Farmers Charge Government of Spying on Beef Farms

According to Reuters, cattle farmers complained that the Environmental Protection Agency is “spying” on their operations by flying airplanes over Midwest cattle feedlots to see if they are complying with clean water regulations. The livestock producers and some members of Congress from rural areas want to know why the EPA is using airplanes to monitor whether feedlots are obeying the Clean Water Act.

The Nebraska Cattlemen Association advised two U.S. senators and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska in drafting a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on the matter. They said the aerial surveillance raises privacy concerns and they question the statutory authority for the flights.

The EPA defended the flights as part of its effort to enforce the law, which sets standards for how cattle feedlots are to dispose of manure to avoid pollution.