Figure 10: Maryland’s agricultural sector GHG emissions trends, historical and projected, from 2006 to 2050 based on current and new policies
The agriculture sector represented 4% of the state’s GHG emissions in 2020. This sector includes emissions from enteric fermentation (i.e. methane emissions from cattle), manure management, and nutrient application. Emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in agricultural equipment are not included in this sector as they are already accounted for under building fuel use and non-road transportation. Reductions in atmospheric CO2 from carbon sequestration in soils are included in the forestry and land use sector along with other emissions sinks.
Agricultural sector GHG emissions can be reduced through mitigation methods involving manure management practices and precision animal feeding.
State Incentives for Agricultural Decarbonization (current, modified)
The state currently supports farmers in using best practices to manage manure and nutrients in environmentally preferable ways. The state would expect to increase the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices with new focused funding to complement federal funds available to farmers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Priority investments include manure management and feeding techniques that reduce enteric fermentation (leading to methane production) from livestock.
Impact of Agricultural Sector Policies
The new policies are modeled to reduce agricultural sector GHG emissions by 5.7 MMTCO2e between now and 2050. The societal benefit of this level of emissions reduction is estimated to be $184 million. Figure 10 illustrates the change in GHG emissions from this sector based on historical and modeled trends.
