December 10, 2007

Bill to reduce emissions concern US cattle producers

A climate bill which was passed by the Senate last week has raised some concerns among US cattle producers for its requirement to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and methane gases.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed December 5th the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), a bill which directs the EPA to establish a programme to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases.

The bill mandates that five percent of the Emission Allowance Account would be used in ''achieving real, verifiable, additional permanent and enforceable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and forestry sectors.'' 

A large majority of the emission allowance goes to carbon sequestration which will benefit some cattle producers.  However, 0.5 percent of the five percent must go to mitigating emissions of nitrous oxide and methane. 

There may not be much more producers can do to improve methane emissions from enteric fermentation, said NCBA's Director of Environmental Issues Tamara Thies

Much progress has been made in recent years by increasing feed quality, but additional progress could be won with more research, Thies said.

Studies also showed that nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural lands in arid parts of the US are not as high as previously claimed, Thies said.

NCBA said it would continue to monitor progress of the bill as it moves to the Senate for consideration.