9th June 2026
Total Scottish greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture were 7.5 MtCO2e in 2024, the second-lowest level since current records began in 1990. Emissions fell by 0.4% from 2023 as a 15.3% increase in fuel combustion emissions was offset by reductions across all other agricultural emission sources.
Agriculture emissions are in a long-term decline, driven by falling enteric fermentation emissions due to reduced livestock numbers. From 1990 to 2024, cattle and sheep numbers have decreased by 21% and 35%, respectively.
In 2024, arable farming, where machinery use is the main source of fuel combustion emissions, saw a 1.9% increase in emissions to 1.5 MtCO2e. Emissions for suckler beef, dairy, sheep and dairy beef subsectors fell by about 1% each, compared with the previous year. Suckler beef remained the largest source of agriculture emissions in 2024, accounting for 3.1 MtCO2e or 41.2% of total emissions.
In 2024-25 average emission intensity (the carbon footprint) for cereal production on cereal and general cropping farms rose by 14% (to 293 kgCO2e/tonne crop) and 6% (to 258 kgCO2e/tonne crop), respectively. The rise was driven by an overall increase in diesel emissions across arable farms and a rise in average fertiliser use on some general cropping farms.
While nitrogen use efficiency remained stable at around 33% on average, nitrogen balance increased by 3%. Nitrogen balance (input minus output) estimates surplus nitrogen which could be lost to the environment. In 2024-25, nitrogen balance was 46.1 kg N surplus/ha on the average Scottish farm. This increase was mostly driven by increased average fertiliser use on general cropping farms. Despite the small increase, nitrogen balance remains below pre-2022 levels, before fertiliser prices rose sharply.
The full statistical publication with supporting data tables is available at: Scottish agriculture greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen use 2024-25#
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-agriculture-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-nitrogen-use-2024-25/
Results for the agriculture sector, along with national greenhouse gas emissions, were released in the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2024 publication. The report includes subsector analysis based on a methodology developed by SRUC. Subsector analysis allocates total Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics emissions from agriculture to subsectors that align more closely with agricultural enterprises.
Farm level results are calculated from the 2024-25 Farm Business Survey, which covered the 2024 cropping year and the 2024-25 financial year. The Farm Business Survey is an annual survey of approximately 400 commercial farms with economic activity of at least approximately £20,000. Farms which do not receive support payments, such as pigs, poultry and horticulture, are not included in the survey. On-farm emissions are estimated using a life cycle assessment (LCA) based carbon calculator (Agrecalc). Enterprise estimates are not weighted to the 2024 June Agricultural Census and represent sample averages of farms in Farm Business Survey. Nitrogen estimates are based on standard estimates of nitrogen content in all farm inputs and outputs where possible.