Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Monday that the state has joined a 25-state coalition and the Trump Administration to protect Kentucky’s farmers from additional bureaucratic paperwork.
The group of attorneys general support the dismissal of what they term a lawsuit filed by extreme activists trying to force farmers to track and report the natural emissions of livestock. A federal court previously upheld the EPA’s common-sense exemption for routine agricultural operations.
According to the brief filed in The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, farming, ranching, and related industries contribute more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy each year. The D.C. Circuit Court is often called the second-most important court in the country, just below the U.S. Supreme Court.
Coleman and the other AGs argue agriculture is a cornerstone of states, and that individual states are best positioned to protect their own farmers. In Kentucky, agriculture contributes over $46 billion to the state economy every year. Kentucky is also the top beef producing state east of the Mississippi River.
“Washington climate activists keep trying to shovel on regulation after regulation onto Kentucky Farmers. Working with Commissioner Jonathan Shell, we have fought back each and every time,” Coleman said. “The people who grow America's food need less interference from Washington and more freedom to do what they do best."
"Burdensome regulations have left too many farmers buried in paperwork instead of feeding and fueling our country,” added Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.“I appreciate Attorney General Coleman for defending Kentucky agriculture, and I'm proud to work alongside him to remove unnecessary barriers so our farmers can get back to what they do best."
Kentucky joined the Utah-led brief along with AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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