INDIANAPOLIS – The agriculture industry has done a lot to reduce greenhouse gases and conserve resources, but more can be done, an official with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said earlier this month.

The introduction of the Green New Deal legislation in 2019 gave agriculture the opportunity to step back and see what story it could tell, said Andrew Walmsley, director of congressional relations for the AFBF. The goal of the Green New Deal was to cut carbon emissions while creating jobs and boosting the economy.

Globally, agriculture accounts for 24 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but for U.S. farmers, the number is less than 10 percent, Walmsley said. Over the last two generations, U.S. farmers have increased their output by more than 270 percent while inputs have remained relatively flat.

“I think that’s a pretty impressive story that we’re able to produce that much more while not draining or straining the resources that were given to us,” he stated. “I’m not saying we’ve got it all figured out but at least we’re hopefully making it a little more comfortable as we have this discussion that there are things we can stand on in this space that we shouldn’t sneeze at.”

Walmsley and others discussed agriculture and climate change Dec. 12, the second day of Indiana Farm Bureau’s two-day virtual state convention.

Farmers have boosted production while conserving resources through better practices, improved genetics and use of conservation techniques, Walmsley said.

Animal agriculture accounted for less than 3 percent of GHG emissions in 2018, with beef cattle at 1.9 percent of total emissions; dairy, .65 percent, and pork, .04 percent, he noted.

“One thing you hear a lot is if you’d just stop eating meat, it would solve the climate problem,” Walmsley pointed out. “Well, I think you are all aware that’s an activist talking point. When you look at the overall greenhouse gas emissions for U.S. livestock, we’re less than 3 percent. Feel free to eat that hamburger at lunch.”

Methane emissions per unit have fallen for beef (8 percent), swine (18 percent) and dairy (25 percent) over the last 30 years, he said. “This is where we’re seeing improvement,” Walmsley explained. “This is what we’ve got to continue to do. We’re heading in the right direction. I’m not trying to paint a picture that there’s nothing we have to do here but we shouldn’t be scared to have this conversation. We’ve got to be engaged going forward to continue to improve on these gains.”

Ben Wicker, executive director of the Indiana Agriculture Nutrient Alliance, said farmers may achieve increased production while conserving resources by remembering the four R’s of nutrient management – right time, right place, right source, right rate – and by following basic soil health principles.

Those principles are maximizing continuous living roots, minimizing disturbance, maximizing biodiversity and maximizing soil cover.

“Within these two frameworks, we really think we have a great platform in order to address all these challenges that we have, whether it’s nutrients leaving the farm or making contributions to the climate discussion, as well as helping and improving our farms,” he said.

“Agriculture is not the sole source of those nutrients but we do contribute and the question being asked is what are you in your sector, whether you’re agriculture, whether you’re in cities or towns, whether you’re a point source wastewater treatment plant or whatever, what are you doing to reduce your contributions. As agriculture, we have to have answers to those questions.”

Similar questions are being asked of agriculture in regard to climate change, he added. For example, questioners want to know what farmers are doing on their operations to store carbon.

Larry Clemens, Indiana state director of The Nature Conservancy, said farmers, and more broadly, landowners, are on the front lines, often seeing the brunt of climate change impacts first. “We’re experiencing these frequent and intense rain events that we get in the spring and then with longer periods of time between rain events in the summertime. Fortunately, some of the ag practices that Ben recommended for conservation also sequester carbon, like no-till and cover crops. They also increase water infiltration rates and water holding capacity of the soils, making our crop lands more resistant to climate change.”