RESILIENCY & CLIMATE ADAPTION BEGINS WITH US

www.SustainableFarming.us

We represent U.S. farmers and ranchers who are committed to producing theworld’s food, feed and fiber supply in a sustainable way. Farmers and ranchers
continue to be stewards of the land by promoting soil health, conserving water,
enhancing wildlife, efficiently using nutrients and caring for their animals. For
decades they have pushed past the boundaries of innovation by investing in
agricultural research and adopting practices with the goals of iimproving
productivity, providing clean and renewable energy, and enhancing sustainability.

Farmers Today Do More With Fewer Acres 1

Nearly 100 million more acres would have been needed in 1990 to match 2018 production.

140Million Acres

120
10080

121

It required 33% fewer acresin 2018 to produce SOYBEANS
than it would have in 1990

It required 33% fewer acresin 2018 to produce CORN
than it would have in 1990

48

It required 27% fewer acresin 2018 to produce COTTON
than it would have in 1990

20

14CORN2018

It required 17% fewer acresin 2018 to produce WHEAT
than it would have in 1990-4 Million401990-8 Million

8881600-42 Million

130-40 Million

40-1 Million

It required 28% fewer acresin 2018 to produce RICE
than it would have in 1990

410COTTON

SOYBEANS

WHEAT

3RICEFarmers Are Providing More Clean & Renewable Energy 2, 3
U.S. farmers and ranchers are
adopting and investing in
RENEWABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
sources. In the last five years,
farmers and ranchers have put in
132% more renewable energy
sources including geothermal, solarpanels, windmills, hydro systems
and methane digesters. More than
130,000 operations employ
reneable energy sources.

+223%

Geoexchange HeatingSolar

Wind RightsWindmills

Methane Digesters

The use of ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL
in 2018 reduced GHG emissions by 71 MMTequivalent to 17 MILLION CARS off the road.

+148%
+97%
+56%
+28%
change from 2012>15% Of All Farmland Is Used For Conservation & Wildlife Habitat Efforts 4+140,000,000 Acres*

Total acres U.S. farmers have enrolled in certain
USDA conservation programs. Equal to the total
land area of California & New York. This does notinclude millions of acres in voluntary - or state-ledconservation practices.

=+*Includes CRP, CSP EQUIP and VPA-HIP active and completed contracts through fiscal years 2017

3/17/2020

2

Ag Innovation Leads to Better & Lower GHG Footprint
4for Livestock3,andCrops 5, 6
Index (1990 = 100)

105

Index of Methane Emissions Per Unit ofLIVESTOCK Production since 1990

120

100
95

BEEF declined
by nearly 8%

90
85

PORK declined bymore than 18%

80

MILK declined
by nearly 25%

7550
1990

19972004

2011

Emissions per unit of CROP production calculations
for all crops are from 1980 to 2015.

130
Index (1980 = 100)

1104110

COTTONdeclinedby 40%

10090

RICE
declinedby 36%

80
70

SOYBEANS
declinedby 43%60
50

2018

CORN
declinedby 30%

1980

1986

1992

1998

2004

2010

2015

National Council ofFarmer Cooperatives

FSF represents U.S. farmers and ranchers committed to sustainably producing the world’s food, feed and fiber supply.
Data Sources:
1
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service and Farm Bureau Calculations
2
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture
3
Renewable Fuels Association, National Biodiesel Board and EPA
Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
4
United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation
Service, USDA Farm Service Agency and Farm Bureau Calculations

56Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Explorer,
USDA Foreign Agriculture Service PSD Online and Farm Bureau Calculations
Farm Bureau Calculations Based on Field to Market: The Alliance for
Sustainable Agriculture, 2016. Environmental and Socioeconomic
Indicators for Measuring Outcomes of On Farm Agricultural Production inthe United States (Third Edition). ISBN: 978-0-692-81902-9.
3/17/2020