Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023 - Summer

Team Members: Belén Álvarez, Yuxin Tu, Cate Twining-Ward, Emma Oonk, Fiona Laird, Friedrich Sayn-Wittgenstein, Lee Yaron, Oliver Xu, Xiaohan Wang, Yini Cui, Yue Yu

Agriculture contributes approximately 11% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously facing increasing climate-related risks, including drought, extreme precipitation, and soil degradation. The Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023 establishes federal programs to reduce agricultural emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 through soil carbon sequestration, pasture-based livestock systems, renewable energy adoption, and food waste reduction. Analysis of soil management practices found that agricultural soils represent the largest opportunity for emissions reduction, but adoption of climate-smart practices remains constrained by financial risk, inconsistent incentives, and uncertainty about long-term productivity impacts.

Expanding soil health practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and rotational grazing can significantly increase carbon storage while improving resilience to climate stressors. However, research identified tradeoffs between short-term economic returns and long-term environmental benefits, particularly for pasture-based livestock systems, which require greater land and operational changes. Policy implementation effectiveness depends on targeted financial incentives, technical assistance, and improved measurement systems to verify carbon sequestration outcomes. Strengthening federal support programs and aligning economic incentives with environmental goals improves adoption rates and enhances long-term agricultural productivity, positioning climate-smart agriculture as a critical pathway to reducing emissions while strengthening farm resilience.

Learn more about the MPA-ESP Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Management.