Iowa’s farmlands are hotbeds for greenhouse gases, with nitrous oxide accounting for 59% of agricultural emissions in 2022. 

These emissions are primarily driven by nitrogen fertilizer applications and animal manure, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Explorer.

In recent years, Iowa farmers have significantly increased fertilizer use, purchasing 5.27 million metric tons in the 2022 crop year — a 45% increase from just two years earlier. This rise, particularly when fertilizers are applied in the fall, contributes to higher emissions, as there are no crops to absorb excess nutrients.

As one of the nation’s largest pork producers, Iowa’s pork industry is a major driver of methane emissions, contributing 41% of the state’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.  Most of these emissions are from livestock digestion and manure management.

Climate change is already impacting Midwest states with increasingly severe storms, declining animal species, and increased risks of crop failures due to flooding or drought. Globally, leaders aim to limit rising temperature rise to avoid some of the worst calamities, including inundation of coastal areas and food scarcity.

“California is the most progressive state when it comes to tackling greenhouse gas emissions,” Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist at the University of California at Davis, told The Gazette and Investigate Midwest in 2023. “The state has pursued reductions in a smart way, by incentivizing farmers to reduce their emissions.”

Upon taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump paused Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding and moved to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, rolling back Biden-era climate efforts. The IRA had allocated $19.5 billion for agricultural conservation, including $8.45 billion for climate-friendly farming practices.

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