EPA ends livestock emissions program, helps provide regulatory certainty for dairy farmers

A policy advisor with the American Dairy Coalition says the EPA’s recent decision to end its livestock emissions and compliance program could help provide regulatory certainty for farmers.

Sherry Bunting tells Brownfield, “This program was something that was supposed to be voluntary, but these requests for on-farm data and access dairy comps started to feel mandatory,” she says. “Now, we won’t have to worry about the outdated 2005 measurement coming out of left field in the form of a regulation.”

The EPA’s 2005 Animal Feeding Operations Air Compliance Agreement and National Air Emissions Monitoring Study collected data from livestock operations to develop methods of tracking emissions nationwide.

Bunting says it’s an opportunity to reassess dairy policy.

“It wipes the slate clean and will allow us to start with where we are today with our scientific knowledge and the improvements that have already been made on dairy farms,” she says. “It’s time to put it to good use in a way that’s fair to cattle and livestock.”

Bunting says the decision, combined with USDA’s move to end mandatory dairy checkoff funds for ESG and Net Zero reporting commitments, marks a significant change toward voluntary, farmer-led stewardship efforts throughout the industry.