EPA declares hay a pollutant in effort to drive small, mid-sized family cattle ranchers out of business

Friday, September 09, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: hay, pollutant, health news

(NaturalNews) The assault against American industry and individual livelihood continues -- and no, it is not coming from Al-Qaeda or other foreign terrorists. A recent report from R-CALF USA, an advocacy group for American cattle producers, says the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared harmless cattle hay a "pollutant," which is part of the agency's agenda to squelch family-scale cattle ranches in favor of corporately-owned, mega-sized feedlot operations.

At the recent 12th Annual R-CALF USA Convention in Rapid City, SD, an audience member asked Mike Callicrate, a Kansas cattle feeder, if the EPA had, indeed, declared hay a pollutant. His affirmative answer was startling to many, but not necessarily surprising in light of the US government's apparent agenda to destroy every single producing sector in the nation and to reduce the country to a poverty-stricken, corporately-dominated wasteland.

"Now that EPA has declared hay a pollutant, every farmer and rancher that stores hay, or that leaves a broken hay bale in the field, is potentially violating EPA rules and subject to an EPA enforcement action," responded Callicrate. "How far are we going to let this agency go before we stand up and do something about it?"

Callicrate currently operates what is considered a mid-sized cattle ranch, and was ostracized by some of the nation's largest beef packers back in 1998 for exposing their illegitimate buying practices. Callicrate ended up having to cease operations for two years, but later reopened as a direct marketer of meat to consumers.

"I believe the EPA's enforcement action is a premeditated effort by EPA to partner with the beef packers to finish the job the beef packers couldn't do alone," added Callicrate, referring to EPA's failure to enforce the same rules for large meat packers like JBS-Brazil and Cargill (the two largest beef packing operations in the country).

Between 2008 and 2010, 45 small to mid-sized family cattle operations were forced out of business, according to R-CALF USA. During the same time, the nation's largest feedlots expanded their operations, and now own and feed roughly 25 percent of the nation's cattle.

"EPA is turning a blind eye toward the mega-feedlots that are a real risk for pollution and, instead, is antagonizing small to mid-sized family operations in an effort to help their packer-partners capture the entire live cattle supply chain away from family farm and ranch operations."

Sources for this story include:

http://r-calfusa.com/news_releases/2011/1109...