A new report identifies the incredible impact from Missouri farmers’ efforts around soil conservation and climate change.

In Missouri, investments into conservation practices over the last 30 years have translated into annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of more than 2.8 million tons of C02e — equal to roughly 640,000 passenger cars. That’s more than 25 percent of the total passenger cars registered in Missouri and the equivalent of 6.3 billion road miles.

In that same time, Missouri’s average soybean yield grew by roughly 66 percent.

“Stewardship is an integral part of the long-term success for Missouri farms and farm families, and investing in land and water resources is foundational to that success,” said Ronnie Russell, a northwestern Missouri farmer and president of the Missouri Soybean Association. “The trajectory we’re on in agriculture, continuously producing more with less, sets us up well to continue to be a leader in the wise use of our natural resources for generations to come.”

The report, Climate Change and Missouri Agriculture, was prepared by Ray Massey and Cammy Willett from the University of Missouri’s Division of Applied Social Sciences. The report identified specific practices’ contributions, as well as broad areas in which farmers are making positive contributions toward reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, raising crop productivity without corresponding growth in emissions, and increasing on-farm carbon sequestration.

In addition to dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing production, farmers’ efforts have also helped keep soil in the field. Soil savings from on-farm practices like no-till and conservation tillage in Missouri have prevented erosion of 177 million tons of soil, equal to enough tandem axle dump truck loads of soil to circle earth more than three times.

Broad areas the report identifies in which farmers are making contributions include expanding practices that have reduced nitrous oxide (N2O) soil emissions through improved nitrogen management, soil health and conservation, and prioritizing nitrogen-fixing soybeans in their crop rotation and introducing farm practices proven to sequester carbon and practices to keep that carbon in the soil, removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil as elemental (C) carbon.

The Missouri Soybean Association requested the report last year to assess the impact farmers’ investments in research, soil health and conservation practices have had on key indicators of climate change.

In addition to measures identified in the report, Missouri soybean farmers are also widely recognized for their contributions through biodiesel. Soybeans are the basis for Missouri’s production of more than 200 million gallons of biodiesel per year.