What if we planted billions of trees on farms?

Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of carbon sequestration...

Hello, and welcome to Work Climate! I’m David, and I’m interested in learning as much as I can about agriculture. At an environmental law conference in October, I attended a panel exploring the intersection of farming and climate change which blew my mind. First of all, I was shocked at just how much land — over one-third of the lower 48 states — is solely used for raising animals:

Here’s How America Uses Its Land — Bloomberg. Another one-fifth of the contiguous United States is for crops; Christmas trees never stood a chance :(

This is, of course, not a great situation for the billions of animals raised and slaughtered in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) each year, nor for rural communities which live near these industrial facilities. I’m reading Wastelands by Corban Addison right now, a florid account of low-income families in eastern North Carolina bringing the hog industry to court for the nuisance of spraying massive amounts of liquified pig shit into the air, and eventually winning big. Such victories are rare, though, especially as many conservative legislatures in the pockets of agribusiness have passed so-called “right-to-farm” laws, limiting CAFOs’ liability for such negative impacts. This is part and parcel with a system of “anti-law” which largely exempts farms from federal regulation under major statutes like the Clean Air Act.

Big Ag’s environmental harms go far beyond their backyards, though. The global food system is a massive source of greenhouse gas emissions, an uncomfortable fact which is often made invisible in climate policy. This is no coincidence, as there has been a concentrated effort by industry lobbyists, and the national governments beholden to them, to downplay the importance of emissions from food production, beef and dairy livestock in particular.

Here, we’re mainly talking about methane — expelled by the waste, burps, and farts of large ruminant mammals — and nitrous oxide — released naturally from soil, but aided by the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers. These two greenhouse gases are both far more potent than carbon dioxide, and they account for the vast majority of agricultural emissions (which constitute about one-third of worldwide — and one-tenth of domestic — global warming potential). There are numerous ways we can cut back on these sources, while transforming agriculture into a net-neutral industry that supports resilient landscapes and communities. For today, though, we will focus on trees!

***I’m just beginning to learn about all of this but am already very grateful to Peter Lehner for his panel presentation and book on Farming for Our Future; Riya Mehta for giving me a crash course on federal ag policy; Amanda Zerbe and Stanford’s Food Systems & Agriculture Journal Club; Lingxi Chenyang for talking to me about her paper Farming with Trees; and David Hayes for bringing this topic into his course on transitioning to a clean energy economy.

The Farm Bill

First, we must understand the quinquennial (look it up; I had to) farm bill which determines most of U.S. agricultural policy. In 2018, climate provisions in the farm bill were essentially a non-starter. In 2023, that may no longer be the case, but the extent to which emissions reductions measures will make it into the next bill is still far from certain. For starters, Congress has already blown past its deadline to pass the omnibus law, and Senate and House committee staffers expect it will be months into 2024 before it is finalized.

According to Joe Outlaw – owner of an incredible name and also an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University – right now is a “terrible time to do a farm bill” because the agricultural economy is in a weak spot, with both rising input costs, and likely lower commodity prices coming. This means that there may be even less political appetite for innovative new programs which do not directly subsidize or aid farmers. Not to mention that the over three-quarters of the farm bill which provides nutritional assistance to low-income families is under increasing attack by Republican lawmakers.

That said, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated nearly $20 billion towards climate-smart agriculture, some $300 million of which has already been deployed to improve measurement of emissions in farms and forests, a critical need. But a fight remains over whether the farm bill will allocate remaining IRA funds to aid in rural electrification and resilient agriculture.

In sum, the farm bill represents both the easiest and most difficult pathway by which climate-smart practices may be expanded in agriculture. Easy because there are already several precedents for what these programs may look like. Difficult because entrenched opposition skeptical of anthropogenic climate change will make even modest climate measures an uphill battle. Success, then, may depend on selling provisions as economically beneficial for farmers — many of whom genuinely want to take good care of their land, workers, and neighbors, but lack the cash or technical expertise to do so.

Agroforestry

One of the primary ways that agriculture can become net-neutral is not by reducing direct emissions, but instead by using all that land from the picture above to capture and sequester massive amounts of carbon. The science here is relatively simple, such that even a law student can grasp it: Plant life – e.g., in the form of cover crops, such as alfalfa and grass hay – locks CO₂ in the biomass of roots and leaves via photosynthesis, where it can remain for hundreds or even thousands of years if left alone to decompose naturally.

Of the various methods to increase carbon sequestration on rural lands, one of the most compelling is agroforestry, or the incorporation of woody plants into cropland and pastureland. In addition to sequestering far more CO₂ for longer than produce crops can, the roots of trees reduce soil erosion and runoff, which helps pastoral ecosystems remain vibrant, and may save farmers money over time. Although most of the benefits from agroforestry would come from silvopasture — growing trees on animal grazing lands — trees on farms additionally act as windbreaks, preventing plant damage.

In sum, trees are incredible: U.S. forests already absorb more than one-tenth of all U.S. emissions, provide shade, promote biodiversity, filter water, and make landscapes more resilient. The prospect of billions more trees on agricultural and pastoral land is an exciting vision. Of course, convincing landowners to plant and maintain trees is tricky, without sufficient incentive.

Enter the U.S. Department of Agriculture. $3 billion from USDA’s “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” program is dedicated to testing whether “climate-smart” food products will sell at higher prices. $60 million of that was given in a grant to the Nature Conservancy to expand agroforestry. Though this initial grant will only impact 30,000 acres over five years, it could demonstrate a sustainable model for agroforestry, which may be attractive for lawmakers, regulators, and farmers to scale via farm bills.

Given the theme of this newsletter, I also must note that trees provide shade, and could be crucial in protecting our nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers from heat stress. Of course, natural shade alone is not a panacea — consider the melon pickers of California’s Central Valley, who work on top of blazing hot trailers in direct sunlight for hours without shade, rest, or water, as detailed in They Leave Their Kidneys in the Fields by Sarah Horton (another fun holiday read). Still, more access to breaks under branches could be a huge help.

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If business as usual in the agricultural sector — as with so many sectors — does not change, work on farms will only become more dangerous, and rural areas will continue to bear the disproportionate brunt of both the climate crisis and ecological degradation. We need to break up CAFOs and the noxious fumes and toxic chemicals they produce. We need a farm bill that rewards farmers who prioritize climate-resilient agriculture practices. And I need to continue learning about this field — HMU with your links and takes :)