USDA says cap-and-trade would benefit farmers

Climate-change legislation would significantly increase farm incomes, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday. Vilsack said carbon offsets and other provisions in the bill would more than counterbalance higher energy costs and could offer a windfall for farmers and ranchers, Jim Snyder of The Hill reports.

Vilsack's comments came in a conference call with reporters as part of the administration's efforts to "build support in rural America for climate change legislation in the face of a lobbying campaign by one prominent farm group against a cap-and-trade bill," Snyder writes. "Vilsack explained the opposition by noting the long history of farmers casting a wary eye toward change," saying "They resisted efforts to use fertilizers, plant hybrid seeds or use mechanized farm equipment."

No-till farming and installation of digesters to trap methane at hog and dairy operations are a few of the farming practices that could qualify for carbon offsets under the plan. Vilsack cited the new review from USDA of cap-and-trade's effect on farmers, saying the plan would raise food prices only 2 percent by 2030. USDA economist Joseph Glauber testified at the House hearing Wednesday that costs for energy and fertilizer, which is tied to the price of natural gas, account for about 15 percent of production expenses for the agricultural sector. (Read more) (USDA map)