October 29, 2009

Farmers to Congress: ‘Don’t CAP Our Future'

RICHMOND—The familiar ball cap that virtually every farmer wears is the new symbol for a campaign opposing the cap-and-trade climate change legislation in Congress.

With the slogan “Don’t CAP Our Future,” Farm Bureau members will be explaining why the current bill being considered by the Senate is wrong for agriculture and the nation’s economy.

“We’re really talking about capping fossil fuel emissions again,” said Spencer Neale, senior assistant director of commodity marketing for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “Those fuels create energy, create other fuels and create fertilizers for everyday use throughout our farm economy and food system.”

Neale said Farm Bureau is concerned that the real costs to Americans is not being explained. “It’s going to increase not only the cost for (farmers) to produce food, but also the cost of fuel for the trucks that distribute that food throughout the country. There’s going to be costs throughout the supply chain.”

There’s also disagreement that sweeping climate change legislation already passed by the House of Representatives is necessary, Neale said.

“The climate’s been changing since the beginning of time. The question is and the debate is ‘Can we change things that we do in our everyday life to influence climate?’ And I would argue that debate is still out there.

“Besides, this is a worldwide issue. What we’re trying to do is cap emissions, and no one’s against doing things that will help our environment. But we’ve got huge carbon emitters in other parts of the world that have no intention of participating in this type of activity.”

Consumers also will be hit hard under cap-and-trade legislation. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates energy costs could grow by $1,870 per household. Combined with higher costs for food, the additional yearly hit on families would be about $2,300 per household, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Some politicians are beginning to doubt the wisdom of the current legislation, Neale added.

“When you look at the past debate up in Washington, a lot of it initially was over the increased energy costs. Now we’re going to see a shift of the debate over increased food costs, because that’s a big concern. It has to be.”

The AFBF has information on the issue online at fbactinsider.org. Neale’s comments can be viewed on “The Real Dirt,” VFBF’s video blog, at VaFarmBureau.org.

Contact Neale at 804-290-1153 or Norm Hyde, VFBF video producer, at 804-290-1146.