k0xxx
Mr. Sunshine
Running out of things to regulate, the EPA sets its' sights on (drum roll, please).... DUST. 
EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust
EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust
EPA Finds a New Way to Screw With Farmers
- Thread starter k0xxx
- Start date
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
Don't they have an oil spill or two to worry about???
mlynd
Almost Self-Reliant
OMG
don't they have anything better to do like ...OIL SPILL in the gulf
don't they have anything better to do like ...OIL SPILL in the gulfme&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
You don't give any of the guidelines, just a highly biased article, a very nondetailed article, so it's hard to know what the EPA intends to do. I would say that soil loss is a huge farming issue, one you see in dry and windy farming states such as the Dakotas or in any somewhat hilly state that has seen flooding recently, like WI.
Quotes from the article:
"It's plain common sense, we don't want to do anything detrimental," said farmer Curtis Roberts. "If the dust is detrimental to us, it's going to be to everybody. We're not going to do anything to hurt ourselves or our farm."
If farmers never did anything detrimental to themselves or others, we would not see corporate, industrial, factory farming like we are seeing now. Farmers do things ALL the time that hurt themselves and their neighbors!
"We as an organization do not feel dust is a pollutant," Spradling said. "It would almost be impossible to comply with what's being addressed now from the EPA as in agriculture. We're doing everything we possibly can."
Just cuz' he doesn't think dust is a pollutant doesn't make it so. And doing everything they possibly can? Highly unlikely.
Now, I am a (small) farmer and I am married to a farmer. I very much identify with farming and respect the constraints and difficulties farmers face. I would very much like an actual link to the EPA's proposal. But, this article has ridiculous statements (IMO) and I see every single day farmers doing things that are detrimental to themselves, their neighbors and the earth.
Quotes from the article:
"It's plain common sense, we don't want to do anything detrimental," said farmer Curtis Roberts. "If the dust is detrimental to us, it's going to be to everybody. We're not going to do anything to hurt ourselves or our farm."
If farmers never did anything detrimental to themselves or others, we would not see corporate, industrial, factory farming like we are seeing now. Farmers do things ALL the time that hurt themselves and their neighbors!
"We as an organization do not feel dust is a pollutant," Spradling said. "It would almost be impossible to comply with what's being addressed now from the EPA as in agriculture. We're doing everything we possibly can."
Just cuz' he doesn't think dust is a pollutant doesn't make it so. And doing everything they possibly can? Highly unlikely.
Now, I am a (small) farmer and I am married to a farmer. I very much identify with farming and respect the constraints and difficulties farmers face. I would very much like an actual link to the EPA's proposal. But, this article has ridiculous statements (IMO) and I see every single day farmers doing things that are detrimental to themselves, their neighbors and the earth.
reinbeau
Moderator Extraordinaire
I'm from the government and I'm here to help - those nine words should strike fear into your heart. I see nothing to be gained by this, and a whole lotta cost to farmers. Ridiculous.
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
But what IS "this?" I still haven't seen anything about WHAT the EPA is proposing.reinbeau said:
Wifezilla
Low-Carb Queen - RIP: 1963-2021
"When counties reach "non-attainment" levels, it becomes a state's responsibility to bring the county back into acceptable levels.
Milbourn said various options exist for states, such as retrofitting buses that run on diesel engines.
But farmers insist the regulation will affect their operations and eventually their bottom lines. And they said unlike fixing a bus, they have few options for limiting dust from their fields and roads.
Roger Zylstra, a director with the Iowa Corngrowers Association, said if left alone, farmers can compete worldwide. But regulation could impede their success.
He said there seems to be a disconnect between farmers and policymakers.
"Many of the people that are making the rules, it feels like they really don't know what (farming) issues are," said Zylstra, a Lynnville resident who has worked on a farm for 35 years.
Zylstra said it's hard not to get frustrated."
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/mar/01/epa-farming-dust-should-be-regulated/
"Imagine a local farmer plowing his fields for spring planting in anticipation of a timed fall harvest when he is stopped abruptly by authorities, written a citation and fined for violating the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Air Act National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (EPA NAAQS).
Its a mouthful to say and even a bigger task to read the volumes of text released by the EPA in September governing what does and does not constitute clean air. But after reviewing the rule and waiting the allotted time for appeal, the National Cattlemens Beef Association chose to challenge EPAs ruling on fugitive dust.
We expected we would have to use the courts, but we did so only as a last resort, said Jay Truitt, NCBA vice president of government affairs.
In answer to the question, Could a farmer be issued a citation in the middle of spring plowing for dust coming from the field? Truitt said, yes."
http://www.tristateneighbor.com/articles/2007/01/04/tri_state_news/top_stories/news15.txt
More
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/0...-court-upholds-epas-rural-dust-rule-9867.html
Anyone else feel a nudge?
Milbourn said various options exist for states, such as retrofitting buses that run on diesel engines.
But farmers insist the regulation will affect their operations and eventually their bottom lines. And they said unlike fixing a bus, they have few options for limiting dust from their fields and roads.
Roger Zylstra, a director with the Iowa Corngrowers Association, said if left alone, farmers can compete worldwide. But regulation could impede their success.
He said there seems to be a disconnect between farmers and policymakers.
"Many of the people that are making the rules, it feels like they really don't know what (farming) issues are," said Zylstra, a Lynnville resident who has worked on a farm for 35 years.
Zylstra said it's hard not to get frustrated."
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/mar/01/epa-farming-dust-should-be-regulated/
"Imagine a local farmer plowing his fields for spring planting in anticipation of a timed fall harvest when he is stopped abruptly by authorities, written a citation and fined for violating the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Air Act National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (EPA NAAQS).
Its a mouthful to say and even a bigger task to read the volumes of text released by the EPA in September governing what does and does not constitute clean air. But after reviewing the rule and waiting the allotted time for appeal, the National Cattlemens Beef Association chose to challenge EPAs ruling on fugitive dust.
We expected we would have to use the courts, but we did so only as a last resort, said Jay Truitt, NCBA vice president of government affairs.
In answer to the question, Could a farmer be issued a citation in the middle of spring plowing for dust coming from the field? Truitt said, yes."
http://www.tristateneighbor.com/articles/2007/01/04/tri_state_news/top_stories/news15.txt
More
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/0...-court-upholds-epas-rural-dust-rule-9867.html
Anyone else feel a nudge?
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Okay, now I'm ticked, too. That is just mental. I can see not allowing whole feet of topsoil to blow away due to bad farming practices, or wash away due to no effort to slow rain runoff, but this?
Can't really combine grains when they're wet, which is the only time you could harvest them without dust.
I do sometimes wonder if anybody in legislature thinks about where their food comes from and how. They are regulating all the wrong things.
Our Secretary of Ag in WI was an awesome one, but the poor guy just drowned in Lake Superior. I hope other people are out there with sense enough to focus on the right things.
Can't really combine grains when they're wet, which is the only time you could harvest them without dust.
I do sometimes wonder if anybody in legislature thinks about where their food comes from and how. They are regulating all the wrong things.
Our Secretary of Ag in WI was an awesome one, but the poor guy just drowned in Lake Superior. I hope other people are out there with sense enough to focus on the right things.
Wifezilla
Low-Carb Queen - RIP: 1963-2021
Incompetence or just part of the plan? Really hard to say. Maybe a little of both?
http://the-classic-liberal.com/family-farms-seige
http://the-classic-liberal.com/family-farms-seige
Buster
Lovin' The Homestead
I'm all for the EPA cracking down on polluters of all sorts.
As I understand it, this is mostly a move to crack down on factory farm operations, among the worst polluters in our country.
A slightly less biased article...
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/0...-court-upholds-epas-rural-dust-rule-9867.html
As I understand it, this is mostly a move to crack down on factory farm operations, among the worst polluters in our country.
A slightly less biased article...
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/0...-court-upholds-epas-rural-dust-rule-9867.html
