Is EPA's "Cow Tax" Real Or Just A Good Rumor?

We’ve all heard the coffee shop rumors that EPA will impose a cow gas tax on every livestock producer to reverse global warming. That is great fodder to chew, but what are the real proposals, what would they do, and who would be affected? Once those issues are clear, agriculture can make an appropriate response. The issue involves greenhouse gases, abbreviated as GHG, and there are many, but for the purposes of livestock producers, the major ones are carbon dioxide and methane. Agricultural and Biological Engineers Ted Funk and Randy Fonner at the University of Illinois offer their analysis, saying the US EPA proposes a reporting requirement of facilities with manure management systems that have annual emissions exceeding 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Funk and Fonner say, “No other GHG emission source associated with agriculture is proposed to be covered.” Frankly, few farmers have the knowledge and equipment to have calculated GHG emissions at their facility. Funk and Fonner say EPA’s method of calculations indicates, “that 40 to 50 of the largest livestock facilities would be required to report at the 25,000 mtCO2e per year threshold level.” If you are not managing one of the 40 to 50 largest livestock facilities, you probably are going to quit reading and think it does not concern you. However, this issue is like any dairy herd, and once the gate is open, the other cows will follow the leader through the open gate...cattlenetwork