That is insane. Haven’t you ever heard of the legal concept of negligence ? If a company fails to properly contain hazards, and they injure someone, good intentions don’t matter. If I fail to install ventilation to remove naturally produced methane on my property, and someone is hurt in the resulting explosion, I will be sued into oblivion.

If what you say is true, having a fire on ones land and the burning of combustibles like forrest or grass fires is obviously a negligent act of createind an attractive nuisance for lightning to start fires.

No case law for these claims.

Dust is a natural part of the environment, as is methane, CO2, etc. Unless someone is intentionally using dust to harm others, the EPA needs to go pound sand….or dust.

Patrick S on March 2, 2009 at 11:20 AM

That is insane. Haven’t you ever heard of the legal concept of negligence ? If a company fails to properly contain hazards, and they injure someone, good intentions don’t matter. If I fail to install ventilation to remove naturally produced methane on my property, and someone is hurt in the resulting explosion, I will be sued into oblivion.

The key to regulation, and especially environmental regulation, is balance fascism.

Fixed it for ya, Ed. Nobody is having their rights actively violated by farm dust, so it should not be considered a criminal matter. That the government considers it a criminal matter means that the government is actively engaged in the violation of rights.

The EPA will have to go out to audit farmers, truckers, et al to prove the agency is doing their job and justify their existence. The (hidden) costs are paid by us in higher prices.

mph on March 2, 2009 at 3:19 PM

They are already in the works in doing this.
Recently EPA/Game & Fish folks have been coming out here for several years to ‘assess’ how many cows were are feeding & where in relation to water sources.
We leased a place at where a major stream emptied into a river & the corral sat right at the confluence.
They told us we could only feed so many head there for a couple of weeks & that is it for the whole year.
I agree to a point. But more intrusion for us is coming.
We have a major river that winds through our ranch.
I can see them telling us to fence of the river so our cows cannot drink out of it. This would be impossible because of its sinuous nature.
I really believe that’s what it will come to for us here.

upinak on March 2, 2009 at 1:55 PM

Back in the ’80s when a lot of farmland wasn’t in CRP, people had been digging up everything like crazy. Then the winds blew & blew & a LOT of soil was lost. Some was just transported to the pasture or field next door.
But where was the EPA then? Hmmm?
I am with you.
They only care when they can screw you out of something.
I am so disgusted by this crap I could puke.

Ernest on March 2, 2009 at 1:55 PM

Just another cost the retail sector will not pay the farmer for, but will make YOU pay for.
Just another screwing at the bottom line.

Is that like soilent green?

Burgher on March 2, 2009 at 4:22 PM

Maybe. You know, USDA does not really inspect food processing plants anymore.
They have recently adopted a self-regulating approach to food safety (i.e what’s in it!).
Does that make you feel any better?

P.S. What if farmers just say ok, we won’t plant anything this year.

MirCat on March 2, 2009 at 4:22 PM

Then their bankers would say “Pay up or lose everything!”
Trust me-I would love for us all to stop producing food just so we could see what happens.
We are stuck in a vicious cycle.

Big AGribusiness to make ‘corporate’ food for everyone!

Is that like soilent green?

- The Cat

P.S. What if farmers just say ok, we won’t plant anything this year.

Nothing says summer in Iowa like a cloud of dust behind a combine.

Tooling around in a combine runs $30 to $60 bucks an acre.

Just for emphasis let me repeat this because it made me laugh.

In autumn, corn is harvested with combines.

Ag in the classroom teachers resource pdf.
David

Combine harvester — or simply combine, also known as a thresher is a machine that combines the tasks of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning grain crops. The objective is to complete these three processes, which used to be distinct, in one pass of the machine over a particular part of the field

Planting in the spring, maintaining in the summer, harvesting in the fall — at least that is how it was when I was working on farms growing up. Occasionally you will see a combine in the summer on certain crops and fields — but this IOWA, king of CORN. Harvested in Sept. Oct.

Too bad the AP doesn’t get outside the city much.
David

Johan Klaus on March 2, 2009 at 2:57 PM

Drill here! Drill now!

Time to dust off my copies of my US Army FM 3-21, and especially FM 3-25-150.

What dusty gravel roads need is more oil!

Dusty on March 2, 2009 at 11:20 AM

Drill here, drill now.

After all, it hurts those poor widdle ears of corn to eat them.

The drought in the Dirty 30’s went on for years.

The great plains was once refered by the name The Great American Desert. You can still see sand dunes in west Texas (Midland area) and in Colorado.