:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/lynnw1366%40hotmail.com
> View the archives at:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead