Growing Returns

Three takeaways from global action on agriculture and climate

By Jennifer Chow / Bio / Published: December 10, 2025

As we come to the end of another record-breaking year for extreme weather, we can see the effects on our plates. Climate change is on the table for both producers and consumers, and leaders must continue to drive global visions forward with local solutions, connecting how critical producers and consumers are to each other.

As the global climate conference COP30 concluded this year, Brazil had the daunting task of pursuing the unity and multilateralism that United Nations processes call for in the name of people and the planet. But what was clear from COP30 is that the agrifood systems community has been successful in helping climate leaders understand that the critical impact of agriculture and food on climate change (and vice versa) requires full-scale engagement.

We can build that deep engagement by creating win-win solutions, supporting adaptation as a means to mitigation and connecting each piece — from behavior change to science and innovation to financial incentives — for a genuine ecosystem approach.

Here are three takeaways to close out 2025:

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag methane, agriculture, climate change, climate resilience, COP, COP30, farmers, food security, methane, resilience | Comments are closed

Digging deep: Separating soil carbon facts from fiction

By Alison Eagle / Bio / Published: December 4, 2025

Authors: Alison Eagle, Jocelyn Lavallee, Renske Hijbeek

Dec. 5 is World Soil Day.

Soil is one of our best allies in tackling climate change, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. Myths about what soil can (and can’t) do still shape global debates. That’s why scientists from Environmental Defense Fund and Wageningen University dug into the data to bring clarity. Because sound science is the foundation of sound policy.

Why soil matters.

Healthy soils are essential for climate change mitigation and sustainable food production. But while improving soil carbon is part of the solution, it’s not a silver bullet. Real progress requires a whole food-system approach that balances production, consumption, and land use – while cutting emissions across agriculture and beyond.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged carbon sequestration, European Union, soil | Comments are closed

From feed formulation to fermentation: Can dairy cow nutrition models predict enteric methane emissions?

By Mallory Honan / Bio / Published: October 31, 2025

By Mallory Honan, Scientist, Livestock Methane; Jack Killcoyne, Senior Research Analyst, Global Livestock Methane; Peri Rosenstein, Senior Scientist, Livestock Systems

A dairy cow’s diet is an integral part of her well-being and productivity; it’s also a critical opportunity for reducing methane emissions. Similar to humans, what cows eat impacts their ability to live healthy, productive lives. Therefore, a major priority for farmers and nutritionists is formulating a diet that satisfies their cows’ dietary requirements.

Unlike humans, though, cows are ruminants — animals that have a compartmentalized digestive organ (three pre-stomachs and one true stomach) — and they digest food very differently. The largest component of their pre-stomach and main site of digestion is aptly named the rumen. This chamber acts as a fermentation vat, with microbes breaking down nutrients from feed. The cow then burps out methane produced as a byproduct via these microbial digestive processes, also known as enteric fermentation.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag methane, agricultural climate solutions, agricultural methane, agriculture, agriculture methane, climate change and agriculture, farmers, farming, food production, livestock methane | Comments are closed

Why lowering livestock methane emissions will help slow climate change and benefit farmers

By John Tauzel / Published: September 18, 2025

Farmers and ranchers around the world face increased heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall, making it harder to grow livestock and crops. This means less financial security for farm families and, globally, bigger threats to people’s access to nutrition.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag methane, agriculture, agriculture methane, climate change, climate resilience, enteric methane, farmers, farming, farms, food production, food security, livestock methane, methane emissions | Comments are closed

Extreme heat puts pressure on cows and farmers

By EDF Staff / Published: September 10, 2025

By Sukie Kevane, EDF Intern

Dairy and beef producers are feeling the strain of heat waves — and so are their animals. Longer, hotter summers are making it harder for cows to stay healthy and productive. Heat stress lowers milk yields, weakens cows’ immune systems and can even threaten fertility.

For farmers, the impacts go beyond animal health: heat stress reduces milk yields and fertility in cows, which translates directly into financial losses from lower production and higher management costs. Lower productivity also increases the methane intensity of any milk or meat produced.

But across the world, producers, veterinarians and nutritionists are responding with new tools and time-tested strategies to help livestock cope. These solutions matter not only for animal health, but for food security, rural livelihoods and climate resilience.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, animal health, climate change, climate resilience, dairy, extreme heat, farmers, heat stress, resilience, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Collaboration between food companies and banks can accelerate regenerative agriculture in Europe and beyond

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 15, 2025

The widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture practices in Europe could strengthen crop resilience to extreme weather and support the long-term sustainability of farms, communities and ecosystems – an urgent need as the region faces record-breaking heatwaves. Despite the benefits of adopting cover cropping, no-till, nutrient management, alternative manure management and other regenerative practices, many farmers are hindered by financial barriers, including high up-front costs and risks.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agricultural banks, agricultural finance, European Union, farm finance, financial resilience, food companies, regenerative agriculture | Comments are closed

Modernizing agricultural insurance to strengthen farmers’ ability to adapt

By Vincent Gauthier / Bio / Published: June 26, 2025

Last year, the U.S. faced its fourth most costly year of extreme weather, contributing to more than $20 billion in agricultural losses. As this trend of increasingly extreme weather continues, modernizing agricultural insurance in the U.S. is a crucial step toward protecting farmers’ financial stability and reducing the risks they face when transitioning to climate-resilient practices.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag insurance, agricultural finance, crop insurance, farm finance, financial resilience | Comments are closed

A new normal for Irish dairy: Pioneering sustainable change for Ireland’s climate future

By Justin Zahra / Published: June 9, 2025

Ireland’s lush pastures and deep-rooted agricultural traditions have long made it a global dairy powerhouse. But with agriculture contributing nearly 38% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions — four times the EU average — there’s no escaping the uncomfortable truth: Ireland’s booming dairy sector must evolve to meet the country’s climate targets.

To respond to this pressing challenge, Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDF Europe) and Climate KIC partnered to explore a new vision for sustainable dairy. The goal? To co-create a future-proof model that balances climate action with economic resilience in Ireland’s rural heartlands.

Below, we’ll outline a new roadmap for sustainable dairy. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged ag methane, agriculture, climate change, dairy, dairy methane, European Union, farmers, Ireland, livestock methane, methane, sustainability | Comments are closed

Farmers need technical support to balance crop yields with climate benefits

By Doria Gordon / Bio / Published: May 19, 2025

Cropland, which covers roughly 13% of global land surface, is integral to producing food, slowing warming and boosting resilience. Farmers find themselves in a difficult spot: they are compelled to deliver higher yields to feed a growing human population but with a lower carbon footprint.

This complexity is underscored in a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, which assessed how tillage, cover crops and crop residue affected both crop yields and greenhouse gas mitigation over time. This work is the first to examine the yield and mitigation impacts of common regenerative agriculture practices independently and collectively at a global scale looking out to 2050 and 2100.

Importantly, farmers can use these conservation practices to produce yields and mitigation, but they will need additional technical and financial assistance to do so. This is critical to maintaining livelihoods, food stability and supporting the climate.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged Climate, cropland, crops, farmers, technical assistance, yields | Comments are closed

To slow climate change, we must measure livestock methane accurately

By Mallory Honan / Bio / Published: May 6, 2025

Reducing methane emissions, a climate super-pollutant, can lessen rates of warming within decades. Since livestock farming is one of the biggest emitters of that methane gas, with enteric methane from cow burps alone contributing about a third of all human-caused methane emissions each year, lowering it can have a big impact.

To reduce livestock emissions, we first have to know where we’re starting. That requires accurate and validated measurement, but measuring methane from livestock isn’t simple — how we do it matters. These are the most important considerations.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, climate change, climate-smart agriculture, enteric methane, methane, methane emissions, research | Comments are closed