1. Agricultural Conservation on Working
Lands: Trends From 2004 to Present
Kate Zook, USDA
A joint effort by:
USDA Office of the Chief Economist
USDA Economic Research Service
ICF
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July 29, 2019
2. Overview
âą Conservation Trends Project
âą Results
ï± Nutrient Management
ï± Manure Management
ï± Tillage and Cover Crops
âą Data Gaps
âą Next Steps
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3. Conservation Trends Report:
Purpose
âą Collect the most current information on
conservation practice adoption
âą Synthesize these data in a single report
âą Incorporate data into U.S. GHG Inventory
âą Provide aggregated data to our stakeholders
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4. Conservation Trends Report:
Key Data Sources
âą USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey
(ARMS) (USDA ERS & NASS)
âą USDA Census of Agriculture (USDA NASS)
âą Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP)
(USDA, NRCS & NASS)
âą National Crop Residue Management Survey
(Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC))
âą National Animal Health Management Survey (NAHMS)
(USDA APHIS)
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5. Nitrogen Management Indicators
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Conservation Indicator Data Readily Available
Application timing
Fertilizer type
Application method
Application rate
Nitrogen inhibitors and type
Slow-release fertilizers
Compost additions
Manure additions
Nitrogen use efficiency
Per unit GHG intensity
Precision ag
6. Nitrogen Application Quantity: Corn
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Source: USDA Economic Research Service based on Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)
data for 2005, 2010, and 2015.
7. Nitrogen Application per Bushel: Corn
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Source: USDA ERS based on ARMS data for 2005, 2010, and 2015.
10. Variable Application Rate Technology
for Fertilizers: Corn
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Source: USDA ERS based on ARMS data for 2005, 2010, and 2015.
11. Variable Application Rate Technology for
Fertilizers: Wheat
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Source: USDA ERS based on ARMS data for 2004 and 2009.
12. Tillage & Cover Crop Indicators
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Subcategory Conservation Indicator
Data Readily
Available
Conservation
tillage
(e.g., reduced till, no
till, strip till)
Adoption rates by commodity, state
Type of tillage
Soil Tillage Intensity Rating (STIR)
Erosion control measures
Crop rotations Double cropping
Cover crops
Adoption rates by commodity; state
Planting date
Type of cover crop
Termination date
Termination method
Length of time cover crop grown
Cover crop growing season (W, Sp, Su, F)
17. Livestock Indicators
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Conservation Indicator
Data Readily
Available
Percent of livestock managed by each manure
management system (by state, livestock type)
Manure Management System
(e.g., anaerobic lagoons, ponds, deep-pit manure storage,
covered lagoons)
Methane capture
Land application of manure
Per unit GHG intensity
22. Data Gaps
âą Major data gaps for:
ï± Nitrogen inhibitors/enhanced efficiency fertilizers
ï± Grazing lands
ï± Sensitive lands
ï± Manure management (e.g., solid separators)
âą Lack a consistent time series for conservation
practices
ï± Large gaps (5-10 years) in time series for USDA
surveys
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23. How is this information useful to
USDA?
âą Improve conservation program delivery
âą Improve agricultural conservation tracking
through the RCA and other reports
âą Use data to track progress
âą Work to continue conservation reporting long-
term
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24. Questions
Kate Zook
USDA OCE
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âą Roger Claassen, USDA ERS
âą Sharon Pailler, formerly USDA
ERS
kzook@oce.usda.gov
âą Anne Riddle, USDA ERS
âą ICF (compiled the report and
created most of the graphics)
âą Eastern Research Group
Thank You
Marci Baranski
USDA OCE
mbaranski@oce.usda.gov
Hinweis der Redaktion
Marci
The Blue Book and Comet Farm both require users to input data
The GHG inventory requires data for crops and livestock that have national coverageâ we use survey data
At USDA weâre working on improvements to methods at entity and inventory scale, and data improvements for the inventory
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USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (ARMS) (USDA ERS & National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)) - is the primary source of information on the financial condition, production practices, resource use, and economic well-being of farm households
USDA Census of Agriculture (USDA NASS) - The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures.
Conservation Reserve Programs Reports and Statistics (USDA, Farm Service Agency) - Monthly and annual collection of current and historical CRP data.
Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP) (USDA, NRCS & NASS) â CEAP is a multi-agency effort to quantify the environmental effects of conservation practices and programs and develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality. Project findings will be used to guide USDA conservation policy and program development and help conservationists, farmers and ranchers make more informed conservation decisions.
National Crop Residue Management Survey (Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)) - The National Crop Residue Management (CRM) Survey is the only survey in the U.S. to measure at the county level the type of tillage used by crop.
Fertilizers account for 75% of the U.S.âs anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions
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ADDED SLIDE 4/3/2018
U.S. map showing planted acres of corn by U.S. state. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of average applied pounds of nitrogen per treated acre by USDA region (upper graph) and total number of acres where nitrogen is applied by region (lower). Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted corn acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of national average of applied pounds of nitrogen per treated acre by farm size. Lightest color indicates earliest timepoint (2005), medium color indicates mid-timepoint (2010) and darkest color indicates latest time point (2016).
The amount of nitrogen added per treated acre and the amount of nitrogen/bushel differ by farm size with smaller farms applying less nitrogen per treated acre or per bushel than larger farms (see Figure 9c and Figure 10b). Specifically, small farms (<250 acres) applied the least nitrogen per treated acre at 104 pounds/acre in 2005 which increased to 107 pounds/acre in 2010 and 114 pounds/acre in 2016.
For nitrogen per bushel , mean application rates decreased between 2005 and 2016 in the three major producing regions (See Figure 10a below). Specifically, mean nitrogen application rates per bushel decreased overall from 0.87 to 0.87 to 0.83 pounds/bushel in the Corn Belt, decreased from 0.86 to 0.85 to 0.81 pounds/bushel in the Northern Plains and from 0.72 to 0.68 pounds/bushel in 2010 and 2016 in the Lake States.
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Yield is based on predicted yieldâ therefore does not reflect weather variability.
a)Graph of average applied pounds of nitrogen per bushel (based on farmer estimated yield) by USDA region. Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted corn acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of national average applied pounds of nitrogen per bushel (based on estimated yield) by farm size. Lightest color indicates earliest timepoint (2005), medium color indicates mid-timepoint (2010) and darkest color indicates latest time point (2016).
For nitrogen per bushel , mean application rates decreased between 2005 and 2016 in the three major producing regions (See Figure 10a below). Specifically, mean nitrogen application rates per bushel decreased overall from 0.87 to 0.87 to 0.83 pounds/bushel in the Corn Belt, decreased from 0.86 to 0.85 to 0.81 pounds/bushel in the Northern Plains and from 0.72 to 0.68 pounds/bushel in 2010 and 2016 in the Lake States.
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Figure 14. Wheat Nitrogen Application (per bushel)
Graph of average applied pounds of nitrogen per bushel (based on farmer estimated yield) by USDA region. Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted wheat acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of national average applied pounds of nitrogen per bushel (based on estimated yield) by farm size. Lighter color indicates earlier timepoint (2004), darker color indicates later timepoint (2009).
Nitrogen application rates are higher per bushel of wheat than for bushel of corn; however, nitrogen rate per acre is higher for corn than for wheat.
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U.S. map showing planted acres of corn by U.S. state. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of the national average percent of total nitrogen applied rage percent of acres where nitrogen was applied at a given time by farm size at the national level. Red color indicates percent of total of acres with nitrogen application applied after planting, orange color indicates percent of total of acres with nitrogen applied with split application (before and at planting) and yellow color indicates percent of total acres with nitrogen applied in the fall application only.
Graph of the average percent of total nitrogen applied at a given time average percent of acres where nitrogen was applied at a given time by USDA region (upper graph) and total number of acres where nitrogen is applied by region (lower). Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted corn acres. Color indicates the percent of total of acres with nitrogen application applied at a given time (after planting, split application before and at planting and fall application) as described above in b).
Farm size appears to impact the percent of acres grown using improved of total nitrogen applied using improved nitrogen application timing, where small farms have the highest percentage of acres followed by mid-sized and large farms (see Figure 15b).
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Figure 17. Corn Acres Grown with Variable Rate Technology
U.S. map showing planted acres of corn by USDA region. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of percent of acres where VRT is used by USDA region (upper graph) and total number of acres where VRT is used by USDA region (lower). Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted corn acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of national percent of acres where VRT is used by farm size. Lightest color indicates earliest timepoint (2005), medium color indicates mid-timepoint (2010) and darkest color indicates latest time point (2016).
The percentage of corn acres grown using VRT increased from 2005 to 2010 to 2016 in all regions for which there are multiple years of data (see Figure 17b).
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Figure 18. Wheat Acres Grown with Variable Rate Technology
U.S. map showing planted acres of wheat by USDA region. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of percent of acres where VRT is used by USDA region (upper graph) and total number of acres where VRT is used by USDA region (lower). Box designates the three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted wheat acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of national percent of acres where VRT is used by farm size. Lighter color indicates earlier timepoint (2004), darker color indicates later timepoint (2009).
Marci
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Figure 29. Corn Acres Grown with No-till
U.S. map showing planted acres of corn by USDA region. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of percent of corn acres using no-till by USDA region and year (upper graph) and total number of acres where no-till was used by USDA region and year (lower). Box indicates three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted corn acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of percent of acres produced using no-till by farm size and year. Lightest color indicates earliest timepoint (2005), medium color indicates mid-timepoint (2010) and darkest color indicates latest time point (2016).
Farm size does not appear to have a clear impact the percent of acres grown using no-till, where all farm sizes have around one-third of acres grown using no-till in 2016 (see Figure 29c).
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Figure 33. Wheat Acres Grown with No-till
U.S. map showing planted acres of wheat by USDA region. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of percent of wheat acres using no-till by USDA region and year (upper graph) and total number of acres where no-till was used by USDA region and year (lower). Box indicates three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted wheat acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of percent of acres produced using no-till by farm size and year. Lighter color indicates earlier timepoint (2004), darker color indicates later timepoint (2009).
Farm size appears to impact the percent of acres grown using no-till (see Figure 33c).
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Figure 31. Soybean Acres Grown with No-till
U.S. map showing planted acres of soybeans by USDA region. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres. Grey color indicates no data.
Graph of percent of soybean acres using no-till by USDA region and year (upper graph) and total number of acres where no-till was used by USDA region and year (lower). Box indicates three largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least planted soybean acres. Color intensity is correlated to number of planted acres; darker colors indicate more planted acres, lighter colors indicate fewer planted acres.
Graph of percent of acres produced using no-till by farm size and year. Lighter color indicates earlier timepoint (2006), darker color indicates later timepoint (2012).
Farm size appears to impact the percent of acres grown using no-till, where small farms had the lowest percentage in 2005, but all three farm sizes had similar percentages in 2012 (see Figure 31c).
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Figure 24. Cover Crops on Farmland for Crops and Livestock
Graph of the percent of cover crops grown on total farmland acres (including land to grow crops and livestock) by USDA region and year. Box indicates the five largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least total farmland acres. Color intensity is correlated to the year; the lighter the color the earlier the year in the time series.
Graph of the number of acres grown with cover crops by USDA region and year. Box indicates five largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least farmland acres. Color intensity is correlated to the year; the lighter the color the earlier the year in the time series.
Graph of the total number of farmland acres (including land to grow crops and livestock) by USDA region and year. Box indicates the five largest producing regions. Regions sorted from left to right from most to least total farmland acres. Color intensity is correlated to the year; the lighter the color the earlier the year in the time series.
Marci
Manure accounts for 10% of anthropogenic methane emissions in the United States