{ "id": "RL33898", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL33898", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 353621, "date": "2009-11-09", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:11:54.650356", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector", "summary": "The agriculture sector is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Agriculture is also a \u201csink\u201d for sequestering carbon, which might offset GHG emissions by capturing and storing carbon in agricultural soils. The two key types of GHG emissions associated with agricultural activities are methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Agricultural sources of CH4 emissions mostly occur as part of the natural digestive process of animals and manure management at livestock operations; sources of N2O emissions are associated with soil management and fertilizer use on croplands. This report describes these emissions on a carbon-equivalent basis to illustrate agriculture\u2019s contribution to total national GHG emissions and to contrast emissions against estimates of sequestered carbon.\nEmissions from agricultural activities account for 6%-8% of all GHG emissions in the United States. Carbon captured and stored in U.S. agricultural soils partially offsets these emissions, sequestering about one-tenth of the emissions generated by the agriculture sector, but less than 1% of all U.S. emissions annually. Emissions and sinks discussed in this report are those associated with agricultural production only. Emissions associated with on-farm energy use or with food processing or distribution, and carbon uptake on forested lands or open areas that might be affiliated with the farming sector, are outside the scope of this report.\nMost land management and farm conservation practices can help reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon, including land retirement, conservation tillage, soil management, and manure and animal feed management, among other practices. Many of these practices are encouraged under most existing voluntary federal and state agricultural programs that provide cost-sharing and technical assistance to farmers, predominantly for other production or environmental purposes. However, uncertainties are associated with implementing these types of practices depending on site-specific conditions, the type of practice, how well it is implemented, the length of time a practice is undertaken, and available funding, among other factors. Despite these considerations, the potential to reduce emissions and sequester carbon on agricultural lands is reportedly much greater than current rates.\nCongress is currently considering a range of energy and climate policy options. In general, the current climate proposals would not require GHG emission reductions in the agriculture and forestry sectors. However, if enacted, provisions in these bills could potentially raise farm input costs for fossil fuels, fertilizers, energy, and other production inputs. These higher costs could potentially be offset by possible farm revenue increases should farmers participate in carbon offset and renewable energy provisions that are part of this legislation. For example, within cap-and-trade proposals being debated in Congress are provisions that could provide tradeable allowances to certain agricultural industries, and provisions that could establish a carbon offset program for domestic farm- and land-based carbon storage activities. In addition, the renewable energy provisions contained in these bills could potentially expand the market for farm-based biofuels, biomass residues, and dedicated energy crops. These and related bills and issues are currently being debated in Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33898", "sha1": "b13f4ecb5c71ad4db36ab8ee231e41e62baf5e86", "filename": "files/20091109_RL33898_b13f4ecb5c71ad4db36ab8ee231e41e62baf5e86.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33898", "sha1": "8e40448e91b0258d15db6ace5ab6a5a1baa36868", "filename": "files/20091109_RL33898_8e40448e91b0258d15db6ace5ab6a5a1baa36868.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc805742/", "id": "RL33898_2009Jul31", "date": "2009-07-31", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector and Congressional Action", "summary": "This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under existing voluntary federal agricultural programs. Finally, the report describes legislative action within the ongoing climate change debate as well as enacted changes in the 2008 farm bill (Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) that could expand the scope of existing farm and forestry conservation programs in ways that could more broadly encompass certain aspects of these climate change initiatives. The report concludes with a discussion of some of the types of questions that may be raised regarding the role of the U.S. agriculture sector in the broader climate change debate.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090731_RL33898_1d479d3b84093f4ad9035738c4af29a47b5f7b32.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090731_RL33898_1d479d3b84093f4ad9035738c4af29a47b5f7b32.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Climatic changes", "name": "Climatic changes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Global climate change", "name": "Global climate change" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agriculture", "name": "Agriculture" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26255/", "id": "RL33898_2009Jun19", "date": "2009-06-19", "retrieved": "2010-07-07T17:39:19", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector and Congressional Action", "summary": "The debate in Congress over whether and how to address possible future climate change is intensifying. Often, the role of the U.S. agriculture sector is invoked in this debate. Agriculture is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Congress is considering a range of climate change policy options, including GHG emission\r\nreduction programs that would either mandate or authorize a cap-and-trade program to reduce GHG emissions. This report discusses this issue in detail, i.e., how the agricultural industry affects GHG emissions and efforts currently underway to combat these negative effects, but it does not address the potential effects of global climate change on U.S. agricultural production.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090619_RL33898_9ebe6ea4e769684e0c46429e03b2a3d7d521dba9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090619_RL33898_9ebe6ea4e769684e0c46429e03b2a3d7d521dba9.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Air pollution", "name": "Air pollution" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental protection", "name": "Environmental protection" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Global climate change", "name": "Global climate change" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agriculture", "name": "Agriculture" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agricultural pollution", "name": "Agricultural pollution" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc94117/", "id": "RL33898_2008Jun20", "date": "2008-06-20", "retrieved": "2012-07-24T12:39:36", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector", "summary": "This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under existing voluntary federal agricultural programs. The Appendix provides a summary primer of the key background information presented in these first two sections. Finally, the report describes ongoing legislative action within both the climate change and farm bill debates, and discusses the types of questions that may be raised regarding the role of the U.S. agriculture sector in the broader climate change debate.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080620_RL33898_971fe3534cdf2da54c257730057cc1e80fcf5841.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080620_RL33898_971fe3534cdf2da54c257730057cc1e80fcf5841.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Climatic changes", "name": "Climatic changes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Global climate change", "name": "Global climate change" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agriculture", "name": "Agriculture" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821044/", "id": "RL33898_2008May05", "date": "2008-05-05", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector", "summary": "This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under existing voluntary federal agricultural programs. The Appendix provides a summary primer of the key background information presented in these first two sections. Finally, the report describes ongoing legislative action within both the climate change and farm bill debates, and discusses the types of questions that may be raised regarding the role of the U.S. agriculture sector in the broader climate change debate.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080505_RL33898_8634fe63cc42dc103095ec2a7a95834406229ff6.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080505_RL33898_8634fe63cc42dc103095ec2a7a95834406229ff6.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Climatic changes", "name": "Climatic changes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Global climate change", "name": "Global climate change" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agriculture", "name": "Agriculture" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820949/", "id": "RL33898_2007Mar06", "date": "2007-03-06", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector", "summary": "This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under existing voluntary federal agricultural programs. Third, the report discusses the types of questions that may be raised regarding the role of the U.S. agriculture sector in the broader climate change debate, and also discusses the role of climate-related issues (e.g., GHG emissions reductions and carbon sequestration) in the context of farm program legislation that the 110th Congress may consider.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070306_RL33898_4f68e4879c1cfcdd1ee87c188c98d48372b71912.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070306_RL33898_4f68e4879c1cfcdd1ee87c188c98d48372b71912.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Climatic changes", "name": "Climatic changes" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Global climate change", "name": "Global climate change" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Agriculture", "name": "Agriculture" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Agricultural Policy", "Economic Policy" ] }