Page 23 - C:\Users\sandi\OneDrive\Documents\Flip PDF Professional\Ebook-AgriculturesSustainableFuture-Final\

the field verification and soil sampling costs Ideally, researchers can someday evaluate soil
which can eat into the potential incentive pay- carbon the way the dairy industry has been able
ments available for farmers adopting soil health to measure the impact of installing equipment
practices,” he said. like methane digesters to turn methane from
cattle manure into a gas to generate electricity,
The research on row crops is especially crucial said Michael, the California farmer.
to the livestock and poultry industries because
the carbon emissions associated with corn form Because of the digesters, California dairy pro-
a large portion of the carbon footprint for food ducers are on track to meet a goal of cutting
animals, especially chickens, turkeys and hogs. methane emissions 40% by 2030, according to
The largest source of emissions from U.S. agri- Dairy Cares, a statewide industry coalition in
culture is actually the production of row crops, California.
in part because of the use of nitrogen fertilizer, The use of nitrogen and conservation tillage on
which turns into nitrous oxide gas. U.S. cropland can vary by year.
Soil management practices, including nitrous Corn growers applied nitrogen at an average
oxide emissions, accounted for 338 million rate of 149 pounds per acre in 2018, the latest
of the 618 million metric tons of greenhouse year for which USDA survey data is available for
gas emissions from U.S. agriculture in 2018, corn. That was up from 140 pounds an acre in
according to the Environmental Protection 2010 and 138 pounds in 2005. Cotton growers
Agency. The emissions source that gets the applied 85 pounds of nitrogen per acre in 2019,
most media attention — methane emissions up from 77 pounds in 2010.
from belching cattle — accounted for about Meanwhile, 72% of soybean acreage was no-till
178 million metric tons. or minimum-till in 2017, versus 67% in 2012

www.Agri-Pulse.com 23