Agriculture and Climate Change: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Opportunities and the 2007 Farm Bill

Note: This policy note is the second in a series of policy notes on the 2007 Farm Bill, and the role that U.S. agriculture might play in addressing global warming.

This policy note addresses the following questions:

• How can managers of agricultural operations reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?
• What opportunities exist under the Conservation Title of the 2007 Farm Bill to enhance climate change mitigation opportunities from the U.S. agricultural sector?

Recommended Actions

1. Ensure that 2007 Farm Bill legislative language includes greenhouse gases specifically as a resource of concern under air quality.
2. Ensure that 2007 Farm Bill implementation language for conservation programs includes opportunities for reductions in all agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, including nitrous oxide and methane and enhanced carbon storage as national priorities.
3. Require that environmental tradeoffs are assessed when evaluating applications for cost-share or incentive payments in the 2007 Farm Bill. Include in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) implementation language the need to establish protocols to assess environmental tradeoffs within broader conservation program implementation language, e.g., between enhancing wildlife benefits and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Explicitly specify nitrous oxide and methane mitigation opportunities in any existing climate change language.