{"id":5275,"date":"2025-02-19T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T16:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/?p=5275"},"modified":"2025-02-19T11:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T16:26:12","slug":"lucrative-subsidies-for-manure-biogas-could-cement-factory-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/lucrative-subsidies-for-manure-biogas-could-cement-factory-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucrative Subsidies for Manure Biogas Could Cement Factory Farming"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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In a time when the changing climate demands that we bend the curve away from large-scale factory farming<\/a>, the federal government is heavily investing in a scheme that does little to address the root causes of environmental harm and can even strengthen industrial animal farming: Factory Farm Gas (FFG).<\/p>\n

FFG, marketed as \u201crenewable natural gas,\u201d has enjoyed millions of dollars of government subsidies and incentive programs in recent years.<\/p>\n

However, to double down on FFG is to double down on a strategy that perpetuates the very system it claims to mitigate\u2014massively confined, industrial animal farming.<\/p>\n

Our new reports, \u201cGaslit by Biogas: Big Ag\u2019s Reverse Robin Hood Effect<\/a>\u201d and \u201cThe \u2018Biogas\u2019 Plot: Fueling Factory Farms in the Midwest<\/a>,\u201d detail this phenomenon and were recently cited in a powerful Vox piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Is Factory Farm Gas?<\/h1>\n

FFG is gas captured from the massive cesspools of waste generated by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)\u2014-factory farms. These operations are touted by industry as exciting renewable energy sources and as a plausible replacement for fossil fuels. They use devices called anaerobic digesters to capture methane gas from cesspools and process the waste into \u201cbiogas.\u201d After further refinement, the gas is used to generate electricity and heat.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t deny the basic fact that anaerobic digesters capture methane, nor do we deny the urgency of reducing methane pollution. The problem is that FFG subsidies promote the entrenchment and expansion of industrial animal agriculture while doing nothing to address one of the most significant methane emissions from animals\u2014enteric fermentation.<\/p>\n

Despite its greenwashed veneer, FFG doesn\u2019t meaningfully address the harms of factory farming; instead, it obfuscates the pollution problem<\/a> while funneling public money to some of the worst offenders in industrial agriculture.<\/p>\n

Subsidies for Factory Farm Interests<\/h1>\n

Federal and state subsidies and incentives for FFG have exploded in recent years. In 2024, we received government data via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Analysis revealed that the 2023 federal value funneled to FFG exceeded $150 million, including grants, low-interest loans, and tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In 2023, programs like the USDA\u2019s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which includes funding for truly necessary programs like on-farm wind and solar, saw an over 2,600 percent year-over-year increase in biogas-related grants after the IRA\u2019s passage.Unsurprisingly, private investment is surging alongside these subsidies. FFG companies are cashing in<\/a> on tax credits and government-backed loans, projecting tens of millions of dollars in benefits in the coming years.<\/p>\n

\"Line<\/p>\n

A System by and for the Biggest Polluters<\/h1>\n

The nature of FFG collection means that some of the worst CAFO practices\u2014like mass animal confinement and manure cesspools\u2014are necessary to make such operations viable. Accordingly, subsidies for FFG disproportionately benefit the largest and most environmentally destructive factory farms. For example:<\/p>\n