Last summer, the department spent nearly $20 billionon conservation programs that encourage climate-friendly farming. That includes planting cover crops like beans and peas, which help soils absorb carbon year-round. And tilling less farmland to keep more carbon stored in soils rather than being released into the atmosphere.

Now, the department plans to spend $300 million more on national research networks. One network will measure the effectiveness of climate-friendly practices; another will monitor levels of greenhouse gas emissions released through crop and livestock production. That data will be collected over the next decade.

Anne Schechinger of the Environmental Working Group, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, said the move is a “step in the right direction, but many years late.”

“In 10 years, when we have all the data, is it going to be too late to really be reducing emissions?” the agricultural economist added. “So many other sectors – transportation, energy – are working on reducing emissions. And so it’s really important for agriculture to be doing that right now.”

And if farming doesn’t shrink its carbon output, the sector’s share of the nation’s emissions is expected to grow to more than 30% by 2050, according to a 2022 study by research firm Rhodium Group.

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