Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and the Role of Animal Agriculture
Purpose (Learning Objective): Students will gain a greater understanding about the connection between animal agriculture and the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) as they relate to two important aspects of this issue: mitigation and adaptation. 
•	Agriculture is a significant source of some GHGs emitted to the atmosphere. Farmers and ranchers also can manage systems in ways that mitigate emissions or even sequester (remove) carbon from the atmosphere. 
•	Agriculture production and agribusiness need to study and understand potential impacts of climate change in order to adapt to those changes.
Why Is This Important?
 Climate change will influence decisions made on farms or ranches. There may be direct influences through changes in weather, water availability, regulations, equipment choices, or facility design. There may also be indirect influences through voluntary conservation programs, consumer demand, or marketing/revenue opportunities.  Even though it has become a politically-charged issue, this module is going to largely focus on practical aspects of this topic and information that will help guide decision making and advocacy regardless of the political climate.  

Adapting to climate change is also something that farms or ranches should consider when developing business plans and looking at long range goals. This is a practical process that should be part of the risk management strategies in agricultural businesses. 

The major greenhouse gases (GHGs) linked to agriculture are methane, nitrous oxide, and to a lesser extent, carbon dioxide. The most significant ag sources of GHGs are (in order of relative importance):  ag soil management (nitrous oxide), gases produced in the digestive tract (also known as enteric fermentation) of ruminant animals (cattle, sheep, goats), and manure management (methane). 

Agriculture is also expected to be a significant factor in mitigating or reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere, especially in regards to soil carbon sequestration. The connection between agriculture and reduced greenhouse gases also leads to many potential voluntary programs that offer incentives for implementing or continuing best management practices. 

Prior to this activity/program: 
High school/Jr. College Teachers: 
Students should understand basic climate science and terminology, and be familiar with crop and livestock production methods.
Suggested Presentation Outline: (100 minutes or 2 class periods)
The suggested split point is at #5 where the teacher can end the first day of this topic with some of the discussion on trade-offs and pick up on day 2 by asking for additional discussion on that topic.
1.	Introduction (Presentation slides 1-7). 10 minutes
2.	How does ag contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (Slides 8-12). 10 minutes 
3.	Video “Assessing the carbon footprint of animal agriculture” (Slide 13). 5 minutes
4.	Mitigation (slides 14-21) 15 minutes
5.	Trade-offs discussion (slides 22-24)  15 minutes
6.	Policy and adaptation (slides 25-26) 10 minutes
7.	Adaptation discussion (slides 27-28) 10 minutes
8.	Video “Carbon, Climate Change, & Controversy” (Slide 29). 5 minutes
9.	Opportunities and Summary (Slides 30-32) 5 minutes
Instructional Materials: 
Presentation Slides: (33 slides; annotated; .ppt format). Agriculture and Greenhouse Gases (preview online) http://www.slideshare.net/LPELC/greenhouse-gases-and-animal-agriculture  or (download; 14 MB http://create.extension.org/sites/default/files/GHG%20instrcutor%20presentation_1.ppt
•	Video “Assessing the carbon footprint of animal agriculture” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ILn_23MLo  (5 minutes)
•	Video “Carbon, Climate Change, and Controversy” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC0WRiefRNc  (5 minutes)
Activity: (also is a possible science fair project) “Biogas Production from Animal Manure” http://www.extension.org/sites/default/files/Activity%20Biogas%20Production%20from%20Animal%20Manure.rtf 
Evaluation/Assessment:
•	Example quiz/review questions http://www.extension.org/sites/default/files/Quiz%20Questions_1.rtf 
•	Program evaluation survey  
Enrichment Activities/Independent Practice (Optional):
•	Find out how many anaerobic digesters are in your state (http://www.epa.gov/agstar/projects/index.html) 
•	Divide students into teams and have them develop a set of interview questions and then invite guest speakers or have the students independently interview professionals with USDA Natural Resource Conversation Service, Cooperative Extension, farmers engaged in direct marketing, commodity or ag organizations, etc. to get their perspectives on how/if climate change is impacting agriculture and how it may impact agriculture in the future.

Connections to SAE projects  
Entrepreneurship/Production
•	Make a farm adaptation/risk management plan and develop strategies for farm resiliency.
Placement
•	Assist their employer in making a risk management or adaptation plan.
Connections to FFA Awards/Contests
This module may be helpful for students preparing for Career Development Events such as prepared public speaking, extemporaneous public speaking, agricultural communications, agricultural issues, environment and natural resources, and others. 
Alignment with AFNR, SAE projects, and FFA Contests
National Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster Content Standards:  
This section indicates areas where the AFNR standards align with the topic presented in these materials. Instruction of the standard must be 
Animal Systems (AS)
•	AS.01. Performance Element: Examine the components, historical development, global implications and future trend of the animal system industry.
•	AS.08.01. Performance Indicator: Reduce the effects of animal production on the environment.
Environmental Service Systems
•	ESS.03.01. Performance Indicator: Apply meteorology principles to environmental service systems.
•	ESS.04.01. Performance Indicator: Use pollution control measures to maintain a safe facility environment.
•	ESS.05. Performance Element: Examine the relationships between energy sources and environmental service systems.
Natural Resource Systems
•	NRS.01. Performance Element: Explain the interrelationships between natural resources and humans necessary to conduct management activities in natural environments.
To find other modules and their alignment with the standard, download the BELAA-AFNR alignment matrix http://www.extension.org/pages/32944/educational-modules:-building-environmental-leaders-in-animal-agriculture-belaa).
For More Information
Recommended Internet search terms: climate change and animal agriculture (will bring up many viewpoints opposed to confined animal production), agriculture and greenhouse gases, livestock’s long shadow, carbon footprint dairy industry, climate change animal production, livestock contribution to climate change, carbon sequestration, carbon footprint of agriculture

Greenhouse gases and agriculture: 
Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center Climate Change Team home page:
http://www.extension.org/pages/60702/animal-agriculture-and-climate-change 
University of Missouri “Agriculture and Greenhouse Gas Emissions” http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G310 
Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy “Life Cycle Assessment Research”
http://www.usdairy.com/Sustainability/Science/Pages/Home.aspx  
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) “The Role of Agriculture in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions”
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/eb15/
American Society of Agronomy/Crop Science Society of America/Soil Science Society of America
Policy https://www.agronomy.org/science-policy/issues/climate-change
Review https://www.agronomy.org/files/science-policy/ghg-report-august-2010.pdf
University of Georgia (Poultry) “Global Warming: How Does It Relate to Poultry?”
http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=7939 
USDA Ag Research Service (ARS) Dairy Gas Emissions Model http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=21345 
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Global Warming FAQs
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html 
EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html 
The Environmental Impact of Dairy Production 1944 Compared with 2007 http://jas.fass.org/content/87/6/2160 
The Environmental Impact of Beef Production in the United States 1977 compared with 2007 http://jas.fass.org/content/89/12/4249.full

Connect and Interact
This (and other modules in this series) is posted on the NAAE Communities of Practice wiki http://www.naae.org/communities. (Search for BELAA)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/envagleaders
Facebook: http://facebook.com/envagleaders
National Young Farmers Educational Association (NYFEA) http://nyfea.org 
Livestock & Poultry Environmental Learning Center http://www.extension.org/animal+manure+mangement 
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/lpelc
Teaching Notes:
What would you keep the same, change, add, or remove the next time you teach this lesson?

Acknowledgements
Author: Jill Heemstra, University of Nebraska jheemstra@unl.edu 

Reviewers: Crystal Powers, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, David Schmidt, University of Minnesota,  Lyle Holmgren, Utah State University, Elizabeth Whitefield, Washington State University.

Building Environmental Leaders in Animal Agriculture (BELAA) is a collaborative effort of the National Young Farmers Educational Association (NYFEA; http://nyfea.org), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Montana State University.  It was funded by the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under award #2009-49400-05871. This project would not be possible without the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center (http://www.extension.org/animal+manure+management) the National eXtension Initiative (http://www.extension.org), National Association of County Ag Agents (NACAA), National Association of Agriculture Education (NAAE), Farm Credit Services of America, American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS), and Montana FFA Association.