Qiwei Fu

First Draft Advocacy Essay

Livestock agriculture, or more specifically, CAFOs, are one of the leading contributor of
methane emission and Global Warming in the United States. According to the EPA, methane gas
contributes to 8% of all greenhouse gas emission.(EPA, 2013) While it is a small percentage of all
the greenhouse gas, Methane (CH4) is more than 20 times as effective as CO2 at trapping heat in
the atmosphere(EPA), making methane gas one of the biggest contributor to global warming.
Livestock agriculture produce an disproportionally large amount of methane gas every year, the
213.1 MMTCDE of methane emitted by animal agriculture in 2008 is 16 percent more than all
natural gas operations in the United States combined, 61.5 percent more than all coal mining
operations, and only 28 percent less than emissions from the entire energy sector."(Verhuel,
2011). The methane emission can be reduced however, one of the best solution to reduce
methane emission from CAFOs would be the use of methane digesters to create renewable energy
from methane.
The reason behind the significant methane pollution by Livestock agriculture is the
increasing of the number of CAFOs, or concentrated animal feed operations. The reason that
CAFO causes a large proportion of methane emission is due to the method of manure
management that CAFO utilizes because of the lack of physical space for manure to naturally
decompose. John Verhuel, a scholar form University of New Mexico, summarize the cause of high
level of methane in CAFO as Because CAFOs have much less land area than traditional farms
often due to the lack of cropsand do not use the animal waste as fertilizer, much less land is
available to distribute the waste with not enough land to absorb the waste.(Verhuel, 2011)

Verhuel explains that traditional farm where cows graze on grass field and other crops can use the
manure to fertilize the land and its crops, thus maintaining a self-sustained community where no
energy is lost and converted to methane. CAFO do not have the luxury of a traditional farm, the
large amount of manure produced by a large number of livestock in a concentrated place calls for
a wet method of manure management. Verhuel further explains that waste sits in the storage
lagoons for extended periods of time. Fermentation in these lagoons has generated most of the
increase in animal agriculture methane emissions over the past two decades. (Verhuel,
2011)Verhuel suggests that the increase of CAFO and the common practice of wet manure
management replacing the traditional farming in livestock agriculture is the key reason that the
methane emission is at a steady increase.
One of the most effective way to reduce methane emission from CAFOs is to create
renewable energy from manures using anaerobic digesters, creating and using energy at the same
time reducing the production of Greenhouse gas is a very promising solution. How does all this
work? Well, Verhuel explains that "Anaerobic digesters" compost organic waste in a machine that
limits access to oxygen and encourages the generation of methane and CO2 by the microbes in the
waste itself. This gas is then burned as fuel to make electricity.(Verhuel, 2011) This method allows
for an active creation and containment of methane instead of a passive creation of methane from
fermentation and leading to pollution. This directly reduce the amount of methane that is released
into air by wet manure management. Verhuel also comment on the added benefit of this
approach, stating that An added benefit not related to methane, but germane to greenhouse gas
emissions in general, is that if farms could generate their own electricity this way, they could also
reduce their overall load on the power grid.(Verhuel, 2011) This is significant because not only

does farm become self-sustaining, it lowers the pollution a power plant would create in order to
create the power used by a farm on the power grid. By implementing anaerobic digesters to create
renewable energy from methane, we can directly cut down methane emission from manure as
well as reducing power usage and thus further reducing pollution, a very effective way of reducing
global warming.
Deanne M. Camara Ferreira, JD from Widener University, advocates strongly for the
implementation of methane digesters on CAFOs due to the benefits resulting from using such
system. Ferreira assess that (1) reduce dairy and livestock CAFOs manure methane outputs by
80%; (2) provide for all or nearly all the CAFOs energy needs, displacing daily demands on electric
utility grids; (3) provide for the heating needs of the CAFOs, i.e., hot water for daily washing of
barns and milking equipment, thereby displacing the demands on gas utilities for heated water; (4)
abate flies and odor; and (5) generate to farmer producers of energy additional revenue from
excess energy sold, RECs and carbon credits. (Ferreira, 2010) Ferreiras assessments of benefit
form methane digesters make very strong incentive and prediction of results from the
implementation of methane digesters. 80% drop of methane emission from CAFOs will have a
profound effect on global warming considering CAFOs produce a large portion of all methane
pollution. Methanes high potency as a greenhouse gas its relatively short lifespan in the
atmosphere means that this reduction from utilizing methane digesters will have an immediate
positive impact on Global Warming. Ferreira also mentions the benefit of reducing electricity cost
as well as lowering electrical grid demand, which means reducing pollution from energy sectors,
agreeing with benefits mentioned by Verhuel. The ability of methane digesters to provide heating
for the farm also cut down on the natural resource needed for heating, making the farm even
more environmentally friendly and self-sustaining. The reduction of unpleasant odor from manure

management allows the farm to be more neighborhood friendly, and less flies lowers the potential
for diseases. The last benefit can serve as a huge incentives for farmers, the ability to sell excess
electricity is quite lucrative, and it could become a good part of the revenue, not to mention the
reduction of cost of operation from the elimination of power grid electricity.

The state of California, among many other states, have taken initiative and began
programs that fund farmers the necessary capital to implement. The California Energy Commission
created the Dairy Power Production Program. The objective of the DPPP program is to developing
commercially proven biogas electricity systems to help California dairies offset the purchase of
electricity and provide environmental benefits.(CEC, 2009). This program have a funding of 10
million dollar which were used mainly for grants to participating farm that cover a percentage of
the cost of installation of a methane digester system. The cost of implementing of methane
digesters differs from farm to farm, the average cost of among the farm within the DPPP program
is $1,065,538 for covered lagoon digesters, $930,335 for plug flow digesters, and $3,551,448 for
the one modifiedmix plug flow digester. The initial investment is quite large for methane
digester, which is responsible for the lack of methane digesters despite the readily available
technology ready to be tapped. The DPPP is created to specifically target that problem and to
reduce that initial investment through the grant. For example, DPPP granted Hilarides Dairy
$500,000 for a new covered lagoon digester, and Cottonwood Dairy was granted $600,000 for a
new covered lagoon digester. The grant covers up to 50% of the total cost of the system, thus
making methane digesters a more acceptable approach to reduce methane emission. The
methane digesters also benefits the farmer. The electricity generated by the methane digesters
makes a significant offset to the total electrical power bought from utility company. For example,

Koetsier Dairy, a participating dairy in the DPPP program, uses 55,265 KWh per month from the
power grid for main Dairy operation (CEC,2009), however, with the methane digesters generating
power, the dairy only uses 11,150 kWh from the grid, seeing a 80% drop in the usage of electricity.
This allows for extra profit due to lower cost of operation, which will help paying off the
investment as well as extra revenue for when the investment is fully paid off. Castelanelli Bros is
another Dairy that was part of the program, they managed to generate 87,887 kWh per month,
while only using 70,000 (CEC, 2009), they have excess electricity that they can sell for revenue as
well as have all the operation electricity covered. This shows that it is possible to generate excess
power for sale. The generated power serves as a great incentive for future farmer to adopt this
technology, saving the planet as well as making more profit.
Yes, the initial cost for implementing a methane digesters can be a steep investment,
which will deter many farmers who might be interest if it wasnt so expensive. However,
government can offer punishment as well as incentives for farmers to adopt the methane digester.
Regulations and rules can be established to mandate farms to have methane digesters in order to
reduce methane emission, in fact Verhuel states that under the Clean Air Act, The EPA thus has
the authority and, in fact, is required to list methane as a criteria pollutantUnder section 110,
once the EPA has promulgated standards for criteria pollutants, each state must then develop and
implement a state implementation plan (Verhuel, 2011). If the EPA decides to regulate the
methane emission, which they should, mandates can be passed to require farms and CAFOs to
achieve certain benchmark on methane emission or they will be fined. The government already
have all the tools to regulate the farms, they just need to take action. Combining the possible
grant, the reduction of cost of operations, as well as the possibility of a pollution fine, there is
plenty of incentives for CAFOs to adopt methane digesters.

North Carolina has already adopted a unique legislation that took effect in 2012 that
required Power Company to derive a portion of its renewable energy to be from swine and
chicken manure. This created a demand for farms to create reusable energy from methane
digesters, where the farms can sell carbon credit to electrical company which fulfills the regulation.
North Carolina farm Loyd Ray Farms was one of the first few farm to tap into the renewable
energy from manure using methane digesters. Wendee Nichole in her article Pig power pays off
claims that analyses of the Loyd Ray experiment show that electricity generated from swine
waste is competitive in the renewable energy marketplace.(Nichole, 2014) Producing electricity
at a competitive rate ensure that they can sell the excess electricity for profit. The owner of Loyd
Ray Farms is quite satisfied with the methane digester. Bryant acknowledges there have been
some kinks in the system. But, he says, I know it works and makes my farm better. It practically
runs itself.(Nichole,2014) The owners comment on how the methane digester really shows just
how ecofriendly and self-sustaining the farm has become after the installation of methane
digester.
In conclusion, the cost of methane digesters averages to be around 1 million per farm.
Despite its high price, it is actually quite feasible, due to many grants and incentives offered by the
government, also regulation can also force farmers into adopting methane digester. In fact, the
Clean Air Act already lays the ground work for regulation on methane emission from CAFOs and
farms. Methane digester will reduce the emission of methane into the atmosphere from manure
management by 80%, as well as saving pollution from energy sector due to power generation as a
renewable energy.

Work Cited

Us Epa, Oar, Climate Change Division. "US GHG Inventory 2014 Chapter Executive
Summary." Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2012 Executive
Summary (2014): n. pag. Epa.gov. EPA. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
Verhuel, John. "Methane as a Greenhouse Gas: Why the EPA Should Regulate Emissions from
Animal Feeding Operations and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Under the Clean Air
Act." Natural Resources Journal 51.1 (2011): 163-87. Legal Source. Web.21 Nov. 2014.
Ferreira, Deanne M. Camara. "Global Warming And Agribusiness: Could Methane Gas From Dairy
Cows Spark The Next California Gold Rush?." Widener Law Review 15.2 (2010): 541-577. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
NICOLE, WENDEE. "Pig Power Pays Off." Discover 35.2 (2014): 58-60. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
United States. California Energy Commission. Dairy Power Production Program. By Michael
Marsh. Modesto: Western United Resource Development, 2009. Print.