Tester to Washington: Cut the Crap

Senator Cosponsors Bill to Stop Federal Government from Regulating Cow Pies

(U.S. Senate)-U.S. Senator Jon Tester is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation that will stop the federal government from regulating cow pies.

The Fair Agriculture Reporting Method (FARM) Act permanently flushes a regulation that would require small family farmers and ranchers to report air emissions from animal waste to federal officials.

“It’s not just the smell coming out of Washington, this regulation is total crap,” said Tester. “Farmers and ranchers have plenty of real work to do, counting cow turds is not in the job description. This bill will bring some Montana commonsense to a place that’s totally out of touch with life in rural America.”

For nearly 40 years, family farmers and ranchers were exempted from reporting animal-caused air pollution to the government. But a recent D.C. Circuit Court threw out the ranch exemption forcing Montana producers to start reporting air emissions from their animal waste by May 1, 2018.

Tester’s bill ensures that Montana producers will not be subjected to pointless regulation by clarifying that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act was never intended to apply to agriculture operations.

The FARM Act is available HERE.