The real price of gas

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LEWISTOWN - A new diet for dairy cows that claims to reduce the amount of gas produced by the animal may not be as ecologically or economically rewarding as originally thought.

Stonyfield Farm Inc., a New England-based company that manufactures various organic dairy products, has its cows on a special diet because it thinks that may help them reduce the amount of methane gas released when the animals belch, according to an Associated Press article.

By asking farm owners of the 15 Vermont farms working with Stonyfield to switch their cows to a diet of flaxseed, alfalfa and grasses high in omega-3 fatty acids, instead of a more commonly used diet of corn or soy, the company thinks it will rebalance the cow's rumen and cut down on gas, the article states.

However, some local dairy farmers and agriculture educators are skeptical about the results and concerned about costs.

Since flaxseed is not grown locally it must be imported from Canada, but before it can reach Pennsylvanian farmers, it must first be processed in France and then shipped back to North America, said John Tyson, an agricultural engineering educator at the Penn State Cooperative Extension in Mifflin County.

If the flaxseed is supposed to help cows produce less methane gas, which scientists maintain contributes to current fossil fuel and global warming issues, then some wonder how much damage the extra shipping and handling will do to the earth's ozone as well.

Tyson said many in his profession are skeptical about the new diet's environmental impact.

"The flaxseed is being imported from Canada via France - the joke in the agricultural community is what kind of footprint is that leaving on the environment?" Tyson said.

Beth Laughlin, owner of Beech-Run Dairy LLC in McVeytown, also is skeptical about importing flaxseed when farmers can produce their own feeds at a low cost.

"We can grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa locally," Laughlin said. "But if we have to import flaxseed, then we would be offsetting any reduction of methane by an increased carbon emission."

Laughlin said it also is not the time for a commercial dairy farm to be experimenting with expensive feed replacements since the financial forecast for dairy farms during the past six months was reminiscent of the Great Depression.

"Last year, we had record-high product prices but we also had record-high fuel and feed prices," Laughlin said. "Today, the fuel prices have come down but feed prices are still fairly high and the price of milk is about half of what it was last year."

Laughlin said she thinks that cows on the less-gaseous diet will not only produce less methane but also will produce less milk, which correlates to less profit for dairy farmers.

"I'm concerned that we could take a pretty big hit on production. And that is something that we can't afford and no dairy can afford with current prices," Laughlin said. "A niche market- an organic dairy farm - that might be something they could do. But for the general dairy farm, it just won't yield enough milk."

Legislators in Washington are considering Senate Bill 527, which was introduced in March 2009 by a senator from South Dakota and prohibits government agencies from imposing a "cow tax."

Laughlin said she has personally written her legislator to make it known that she supports a bill prohibiting a cow tax.

"According to an e-mail I received from Sen. Bob Casey (R-Pa.), he does not feel that it is a prudent thing to do," Laughlin said of taxing farmers. "And I'm hoping that the conservative Democrats in Congress who are from a rural state will realize the damage that such an action would have."

Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in the United States and dairy is the number one component of that industry, she said, adding that she expects 50 percent of farmers would be "wiped out" if a cow tax was implemented.

Laughlin said the tax could be around $175 per cow, with other farm animals such as chickens and pigs also falling under the category of taxable for their methane releases.

Tyson said studies related to determining the amount of methane gas given off by cow flatulence is inconclusive.

"My concern is that we don't completely understand the cows contribution to environmental issues," Tyson said, adding that he hopes government agencies will hold off on regulating methane emissions from the farms until more reliable data can be compiled.

Editors note: The Associated Press contributed information to this article.