Farmers to be taxed on livestock flatulence (New Zealand's Global Warming Wackos Alert)

N.Z.P.A. ^ | 20 June 2003

[DannyTN]

Farmers will be taxed on the flatulence of their livestock in an attempt to slow New Zealand's contribution to global warming.

The levy could cost a typical family farmer up to $300 a year. Larger corporate farmers could pay up to $10,000.

Sheep will be levied at nine cents each and cows at up to 72 cents under the Government's proposals.

The money will be used for research on emission reductions needed to meet New Zealand's commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto protocol.

The new Agriculture Emissions Research body will be funded by sheep, cattle, deer and goat farmers to the tune of $8.4 million a year, which has infuriated farming organisations.

"That's overkill." Meat New Zealand chairman Jeff Grant said. "This is a public good rather than an industry good. It should be funded by the Government not farmers."

Livestock accounts for about half of New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions.

The emissions are caused by the complex process of digesting grass and are belched into the air.

The levy was bad news at the worst possible time for farmers suffering from a high dollar, low commodity prices and drought conditions, Grant said.

The sector was already funding its own research through the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGGRC), he said.

Less than one year old, the PGGRC is an industry body comprised of representatives from Fonterra, AgResearch, Wrightson, DeerResearch and Meat New Zealand.

Together the participants are investing $800,000 per year on emission research. The Government has supported that group by matching its investment - taking its total funding to $1.6 million.

PGGRC chairman Mark Leslie said the levy was "a real kick in the teeth for the consortium."

The latest Government recommendations simply mirrored those that the PGGRC already had in place, he said.

"The Government is basically telling the industry consortium that 'it is too little to late' after giving us less than a year to prove ourselves," he said.

Throwing money at the issue wasn't necessarily going to speed things up, he said.

Time was needed to train skilled researchers and to understand how the digestion process worked. "This is PGGRC's strategy yet the Government has decided it knows best," he said.

Agriculture minister Jim Sutton is overseas but in a statement he argued the agriculture sector had been exempted from emission charges in the climate change policy but was expected to meet the costs of research.

The Government will introduce an emissions tax for other industries in 2007.

Federated Farmers president Tom Lambie said the levy disadvantaged New Zealand farmers struggling to compete in the world markets.

"As far as I'm aware we're the only country in the world to impose a levy like this," he said.

The Government needed to stop passing the buck to rural New Zealand for the Kyoto commitments it made on behalf of all New Zealanders, he said.

Farmers will have until July 31 to voice their concerns although the Government has stressed consultation will be about how the levy is paid not if it will be paid.

It has decided against a levy on the pig and poultry sectors as these represent less than one per cent of agricultural emissions.

[shaggy eel]

Now head to the Green Dragon for a pint of complacency.

,,, did "they" get C4 from the North Koreans? I'll keep the complacency, you keep the stupidity.

[manic4organic]

OK, hook up hoses to all the cattle and you could light California.

[DannyTN]

Better yet, hook those hoses to the Democrats and light up the entire East Coast.

[DannyTN]

On a more serious note. I read an article recently that adding flax oil to feed dramatically cut bovine flatulence.

I don't suppose the Kyoto Krazy's considered that possibility, before they implemented this hair brained scheme.

[shaggy eel]

,,, also...