Land and Natural Resources
U.S. agricultural production relies heavily on the Nation’s land, water, and other natural resources, and has a direct impact on the quality of the Nation’s natural environment. Over the years, improvement in the sector’s productive use of resources has reduced the amount of land and water needed per unit of output, and concerted public and private efforts have improved the sector’s environmental performance. These charts illustrate several aspects of these trends.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the agricultural sector, including its electricity consumption, accounted for 10.5 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Globally, carbon dioxide emissions are the largest contributor to climate change. However, the emissions profile for agriculture differs from that of the overall economy. In agriculture, crop and livestock activities emit nitrous oxide and methane, mainly from fertilizer application, enteric fermentation (a normal digestive process in animals that produces methane), and manure storage and management. Between 1990 and 2022, estimated greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. agricultural sector have increased by approximately 5.1 percent. During the same period, estimated total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have declined by 3.0 percent.