Livestock emitting toxic gas?

WARREN, Weber County — Over the years Scott Wayment has made a number of financial investments to his dairy farm to make it more eco-friendly.

Two lagoons have been installed in addition to pumping stations to make sure his operation complies with state and federal clean water regulations.

Each year, he has an energy audit conducted to determine the farm's energy consumption and ways to make it more efficient.

But he can't stop his cows from belching, an act that emits carbon dioxide, and he can't stop his cows from producing manure, which emits methane. Both are among several greenhouse gasses the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing are a danger to public health. Public comments are being accepted before the agency reaches a final determination.

Although there are no proposed regulations of the gasses under the Clean Air Act, livestock producers fear that is the next logical step, and their livelihood will be at risk.

"They have not specifically said they want to regulate livestock as part of this program, but we think that is the unintended consequence. We do not believe the EPA has the discretion to exempt livestock," said Richard Krause, senior director of congressional relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

But Cathy Milbourn, an EPA spokeswoman, couldn't be more blunt: "There is no planned tax on livestock emissions. … There is no cow tax, period."

But Farm Bureau officials believe the proposed finding allows the EPA to travel down a path that "could result in certain types of agricultural production being swept up in a regulatory regime in ways not previously contemplated."

The Utah Farm Bureau estimates such a levy would cost Utah dairy farmers, beef cattle ranchers and hog producers close to $100 million a year, or over half the farms' total net income on an annual basis. And a variety of operations could be impacted — from dairy farms with 25 cows to a 500-acre swath of cornfields.

Wayment, a board member of the Utah Dairy Commission and president of the Weber County farm bureau chapter, admits he is worried about the possible financial ramifications.

"That is a lot of tax in an industry where there is not a lot of margin anyhow," he said. "Agriculture is vital to this community and this nation. I want to be a good steward and I believe most farmers are that way. Sustainability is the answer — what it takes to be effective farmers and what is good for the atmosphere."

Wayment has been raising dairy cows all of his life. His grandfather established the operation on the western edge of Weber County and he bought it from his father 25 years ago.

Today, his two sons help in the operation, which spans 230 acres and features 215 actual milking cows and another 175 head of calves and young heifers.