A new analysis shows U.S. farmers and ranchers continue to reduce per-unit greenhouse gas emissions.
Data from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture shows the agricultural sector accounts for less than ten percent of total U.S. emissions.
The EPA’s U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions provides a first look at 2018 U.S. emissions data, incorporated into a new Market Intel report from the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The report finds that per-unit methane emissions from livestock have declined since 1990 as livestock producers have increased productivity.
During the past 30 years, U.S. milk production has increased 71 percent, while per-unit emissions of milk have declined by almost 25 percent.
Beef production has increased almost 50 percent, while per-unit emissions have fallen nearly eight percent.
Meanwhile, American farmers are producing more crops on fewer acres.
The analysis builds on data shared during the launch of Farmers for a Sustainable Future, a coalition of agriculture groups aimed at educating lawmakers and finding solutions to challenges posed by climate change.
