CLIMATE RULE CHANGES
The American Farm Bureau is locked in a fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a proposed rule it says could force farmers to keep an inventory of climate emissions.
Farm Bureau says requiring farms to keep records of all climate emissions, will hurt …
CUSHMAN … “What that means for a farmer is almost every product they sell, at some point, will touch a public company. That company will have to report on the emissions of that farm.”
AFBF’s Travis Cushman says it’s more ‘red tape’ and cost for producers …
CUSHMAN … “It has the potential to mean, the farmer is going to have to keep track of a very, very onerous set of emissions data, from carbon dioxide to methane, to a slew of other emissions, and has potential to require a farmer to keep track of every gallon of diesel, he puts in his tractor.”
All of which could hit many farmers hard …
CUSHMAN … “We’re wildly worried, this is going put a huge squeeze on small and mid-size farms, that simply don’t have the capacity to keep track of all this information—or the time.”
When Cushman argues Ag is already reducing emissions …
CUSHMAN … “Agriculture is leading the charge in reducing the carbon footprint of America. We’re much, much more efficient, we’re (among) the most efficient producers in the world, here…and this rule, I think, would be a setback for those aims.”
AFB President Zippy Duval calls the SEC proposal “overreach,” that could keep small farms from doing business with public firms at a time when all farms are needed for food security.
