Cap-and-trade debated at Field Day

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September 11, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Sep 11, 2009, 11:33 PM CDT

By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Proposed carbon emissions legislation, energy efficiency and tips on growing grapes were key topics at this year’s Field Day in Mount Vernon.

The annual show, held Friday at the University of Missouri Southwest Center, also featured presentations on forage, careers in the dairy industry, home tomato production and vegetable gardening.

But this year’s event also included information about how a proposed “cap-and-trade” plan that has already cleared the U.S. House would impact agriculture. The plan would limit emissions of heat-trapping gases from sources like U.S. power plants, refineries and factories. Companies whose emissions will exceed the limits can buy permits or emission credits from companies with leftover room under the cap.

“There is a big debate in the details,” said Ray Massey, an economist with the University of Missouri Extension. “The details will determine who is the winner and who is the loser, and at this point we don’t know the details.”

Agriculture, which only accounts for about 8 percent of the greenhouse gases generated in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would not be subject to any of the caps, Massey said.

But some farmers could be eligible for credits that they sell to companies that exceed their limit.

Massey said one acre of grass, for example, stores one ton of carbon dioxide per year and keeps it from being released into the atmosphere. Consequently, the owners of pastureland could qualify for an emissions credit that they could sell to companies at a certain rate per acre.

The bill could encourage some landowners to use their land for pasture as opposed to crops, Massey said.

Curtis Schallert, who raises livestock and crops on his Monett farm, said encouraging people to use land for pastureland instead of corn would only increase the cost of corn. He also said the plan overall would increase the price of fuel, utilities and fertilizer well beyond any revenue farmers would draw from selling credits.

Schallert told the Globe after the presentation that the country did need to become “greener” but said the cost of the program would outstrip its benefits.

Besides, efforts in the United States would be undercut without the participation of much larger polluters like China, Schallert said.

“Why don’t we start in China?” he asked. “I think it should be a cooperative effort (because) we breathe the same air.”

Massey’s talk was one of almost two dozen offered at the 47th annual Field Day.

Bob Schultheis, a natural-resource engineer with the extension program, outlined alternative-energy sources for the farm and home. Schultheis’ presentation centered on the costs and challenges posed by solar, wind and biogas energy, but also included tips on low-cost approaches.

“I think it was good,” said Don Keys, a Greenfield resident who listened to the talk.

Keys was looking for more “do-it-yourself” tips.

“This is what I am interested in. It’s what I can do,” he said.

Other presentations focused on the different diseases and insects that can prey on grapevines.

At the Southwest Center, a vineyard was started last year to study methods to grow Chambourcin grapes. It’s under the direction of R. Keith Striegler, director and viticulture program leader at the university’s Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology (ICCVE) in Columbia.

Striegler talked about that experiment and growing grapes in general on Friday. He cautioned that people need to have the passion and the resources to sustain a grape crop, noting that grapevines usually do not get into production until almost three years after they are planted. A vineyard might not be “in the black” until its seventh year.

“The initial hurdle is the big challenge,” he said.

Still, he said the grape industry has grown in recent years, fueled by demand for wines. The number of wineries in Missouri has increased from 50 to about 85 in the last five years, Striegler said. New operations have started up near Branson, although the industry might have undergone a slowdown because of the economy.

“There has been quite a bit of expansion going on,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Upcoming

The cap-and-trade plan has been approved by the House and is expected to be taken up in the Senate later this year. It would require carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions be cut by 17 percent over the next 11 years and by 83 percent by mid-century.

Source: Associated Press