Phil Goff's announcement over the weekend that agriculture will be brought into the ETS has met with the usual response from farmers: whining. They can't afford it. It will bankrupt them. We should "revere" them as the backbone of the country (and no doubt offer them rows of nubile young sheep into the bargain). So, how much would it actually cost them?
2.5 cents per kg of milk solids, according to the Ministry for the Environment [PDF, p. 4]. Compare that to their expected payout this year of over $8 per kilo, and you can see that they're bullshitting us. They can afford it; its just that they'd rather shirk their responsibility and force us to pay in their place.
