YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Proposed SEC climate rule hurts farmers, ranchers

By Gary Joiner
Publisher

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency not normally tied to agricultural headlines.

Its primary purpose is to protect investors from unscrupulous business practices.

But a proposed SEC rule to require climate disclosures by public companies on Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions hits farmers and ranchers right on the bottom line.

A report by American Farm Bureau Federation economists says the proposed rule could generate substantial costs and liabilities for farmers and ranchers. That’s because farmers and ranchers provide almost every raw product that adds value to a company’s supply chain, which the company must report under the proposed rule.

The potential impacts to farmers and ranchers are not small. They include potential reporting obligations, technical challenges, significant financial and operational disruption and the risk of financially crippling legal liabilities.

And those reporting requirements could mean disclosing private and personally identifiable data.

It all adds up to a bad proposed SEC rule for farmers and ranchers. It’s agency overreach that must be reined in.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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