EPA up to no good again

<i>Commentary</i> column

By WAYNE STEWART

About seven months ago I wrote a column about an insidious plan afoot in the Environmental Protection Agency.

I wrote a story and followed it with an opinion piece about the EPA classifying greenhouse gas emissions as an endangerment to public health. Now, it looks to be getting closer to becoming real — another example of government overreach into the lives of everyday Americans.

Now, cattle raisers could face the spectre of endless litigation and lawsuits, but before we get to that, here’s a little background on the issue.

Anybody who has been around cattle much at all knows that cow burps smell like fermented grass — which they pretty much are. Bovine are extremely efficient at absorbing nutrients from grass through their digestive process.

A natural byproduct of this process is methane gas.

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA could impose a tax on cattle if they decide to start regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that an operation with more than 25 dairy cows or 50 beef cattle would meet the 100-ton threshold for greenhouse gas emissions. Operations with that number of cattle would have to obtain permits and fall under EPA regulation.

The proposal set forth by the EPA would tax farms meeting those numbers at a rate of $175 per dairy cow and $87.50 per beef cow.

While the administration and leading legislators have said they don’t want to tax farmers for their animals, the groundwork is being prepared for such an eventuality with classifying of greenhouse gas emissions as a public endangerment.

With the high cost of fuel and fertilizer, margins are tight on a cattle operation as it is. There is only so much milk you can squeeze from a cow, or only one calf a year from a beef cow.

In other words, placing additional input costs like these on cattle would decimate the cattle industry. If you don’t own cows you are probably thinking, “So?”

Maybe this will change your mind. Right now ground beef averages about $3 per pound, give or take some depending on quality. What if ground beef cost $6 per pound? What if you went into a restaurant to buy a 12-ounce ribeye, and instead of paying $20 it cost $40. Better yet, what if you had to pay $12 for a Big Mac, or $8 for a gallon of milk.

Do you want to see those prices go up by that amount? As a consumer I sure don’t and as a producer I wouldn’t want to see it happen because demand would collapse and I would be left with cows I’m having to pay the government to keep and nobody else wants to buy.

The market drives the price of beef. We can’t take our animals to an auction and tell the buyer what we want them to pay, the buyer pays us what the market bears. We are at the mercy of consumer whims and trends.

Putting a yearly tax on production animals, likely as not, would not be made up at the auction. That would put cattlemen out of business and consumers out of beef.

The possibility of taxes and further regulation are just a small problem with the EPA designation. A litigious society also could do irrevocable harm.

In a letter to the EPA, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association said with the EPA’s classifying greenhouse gases as a health endangerment would also expose the agriculture industry to “unprecedented legal action.”

The letter went on to state, “Since methane emission — a type of greenhouse gas — are a natural byproduct of cattle and other livestock, the U.S. cattle industry could be subject to an onslaught of unfair lawsuits, as a new wave of litigation could be created by the EPA’s findings that blame livestock producers for a litany of health problems. The resulting costs of legal liability — or even the costs of simply preparing for potential litigation — could run many farmers and ranchers out of business at a time when they are coping with one of the worst economic recessions this nation has ever seen.”

The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association has asked the EPA to extend its comment period, but I would like to encourage everyone to do more. We have a very solid man serving as our U.S. Representative in Jeb Hensarling. I would advise you to call his office at (202) 225-3484, his Athens office at (903) 675-8288, and his Dallas office at (214) 349-9996.

Also call our Sen. John Cornyn, another fine Texan, and tell him this is a bad idea for Texas and everybody involved in agriculture. He can be reached at his Washington DC office at (202) 224-2934; or his East Texas office at (903)593-0902.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison also would be glad to take your call, especially since she may be running for governor. Her offices can be reached at (202) 224-5922, or her Houston office at (713) 653-3456.