Of the 343 methane digesters operating in the United States as of January 2023, 290 were on dairies and 46 were on hog operations, according to the EPA. The remaining are located on poultry and beef operations. Digesters are not economically viable without government subsidies. The American Biogas Council and many biofuel comMaking Methane from Manure Raises Environmental, Economic Concerns panies have spent significant time lobbying for federal subsidies to be included in the Digester Proposals in the Midwest recently passed Inflation Reduction Act and By Martin Moore & Laura Schreiber In 2023, communities across Wisconsin incentivized through other programs such and Minnesota learned of proposals claimas EQIP, REAP (Rural Energy for America anure has long been a highly ing to solve our region’s manure problem. Program) and more, according to the Reuters beneficial source of fertility One company, Nature Energy, a Danish news service. Federal dollars typically cover for crops, as well as a way to subsidiary of Shell Oil, proposed to build up to 40% of the costs to build a digester, build healthy soil. If not properly managed, large scale, anaerobic manure digesters in according to the University of Californiahowever, manure can have significant negaMinnesota communities such as Paynesville, Davis. A typical on-farm digester can cost tive impacts on water quality, air quality, and close to $1.2 million soil. In concentrated animal to build, according to feeding operations (CAFOs), University of Missouri where thousands of head of Extension. livestock are kept in centralThe second major form ized barns, millions of galof public support for dilons of manure are produced. gesters is a carbon credit Typically, manure from these system where companies large operations is stored in a generating “renewable manure lagoon or pit in liquid natural gas” can get form and then later fieldsubsidies from states and applied. However, if manure the federal government. is applied above agronomic According to a database rates, on frozen fields, or developed by North Carobefore a rain event, it can run lina State University, there off into lakes and streams. are 96 financial incentives In such situations, a for digesters, such as valuable source of fertility property tax reductions, suddenly becomes a waste corporate tax credits, loan Source: Environmental Protection Agency AgSTAR Livestock Anaerobic disposal problem. Agricultur- Digester Database programs, grant programs, al runoff pollutes water with and performance-based nitrates and phosphorus, leadincentives. ing to negative health impacts for humans Benson, Sauk Centre, Lewiston, and Wilson Every taxpayer dollar spent subsidizing and wildlife. When manure is collected in Township (Winona County), as well as in digesters is a dollar that is not being spent lagoons or pits without access to oxygen, New Richmond, Wis. These proposals came on regenerative agriculture practices such creating an anaerobic setting, it causes the as a surprise to the communities and left as cover cropping, no-till, and managed release of methane, a highly potent greenresidents asking several questions. rotational grazing. These practices build house gas with more than 80 times the At each facility proposed by Nature soil health and the demand for program climate warming impact of carbon dioxide Energy, the company would collect madollars already far exceeds the supply of over the first 20 years after it is released, acnure from a 30-mile radius and mix it with funds available to support such techniques. cording to the United Nations Environment food waste and crop residue. The resulting Between 2010 and 2020, just 31% of farmProgramme. slurry would be pumped into large airtight ers who applied for EQIP funding and 42% Manure management on a large scale is chambers where anaerobic microbes would who applied to CSP were awarded contracts, costly. According to the Institute for Agriculbreak down the slurry and release a mixture according to an analysis by the Institute for ture and Trade Policy, in 2020 alone Minneof methane and carbon dioxide gas, called Agriculture and Trade Policy. sota farmers received $6.9 million in USDA biogas. After the biogas is “cleaned” to Because of economies of scale, larger Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) remove the carbon dioxide, the remaining producers benefit more from the construcfunding to help pay for manure lagoon covmethane would be sent directly to municipal tion of digesters, says the USDA’s Economic ers, manure waste disposal, and more. That’s gas grids or used to keep the digester system Research Service. If more of our public over 25% of the total EQIP funding Minnerunning. Finally, the leftovers from this proresources go to larger corporate digester sota farmers received that year. cess would produce an end product called companies and the largest CAFOs, then less According to the Environmental Protecdigestate, which can be solid or liquid. Solid will be available to small and medium-sized tion Agency, manure accounts for 11% of digestate is typically used as animal bedding farmers. This disparity will continue to drive agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. It’s while liquid digestate can be transported smaller farmers off the land. As CAFO ownclear a better solution to manure manageback to farmers for field application as a ment is necessary. fertilizer. Digester, see page 9…
Policy & Organizing
Digesting the Facts on Digesters
M
8
No. 2, 2023
The Land Stewardship Letter
