Any restrictions or outright bans on natural gas would have severe implications for the U.S. agricultural sector and the nation’s food supply, the American Gas Association (AGA) warned in a new study.
As policymakers across the world weigh the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition and more localities across the United States impose bans on certain uses for natural gas, AGA stressed that natural gas plays a central role in agriculture that can’t be overlooked.
“There is a direct connection between the availability of low-cost natural gas and the cost of food on store shelves in every state across our nation,” said AGA CEO Karen Harbert.
American farmers rely on natural gas for fertilizer. It also provides fuel to run equipment and helps to power food storage and transportation. AGA said any restrictions or bans on natural gas production and consumption could disrupt the food supply chain, boost costs for consumers, impact land values and create a “dangerous reliance” on other agricultural behemoths like China and Russia.
Undermining natural gas would cost the U.S. agricultural sector, according to the study, which was released as part of AGA’s new “Advancing America” series that examines the role natural gas plays in the United States. The agricultural sector, AGA said, supports 17.2 million jobs and $1.75 trillion in U.S. gross domestic product.
“An abundant and affordable supply of natural gas is critical to the fertilizer industry and our ability to provide essential crop nutrients to farmers,” said Corey Rosenbusch, CEO of The Fertilizer Institute, a trade group representing the fertilizer industry.
Natural gas is the primary feedstock for ammonia, which is the building block for all nitrogen fertilizers. Natural gas, Rosenbusch said, accounts for 70-90% of fertilizer production costs. He pointed to the soaring natural gas prices in Europe last year that curtailed nearly three-quarters of the continent’s ammonia production.
Rosenbusch called for U.S. “energy policies that support robust natural gas production and supply.”
The study found that U.S. agriculture is one of the largest consumers of natural gas in the United States, accounting for roughly 1.7 Tcf, or 15% of all commercial and industrial demand in the country.
“Natural gas is a key feedstock in a variety of items needed to maintain a productive and affordable agricultural sector, and because we can produce those items domestically with natural gas, we are able to shield our farmers from supply chain bottlenecks around the world,” Harbert added. “This helps to ensure Americans have the food they want at the prices they need regardless of global conditions.”
The global agricultural sector has been targeted for pollution cuts as more countries aim for net-zero emissions. Roughly 37% of methane emissions from human activity are the result of livestock and agricultural practices across the world, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In the United States, the sector accounted for 11% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, according to the EPA.
The AGA acknowledged that global agricultural production is becoming more energy intensive, but it said that makes secure and affordable natural gas supplies that much more important as it can help cut into emissions from more carbon-intensive fuels.
“The United States is also innovating by turning farm waste into renewable natural gas to produce low-carbon energy,” the study noted. “Capturing methane emitted by our farming community and blending it into our pipeline system will enable lower emissions in our food supply ecosystem.”
Source : Natural Gas Intel