Farm Industry Wants Credit Where It's Due

By LAUREN ETTER

Agriculture, in the current legislation, is exempt from emission caps, a win for farmers and ranchers afraid they'd have to figure out how to regulate emissions from, among other things, their manure lagoons, tractors and their cows, which emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Still, the farm lobby isn't satisfied. Farmers say the overall costs of climate-change regulation will trickle down to the farm through higher costs of supplies, animals, equipment and other agricultural goods.
As a result, farm groups wanted to see specific mechanisms that would let farmers earn revenue from the system. For example, they wanted to be able to earn credits for the carbon absorbed by their crops. Those credits could then be sold to others who need them to cover emissions. The current legislation doesn't include any specific language on such agriculture offsets.
The bill "utterly ignores the principles we have identified as critical to U.S. agriculture," Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, wrote in a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The National Corn Growers Association said that "without the opportunity to generate revenue from greenhouse gas reductions, our growers will be unable to bear the burden of increased prices for diesel, fertilizer, steel, electricity and all other inputs necessary to provide feed, fiber and fuel for the world."
The agriculture industry is also disappointed the bill doesn't compensate farmers who find it harder to compete in global markets due to higher costs. Rick Krause, senior director of congressional relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said certain industries do receive some allowances and that agriculture should be included as well.
Complicating matters in farm country is the role of corn-based ethanol in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a separate controversy playing out at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota and the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, was quoted recently saying that he would "bring this climate bill down" if the administration doesn't work to ensure ethanol has a prominent role in any program aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.
Write to Lauren Etter at lauren.etter@wsj.com