SEC climate reporting rules could impact local farmers and ranchers

Two Republican senators introduced a bill they said will protect small family farmers and ranchers from proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. The Protect our Farmers from the SEC Act would exempt family-owned businesses from value chain reporting.

The SEC-proposed rule would require public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, including all operations the company owns or controls and any indirect emissions that occur as their products are being made. The practice, known as value chain reporting, could impact farmers and ranchers who provide their ingredients and food to large companies like McDonald’s, Chipotle or Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

“The publicly traded corporations overseen by the SEC won’t be the ones tasked with complying with these onerous ‘value chain’ rules. That responsibility would fall on America’s family farmers and ranchers who would be forced to deal with unprecedented amount of unnecessary paperwork,” Agriculture Committee ranking member Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said in a statement.

Sen Boozman and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., brought the act forward, saying it would keep farmers from having to report granular data and their day-to-day activities. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas, R.

“I’ve heard from countless Hoosier farmers who are worried about what this regulation means for their farms and their livelihoods. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Sen. Boozman to put a stop to the Biden administration’s federal overreach on Hoosier farms and ranches,” Sen. Braun said.

The SEC rules could be finalized in early 2023, but it’s expected they will be met with fierce opposition and legal challenges.