According to the Environmental Protection Agency, American agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions fell more than 4% from 2019 to 2020.
The recent Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks shows ag represents only 10% of total U.S. emissions, much lower than other economic sectors.
Farm Bureau economists analyzed the EPA data and found that total agricultural emissions in 2020 fell at least 4.3% or 28.8 million metric tons, compared to 2019.
Emissions from agricultural soil management like fertilizer application and tillage practices were reduced by 8.4%.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall says America’s farmers are committed to improvements in sustainability. “Farmers are also dedicated to doing even better through market-based, voluntary incentives allowing them to capture more greenhouse gasses while meeting the growing demand for food both here and abroad,” he says.
Compared to 70 years ago, farmers and ranchers get almost three times more out of production than they put in.
