The NAWG Board of Directors has directed staff to engage in climate change legislation negotiations to achieve an outcome that is in the best interest of our grower-members.

The extent to which climate change legislation would benefit agriculture and our nation will hinge upon the legislative details to be resolved surrounding a cap-and-trade system, mitigation requirements and the functioning of relative credit markets. NAWG has been a leader on this issue in Washington, D.C., working with groups inside and outside of agriculture and a variety of Members on Capitol Hill.

NAWG Resolution

On Sept. 4, the NAWG Board of Directors met via conference call and voted 26 to two to approve a new resolution regarding greenhouse gas regulation. The Board also voted 24 to zero to remove existing resolutions relating to greenhouse gas regulation and an agriculture cap-and-trade program.

The new resolution reads:

“NAWG is opposed to greenhouse gas legislation or regulation that has a negative impact on production agriculture. NAWG will strive for a net economic benefit to farmers, agriculture and food production. We believe neither greenhouse gas regulation nor legislation should take effect until the major carbon emitting countries of the world have agreed to regulate their own greenhouse gases in a like manner to ours. NAWG urges USDA to do a detailed economic analysis of any legislation or regulation before it becomes law.  Furthermore, NAWG will oppose EPA regulation and will work to overturn the Supreme Court ruling.”

EPA Regulation

NAWG opposes Environmental Protection Agency regulation of greenhouse gases under authority of the Clean Air Act and a Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, or any other legislative or judicial proceeding.

Economic Analysis

A number of papers examining the probable effects of climate change legislation on U.S. agricultural producers have been published in recent months. Here are some of those that are publicly accessible:

• A Preliminary Analysis of the Effects of H.R. 2454 on U.S. Agriculture, USDA, July 22, 2009
• The Effect of Higher Energy Prices from H.R. 2454 on Missouri Crop Production Costs, FAPRI, July 2009
• Costs and Benefits to Agriculture from Climate Change Policy, Bruce A. Babcock, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University, summer 2009
• Economic Implications of the EPA Analysis of the Cap and Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454 for U.S. Representative Farms, Agricultural and Food Policy Center Research Paper 09-2, August 2009

On Aug. 18, 2009, NAWG President Karl Scronce wrote Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting USDA provide further analysis of the effects of pending climate change legislation on agricultural operations, including a comparison of studies that have been published by other sources. The full letter is here.