Free Republic

Many farmers and ranchers are breathing a sigh of relief after the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to remove language from a proposal that would have required them to report greenhouse gas emissions. For two years, the SEC has been working on regulations mandating public companies better report their greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal was divided into multiple scopes.

At its core, this story is about land rights, ownership, and power. It is a long, complicated, and winding tale that began back in 1989 over a desert tortoise. Designated as an "endangered species," the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) designated "hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land" for conservation, as reported by The Washington Post. This did not sit well with Cliven Bundy, whose family homesteaded his ranch back in 1877 and called the move a government land grab. As well, others were upset and felt the heavy hand of the federal government on their backs. But it...

When Andy and Katie Johnson built a pond on their property in 2011 to provide water for their cattle, they never dreamed it would result in threats of $75,000 a day in fines from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Johnsons believed they had done everything necessary to get permission for the pond, where the tiny Six Mile Creek runs through their property south of Fort Bridger, Wyo. The Wyoming State Engineer's Office provided the permit and even stated in an April 4, 2013 letter to the Johnsons: "All of the legal requirements of the State Engineer's Office, that were your...

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department, trying to block an elaborate money-laundering scheme, has announced that two Mexican cattle companies are fronts for drug-trafficking cartels. The action means that cattle sold by the companies to Texas ranchers after Friday's announcement are subject to seizure by the federal government, said a high-ranking Treasury official who asked not to be named. "Cattle already purchased and owned before the companies were identified as tied to the drug cartels are not going to suddenly be blocked," the official said. The Treasury Department plans to inform cattle associations and other groups later this week of the...