Farmers and ranchers could more than offset their greenhouse gas emissions by implementing conservation practices and emerging technologies, according to a report led by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action and released by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.
“Our farmers have been aggressive at identifying challenges, seeking solutions and adopting new practices. That’s one of the things that defines American agriculture — willingness to change,” said a lead author of the report, Marty Matlock, a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas.
The report was reviewed for its scientific rigor by a six-person committee appointed by the National Academy of Sciences.
Sequestering carbon in the soil through “regenerative practices of reduced tillage, crop diversity, continual cover of the soil, cover crops, and integration of livestock in the cropping systems” could offset 20% to 35% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, the report says.
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Better use of fertilizer could offset 20% to 50% of emissions, the report says. “Application of nitrogen to crops represents one of the largest inputs of energy and GHG impacts from agriculture due to the release of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. However, it may be one of the more easily adoptable changes in management because it requires a modification in the rate, form, time, or placement of the nitrogen fertilizer,” the report says.
The report says studies show methane emissions from livestock operations could be reduced by 20% to 40%. “The primary challenge is to demonstrate the effectiveness of feed management practices at a scale in which producers have confidence in the results,” the report says.
