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Analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from the average Irish milk production system
Abstract
Actions to moderate the major emission contributors of enteric fermentation, fertiliser and manure management on farms should not simply move the emissions elsewhere in the system, but actually reduce them. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to provide an objective framework for estimating emissions and to evaluate emission management scenarios with respect to kg CO2 eq emitted per unit of milk produced. An average dairy unit was defined and emissions were compartmentalised to calculate a total emission of 1.50 kg CO2 eq kg−1 (energy corrected milk) yr−1 and 1.3 kg CO2 eq kg−1 yr−1 with economic allocation between milk and meat. Of the total emissions, 49% was enteric fermentation, 21% fertiliser, 13% concentrate feed, 11% dung management and 5% electricity and diesel consumption. Scenario testing indicated that more efficient cows with extensive management could reduce emissions by 14–18%, elimination of non-milking animals could reduce emissions by 14–26% and a combination of both could reduce emissions by 28–33%. It was concluded that the evolution of the Irish dairy sector, driven by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), should result in reduced GHG emissions.
... Calculating a product's carbon footprint is an ISO standardized assessment method (ISO 2018) that is based on the LCA approach (ISO 2006a(ISO , 2006b) but centered on estimating the GHG emissions of a product's life cycle. The calculation of carbon footprint has frequently been used to estimate the GHG emissions of conventional milk production (Casey and Holden 2005;Castanheira et al. 2010;de Léis et al. 2015;Ross et al. 2014). Much less empirical evidence is available for organic milk production, and few studies have used detailed real-farm data to estimate GHG emissions (Hietala et al. 2015). ...
... We estimated emission shares of 97.0% (2017) and 97.3% (2018). These estimates are, with one exception (97.0%, (Casey and Holden 2005)), higher than all shares in the studies in our review. The carbon footprint of 9.54 kg CO 2 eq per kg beef that we used to calculate beef emission savings was relatively low and represents beef emissions of an average German dairy cattle system (IINAS 2019). ...
Dairy products play an important role in human nutrition, but at the same time, the dairy sector is a major contributor to global warming. The conversion from conventional to organic milk production could reduce the carbon footprint due to the elimination of synthetic fertilizers and strong reliance on closed on-farm nutrient cycling. We present one of the first studies to comprehensively estimate the climate-change impacts of the conversion to organic production of a large-scale dairy operation in central Germany. We used detailed farm data and a carbon footprint approach based on the IPCC tier-2 methodology to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with feed production, animal husbandry, and animal rearing. Our results show that the carbon footprint per kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM) decreased by 9% during the first year of conversion to organic milk production. Conversely, livestock emissions per kg ECM increased by 12% in the first conversion year due to the increase in methane emissions from enteric fermentation, but this increase was more than offset by the decrease in emissions from feed production. Emissions from internal and external feed production per kg ECM decreased by 17% and 29%, respectively. Our study helps to understand how individual emission sources change as a result of a farm's conversion to organic production. This research is important and timely, as the European Union is pursuing ambitious goals to increase the area under organic farming, although the impact of the conversion period on GHG emissions has been insufficiently studied.
... The annual N 2 O emissions per unit mass of milk under intensive dairy farming highly depend on the milk yield, feed regimes, manure management, and regional climates. In Australia, Ireland and Canada, the N 2 O emissions per unit mass of milk ranged from 0.25 × 10 kg to 0.38 × 10 −3 kg [33][34][35][36]. The discrepancy could be attributed to variations in the duration of nutrition and manure management. ...
The emission factor method (Tier 1) recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is commonly used to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock and poultry farms. However, the estimation accuracy may vary due to practical differences in manure management across China. The objectives of this study were to estimate the direct and indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from dairy manure management between 1990 and 2021 in China and characterize its spatial and temporal variations following IPCC guideline Tier 2. The N2O emission factor (EF) of dairy cow manure management systems was determined at the national level and regional level as well. The results showed that the national cumulative N2O emission of manure management from 1990 to 2021 was 113.1million tons of CO2 equivalent, ranging from 90.3 to 135.9 million tons with an uncertainty of ±20.2%. The annual EF was 0.021 kg N2O-N (kg N)−1 for total emissions, while it was 0.014 kg N2O-N (kg N)−1 for direct emissions. The proportions of N2O emissions in North China, Northeast China, East China, Central and Southern China, Southwest China and Northwest China were 32.3%, 18.6%, 11.4%, 5.8%, 6.1% and 25.8%, respectively. In addition, N2O emissions varied among farms in different scales. The respective proportions of total N2O emissions from small-scale and large-scale farms were 64.8% and 35.2% in the past three decades. With the improvement in farm management and milk production efficiency, the N2O emissions per unit mass of milk decreased from 0.77 × 10−3 kg to 0.48 × 10−3 kg in 1990–2021. This study may provide important insights into compiling a GHG emission inventory and developing GHG emission reduction strategies for the dairy farming system in China.
... Grasslands play an important role in carbon mitigation, storing about 34% of global terrestrial carbon. Additionally, nearly 3.4 billion livestock are responsible for about 7.1 billion tons of carbon emissions per year [4][5][6][7]. Grasslands cover a total of 3.92 million km 2 in China, accounting for about 12% of global grasslands [8]. Nevertheless, socioeconomic changes and extreme climatic events have led to substantial changes in grasslands, degrading their structures and functions [9,10]. ...
Accurate inventories of grasslands are important for studies of greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics, as grasslands store about one-third of the global terrestrial carbon stocks. This paper develops a framework for large-area grassland mapping based on the probability of grassland occurrence and the interactive pathways of fractional vegetation and soil-related endmember nexuses. In this study, grassland occurrence probability maps were produced based on data on bio-climate factors obtained from MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature (MOD11A2), MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices (MOD13A3), and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM 3B43) using the random forests (RF) method. Time series of 8-day fractional vegetation-related endmembers (green vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation, sand land, saline land, and dark surfaces) were generated using linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) based on MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance data (MOD09A1). Time-series endmember fraction maps and grassland occurrence probabilities were employed to map grassland distribution using an RF model. This approach improved the accuracy by 5% compared to using endmember fractions alone. Additionally, based on the grassland occurrence probability maps, we identified extensive ecologically sensitive regions, encompassing 1.54 (104 km2) of desert-to-steppe (D-S) and 2.34 (104 km2) of steppe-to-meadow (S-M) transition regions. Among these, the D-S area is located near the threshold of 310 mm/yr in precipitation, an annual temperature of 10.16 °C, and a surface comprehensive drought index (TVPDI) of 0.59. The S-M area is situated close to the line of 437 mm/yr in precipitation, an annual temperature of 5.49 °C, and a TVPDI of 0.83.
... The amount of nutrients (fertiliser and concentrates) and energy used to produce one unit of animal product can be determined by the stocking rate. Low stocking rates reduced the amount of CO2-equivalent emissions per hectare of land; however, this reduction was very marginal when determining CO2-equivalent emissions per kilogramme of ECM, according to Casey and Holden (2005). This issue is addressed in certain LCA studies; O'Brien et al. (2010) predicted that a hectare of land will experience a 10-20% rise in stocking rate and a corresponding 5-6% increase in GWP. ...
Climate change is altering ecological systems and poses a serious threat to human life. Climate change also seriously influences on livestock production by interfering with growth, reproduction, and production. Livestock, on the other hand, is blamed for being a significant contributor to climate change, emitting 8.1 gigatonnes of CO2-eq per year and accounting for two-thirds of global ammonia emissions. Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) are three major greenhouse gases (GHG) that are primarily produced by enteric fermentation, feed production, diet management, and total product output. Ruminants account for three-quarters of total CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq) emissions from the livestock sector. The global dairy sector alone emits 4.0% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Hence, dairy farming needs to engage in environmental impact assessment. Public concern for a sustainable and environmentally friendly farming system is growing, resulting in the significant importance of food-based life cycle assessment (LCA). Over the last decade, LCA has been used in agriculture to assess total GHG emissions associated with products such as milk and manure. It includes the production of farm inputs, farm emissions, milk processing, transportation, consumer use, and waste. LCA studies on milk production would assist us in identifying the specific production processes/areas that contribute to excessive greenhouse gas emissions when producing milk and recommending appropriate mitigation strategies to be implemented for a clean, green, and resilient environment.
... According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, annually global emissions due to the agriculture sector were 9.3 billion tCO 2 eq [6], while the livestock-related GHG emissions were responsible for 3.5 billion tCO 2 eq of the total emissions in this sector [7]. Particularly, the dairy industry is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to the direct methane produced by cows during digestion and manure management and indirect greenhouse gas emissions related to energy consumption [8,9]. ...
The current study was undertaken to identify ways of reducing excessive energy consumption and the total greenhouse gas emissions in the large-scale dairy farm. Retrofitting was proposed as a potential solution for dairy farms. Principally, a thorough experimental energy audit approach was employed in a case study to assess the direct energy use share and intensity of real-time operating dairy farms. After determining the load profile and implementing energy efficiency retrofits, according to the comprehensive simulation, four different alternative energy systems were presented to yield the maximum output of renewable energy resources, including solar and bioenergy. As a cost-effective solution, using solar photovoltaic and thermal panels is the most cost-effective method of mitigating energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions challenges. The second alternative includes biogas energy, which shifts farm energy demands and yields 1,223 MWh of power to the grid, however, 249 MWh of heat is required. According to the third scenario, the demand for the cooling system will also be covered; 972 MWh of electrical power is injected into the grid, and 349 MWh of heat is needed. By the combination of photovoltaic and thermal panels with the CCHP system, which is the most expensive one, the system can supply the cooling, heating, and electrical demand for the facility. It can also inject 2.9 GWh of electricity into the grid. The remaining 399 MWh of heat is required, with a 3.5-year payback. Grid failures can be compensated most effectively by using the alternatives proposed in the current study. Also, the burden of heavy loads on the grid was impressively decreased. Efforts were made to minimize the facility's carbon footprint and reduce annual GHG emissions by up to 3920 tCO2eq.
... According to Andretta et al. [27], proceeding with further transformations between different functional units could not always lead to precise results. Previous studies report a range of GHG emissions per kg of beef carcass from 17 to 37 kg CO 2 -eq [29][30][31][32]. In addition, a previous study [33] reported an estimated GHG intensity of 22 kg CO 2 -eq/kg carcass for beef production in southern Alberta (Canada). ...
Although beef production is one of the most valuable drivers of the global livestock economy, it is considered the main contributor to GHG emissions derived from livestock. This study’s objectives were to estimate the GHG emissions (expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents; CO2-eq) from the beef sector in Greece at the national and prefecture levels during the period 2011–2021 and to explore potential mitigation scenarios. The Tier 1 and 2 methodologies were implemented to estimate the GHG emissions. The total estimated emissions increased over the study period. Although both methodologies captured similar trends in the changes in GHG emissions, the Tier 2 estimations revealed lower emissions and fluctuations due to the different and more precise computational approaches. At the prefecture level, fluctuations in emissions were also noted. However, specific regions showed higher increases in emissions. The observed increase in emissions, in terms of either absolute values (Gg CO2-eq) or intensities (Kg CO2-eq/Kg produced beef carcass), is of utmost importance, and further mitigation strategies should be considered. The regression analysis showed a good predictive ability for emissions, using the number of livestock animals as the input. The equations derived from this analysis could be further used as first-approach tools for capturing future emissions at the national level before proceeding with more elaborate approaches. The different scenarios examined in response to the sector’s challenges showed moderate changes in GHG emissions. Depending on national priorities, such scenarios could serve as pilot case studies, which may assist stakeholders in improving the sustainability of the sector in the future.
... Among them is the widely established process of conducting a product's environmental impact assessment throughout the course of its full life cycle, known as a life cycle assessment (LCA) (Guinée and Lindeijer 2002). The LCA technique is well suited for assessing agricultural systems since it offers an impartial means of characterizing the production system and evaluating its effects in terms of outputs (Casey and Holden, 2005). The International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) ISO 14040 (ISO, 2006a) and ISO 14044 LCA (ISO, 2006b) criteria were followed throughout this investigation. ...
With increasing evidence of global warming, the pressure is building to limit greenhouse gas emission from many human activities including dairy production systems. In this context, the present study was conducted to estimate the carbon footprint (CF) of cattle milk produced in the Hisar district of Haryana, India. The data about feeding practices, crops grown, manure management systems, etc. was collected through personal interviews with cattle-rearing rural male farmers chosen through multistep random sampling. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was adopted to estimate carbon footprint, with the system boundary being “Cradle to farm gate.” The latest methodologies prescribed by the IPCC were used to estimate GHG emissions using the tier-2 approach. The current study has presented a detailed and recent GHG inventory from smallholder cattle farms at the village level. On the basis of the inventory analysis, a simplified life cycle-based analysis is used in order to quantify the carbon footprint of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). The carbon footprint of cattle milk was estimated at 2.13 kg CO2-eq/kilogram FPCM. Enteric fermentation was the most potent contributor to GHG, contributing around 35.5% of the total emissions, followed by manure management (13.8%) and soil management (8.2%). Further studies to accurately estimate carbon footprint are advocated besides suggesting ways to reduce GHG emissions and using efficient production technologies.
... Methodology adopted: Use of life cycle assessment (LCA) is generally accepted method to evaluate the environmental impact during the entire life cycle of a product (Guinee et al. 2002). LCA methodology is well-adapted to evaluate agricultural systems because it provides an objective method of defining the production system and quantifying impacts in terms of the outputs of a production system (Casey and Holden 2005). The method has been used in number of studies estimating the impact of livestock products like meat, pork, chicken, eggs and milk. ...
The present study was conducted to compare the carbon footprint of milk produced in 75 smallholder farms and two organised buffalo farms in Hisar district of Haryana using Life Cycle Assessment approach. Primary data was collected from farmers and farm managers for the study. Functional unit was one litre of milk with system boundary being ‘Cradle-to-farm gate’. Methodology prescribed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was used for estimation of emissions from different sources. Secondary data was also relied upon for synthetic fertilizers and seeds, combustion of fossil fuel, production of concentrates and dry fodders. The average carbon footprint of milk produced in rural smallholder and organised farms were 3.54 and 4.53 kg CO₂-eq./L milk, respectively, indicating superiority of village level production systems. Methane from enteric fermentation was estimated to be contributing nearly half of the total greenhouse gas emissions. It is suggested that rural smallholder production systems should be favoured over organised ones given the lower greenhouse gas emissions.
... A number of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of milk have been conducted; however, they have been limited in the impact categories that were considered, the stages of the dairy consumption life cycle chain (feed production, dairy production, transport, processing, packaging, retail, and consumption) that were included, or the degree to which spatially relevant information was used. Regarding impact categories, most studies have focused on carbon footprint, e.g., in Europe [4,5], Canada [6] or the United States [7][8][9]. Globally, greenhouse gas estimates for milk at farm gate range from approximately 1.2 kg CO2e/kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) in North America to over 4 kg CO2e/kg FPCM in portions of Asia and Africa, driven largely by differences in production practices [10]. ...
Purpose: Understanding the main factors affecting the environmental impacts of milk production and consumption along the value chain is key towards reducing these impacts. This paper aims to present detailed spatialized distributions of impacts associated with milk production and consumption across the United States (U.S.), accounting for locations of both feed and on-farm activities, as well as variations in impact intensity. Using a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach, focus is given to impacts related to (a) water consumption, (b) eutrophication of marine and freshwater, (c) land use, (d) human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and (e) greenhouse gases. Methods: Drawing on data representing regional agricultural practices, feed production is modelled for 50 states and 18 main watersheds and linked to regions of milk production in a spatialized matrix-based approach to yield milk produced at farm gate. Milk processing, distribution, retail, and consumption are then modelled at a national level, accounting for retail and consumer losses. Custom characterization factors are developed for freshwater and marine eutrophication in the U.S. context. Results and discussion: In the overall life cycle, up to 30% of the impact per kg milk consumed is due to milk losses that occur during the retail and consumption phases (i.e., after production), emphasizing the importance of differentiating between farm gate and consumer estimates. Water scarcity is the impact category with the highest spatial variability. Watersheds in the western part of the U.S. are the dominant contributors to the total water consumed, with 80% of water scarcity impacts driven by only 40% of the total milk production. Freshwater eutrophication also has strong spatial variation, with high persistence of emitted phosphorus in Midwest and Great Lakes area, but high freshwater eutrophication impacts associated with extant phosphorus concentration above 100 µg/L in the California, Missouri, and Upper Mississippi water basins. Overall, normalized impacts of fluid milk consumption represent 0.25% to 0.8% of the annual average impact of a person living in the U.S. As milk at farm gate is used for fluid milk and other dairy products, the production of milk at farm gate represents 0.5% to 3% of this annual impact. Dominant contributions to human health impacts are from fine particulate matter and from climate change, whereas ecosystem impacts of milk are mostly due to land use and water consumption. Conclusion: This study provides a systematic, national perspective on the environmental impacts of milk production and consumption in the United States, showing high spatial variation in inputs, farm practices, and impacts.
... A previous study by Flysjö et al. (2011) analysing the impact of various parameters on the carbon footprint of milk production in New Zealand and Sweden found a value of 1 kg CO 2 -eq per litre for milk from outdoor pasture grazing systems in New Zealand and 1.16 kg CO 2 -eq per litre for milk from indoor housing systems with high use of concentrate feed in Sweden. A value of 1.5 kg CO 2 -eq per kg and year has been estimated for Irish dairy milk (Casey and Holden, 2005), while the value is reported to vary between 0.94 and 1.33 kg CO 2 -eq per kg energy-corrected milk on Swedish dairy farms due to management differences . There is also a difference in CO 2 -eq between organic dairy milk and conventional dairy milk, varying from 0.856 to 1.48 per kgin New Zealand, the Netherlands and Dahllöv and Gustafsson (2008), Mikkola and Risku-Norja (2008), Smedman et al., 2010, Röös et al. (2016 and Ho et al., 2016 0.354 18.270 1.94% ...
A hypothetical carbon tax on the carbon footprint of fresh milk products from animals (cow’s milk) and plant-based substitutes (rice milk, oat milk, soy milk, almond milk) was applied to estimated price and income elasticities for Swedish household expenditure on these products. Overall aims were to (i) to estimate fresh milk consumption patterns in Swedish households and (ii) simulate the direct distributed effects of a carbon tax on fresh milk. The results indicated that fresh milk consumption in Swedish households is affected mainly by price and income, rather than by sociodemographic characteristics of the household. The estimates revealed a substitutional relationship between plant- based milk on one hand and low-fat and standard milk on the other, while there was a complementary relationship between plant-based and reduced-fat milk. The effects of a carbon tax were simulated based on damage cost and price. The results indicated that introduction of a carbon tax would decrease the carbon footprint of dairy fresh milk, but would increase the carbon footprint of plant-based milk because of the institutional and complementary relationship between the different categories of fresh milk. Thus levying a carbon tax on fresh dairy milk, rather than on plant-based milk, would be more likely to promote climate-friendly fresh milk consumption.
... Large amounts (0.70-0.80) of ingested N are excreted from dairy cows, which can have a detrimental effect on the environment (Tamminga, 1992;Ryan et al., 2011). A greater problem in pasture-based systems, compared with confinement systems, is that a large proportion of N is lost to the environment through volatilization and leaching when cows are grazing outdoors (Hyde et al., 2003;Casey and Holden, 2005;Ryan et al., 2011). In the current study, total N excretion and N use efficiency did not significantly differ between G and ZG cows in either experiment 1 or 2. The partitioning of N into milk and urine was similar; however, the percentage of ingested N excreted in faeces was higher in ZG cows in both experiments 1 and 2. According to Huhtanen et al. (2008), faecal N is derived from excretion of undigested feed N, undigested microbial N and endogenous N. It is possible that the excretion of one or more of these was higher in ZG; however, it is difficult to pinpoint which, if either, was the contributory factor, particularly given that there was no significant difference between total ingested N and total excreted N. From an environmental perspective, an increased faecal:urinary N ratio is desirable in grazing cows because large amounts of ammonia in urine are lost to volatilization after a urination event as well as losses of N 2 O during the denitrification process (Totty et al., 2013). ...
To overcome grass supply shortages on the main grazing block, some pasture-based dairy farmers are using zero-grazing (also known as ‘cut and carry’), whereby cows are periodically housed and fed fresh grass harvested from external land blocks. To determine the effect of zero-grazing on cow performance, two early-lactation experiments were conducted with autumn and spring-calving dairy cows. Cows were assigned to one of two treatments in a randomized complete block design. The two treatments were zero-grazing (ZG) and grazing (G). The ZG group were housed and fed zero-grazed grass, while the G group grazed outdoors at pasture. Both treatments were fed perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L. ) from the same paddock. In experiment 1, 24 Holstein Friesian cows ( n = 12) were studied over a 35-day experimental period in autumn and offered fresh grass, grass silage, ground maize and concentrates. In experiment 2, 30 Holstein Friesian cows ( n = 15) were studied over a 42-day experimental period and offered fresh grass and concentrates. Average dry matter intake and milk yield was similar for ZG and G in both experiments. Likewise, ZG did not have an effect on milk composition, body condition or locomotion. Zero-grazing had no effect on total nitrogen excretion or nitrogen utilization efficiency in either experiment, or on rumen pH and ammonia concentration in experiment 1. While zero-grazing may enable farmers to supply fresh grass to early-lactation cows in spring and autumn, results from this study suggest that there are no additional benefits to cow performance in comparison to well-managed grazed grass.
... Likewise, some dairy farms outside of HDRs achieved lower mean GHG emissions or emission intensities than those inside of them, but strategies for the former (majority-Normande herds and producing less maize silage) differed from those for the latter (majority-Holstein herds and producing more maize silage). Increasing milk production per cow was one scenario studied to decrease the GHG emission intensity of milk in Ireland, by using dairy cows with higher genetic merit to meet milk-production goals with fewer cows (Casey and Holden, 2005). Finally, KDE could be useful for constrained optimisation of production or environmental performance for a given range of forage production by identifying the farms with the best performance in that range. ...
CONTEXT
Agricultural systems are generally characterised by many dependent variables that represent their management practices and performances. Parametric approaches are usually used to explore data collected from farms and relations among variables. However, these approaches are generally limited by strong assumptions about the shape of the model that relates variables to each other, which can induce bias in studies.
OBJECTIVE
To address these limitations, we investigated the potential of non-parametric kernel density estimators to help explore relations among variables that characterise farms (e.g., forage and milk production, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions), which have the advantage of requiring no assumptions about the shape of these relations.
METHODS
Multivariate kernel density estimation analyses the probability that the values of two or more variables will simultaneously fall within a given range for each variable. The practical utility of this approach was shown by identifying subsets of a population of 96 dairy farms in 2013 in Normandy, France, that had forage production, milk production and GHG emissions that most other farms in the same population were likely to have.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Several farms outside of the highest density regions, but which lay with the same range of grass or maize production, were able to produce 28% or 27% more milk per cow, respectively (or emit 21% or 9% less GHGs, respectively) each year than farms inside these regions. Characteristics of these farms that increase milk production (e.g., higher maize silage production, more often with majority-Holstein herds) or decrease GHG emissions (e.g., lower maize silage production, more often with majority-Normande herds) were identified.
SIGNIFICANCE
Kernel density estimation can be useful for selecting farms with particularly high or low production or environmental performances in a sample of farms as a function of multiple characteristics.
... An alternative procedure for recovering farm-level GHG emissions is based on the guidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which are designed for national GHG inventories, and are thus considered an internationally accepted and widely applicable standard (e.g. Olesen et al. 2006;Casey and Holden 2005). Furthermore, we use the methodological extensions to the IPCC method added by Haenel et al. (2018). ...
Agriculture is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and thus contributes considerably to global warming. However, farms can vary substantially in terms of their climatic impact. So far, most policies aiming at reducing GHG emissions from farming have largely been based on findings at the aggregate level, without taking farm heterogeneity properly into account. This study seeks to provide a better understanding of the GHG mitigation potential at the micro-level. We develop a comprehensible analytical framework for analyzing economic-ecological performance by way of stochastic frontier analysis. We introduce the concept of emission efficiency, where we distinguish between persistent and time-varying efficiency. We further analyze farms with respect to their emission-performance dynamics. Results from our (2005–2014) empirical application from Bavaria—an important region for the EU – show considerable differences in farm-level GHG emissions across different farm types. The same applies to emission efficiencies. Overall, emission performance improved over time. The results have important climate-policy implications as they help to provide better target measures for mitigating GHG emissions from agriculture, without compromising economic performance levels.
... Nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) is poor in dairy cows (Ipharraguerre and Clark, 2005), which can be exacerbated in grazing systems because high-quality grazed pasture is naturally high in CP (Van Vuuren et al., 1990), with a value of 18.5% CP being defined as high by Kopp et al. (2019). As a result, large amounts of N loss occur when dairy cows are grazing outside (Casey and Holden, 2005). Typically, NUE ranges from 12 to 25% in Irish grazing studies and can be dependent on stage of lactation (Whelan et al., 2012;Reid et al., 2015a;McKay et al., 2019). ...
The objective of this study was to investigate effects of supplement crude protein (CP) concentration and cow genotype on milk production and milk composition in spring-calving grazing dairy cows. A 2 × 2 factorial experiment, with two feeding strategies (14% and 18% CP concentrate supplements) fed at varying levels according to pasture availability and d in milk (DIM; n=29) was conducted over the main grazing season from 3rd April to 3rd September 2019 at UCD Lyons Farm. Cows were also assigned to two genotype groups: lower milk genotype (LM; milk kg predicted transmitting ability (PTA): 45 ± 68.6 kg, fat kg PTA: 10 ± 4.9 kg, and protein kg PTA: 7 ± 2.3 kg; n=29) and higher milk genotype (HM; milk kg PTA: 203 ± 55.0 kg, fat kg PTA: 13 ± 3.8 kg, and protein kg PTA: 10 ± 2.4 kg; n=29). Fifty-eight Holstein Friesian dairy cows were blocked on parity, and balanced on DIM, Economic Breeding Index, and pre-experimental milk yield. Cows grazed full time and were offered a basal diet of perennial ryegrass pasture. No interactions were observed for any milk production or milk composition parameter. Time had effects on all daily milk production and milk composition parameters measured. No effect of supplement CP concentration was observed for total accumulated milk production, daily milk production, or milk composition. The HM cows had an increased daily energy-corrected milk (+1.7 kg) and fat-corrected milk (+2.2 kg) yield compared to LM cows. Differences in milk composition between genotypes were not observed. Cows fed decreased supplement CP concentration had increased pasture dry matter intake (+0.9 kg) compared to cows fed increased supplement CP concentration. In conclusion, decreasing the supplement CP concentration offered to cows did not negatively impact on either total accumulated or daily milk production, or milk composition over the main grazing season where high pasture quality was maintained. The results are positive for farmers considering current national nitrates derogation legislation, whereby farmers are required by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to reduce supplement CP fed to dairy cows during the main grazing season.
... Dairy cattle can also produce N 2 O from enteric emissions as a result of the NO 3 reduction process that takes place by the microbes in the rumen (Kaspar and Tiedje, 1981). Due to the small production of enteric N 2 O, these emissions are not always considered in dairy emission analyses (Casey and Holden, 2005). ...
Dairy cattle provide a major benefit to the world through upcycling human inedible feedstuffs into milk and associated dairy products. However, as beneficial as this process has become, it is not without potential negatives. Dairy cattle are a source of greenhouse gases through enteric and waste fermentation as well as excreting nitrogen emissions through their feces and urine. However, these negative impacts vary widely due to how and what these animals are fed. In addition, there are many promising opportunities for further reducing emissions through feed and waste additives. The present review aims to further expand on where the industry is today and the potential avenues for improvement. This area of research is still not complete and additional information is required to further improve our dairy systems impact on sustainable animal products.
... Nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) is poor in dairy cows (Ipharraguerre and Clark, 2005), which can be exacerbated in grazing systems because high-quality grazed pasture is naturally high in CP (Van Vuuren et al., 1990), with a value of 18.5% CP being defined as high by Kopp et al. (2019). As a result, large amounts of N loss occur when dairy cows are grazing outside (Casey and Holden, 2005). Typically, NUE ranges from 12 to 25% in Irish grazing studies and can be dependent on stage of lactation (Whelan et al., 2012;Reid et al., 2015a;McKay et al., 2019). ...
The objectives of this study are to evaluate the effects of (1) a potential interaction between supplement crude protein (CP) concentration and differing cow genotypes on milk production, (2) differing cow genotypes on milk production, and (3) decreasing the supplement CP concentration on milk production and N excretion during the main grazing season within a spring-calving herd. A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement experiment, with 2 feeding strategies [14%; n = 30 (lower CP; LCP) and 18%; n = 28 (higher CP; HCP) CP concentrate supplements] offered at varying levels according to pasture availability and days in milk (DIM) was conducted over the main grazing season from April 3 to September 3, 2019, at University College Dublin Lyons Farm. Cows were also grouped into 2 genotype groups: lower milk genotype; n = 30 [LM; milk kg predicted transmitting ability (PTA): 45 ± 68.6 (mean ± SD); fat kg PTA: 10 ± 4.9; and protein kg PTA: 7 ± 2.3] and higher milk genotype; n = 28 [HM; milk kg PTA: 203 ± 55.0; fat kg PTA: 13 ± 3.8; and protein kg PTA: 10 ± 2.4]. A total of 46 multiparous and 12 primiparous (total; 58) Holstein Friesian dairy cows were blocked on parity and balanced on DIM, body condition score, and Economic Breeding Index. Cows were offered a basal diet of grazed perennial ryegrass pasture. The N partitioning study took place from August 25 to 30, 2019 (187 ± 15.2 DIM). No interactions were observed for any milk production or milk composition parameter. No effect of supplement CP concentration was observed for any total accumulated milk production, daily milk production, or milk composition parameter measured. The HM cows had increased daily milk yield (+1.9 kg), fat and protein (+0.15 kg), and energy-corrected milk (+1.7 kg), compared with the LM cows. Furthermore, HM cows had decreased milk protein concentration (−0.1%) compared with LM cows. For the N partitioning study, cows offered LCP had increased pasture dry matter intake (PDMI; +0.9 kg/d), dietary N intake (+0.022 kg/d), feces N excretion (+0.016 kg/d), and decreased N partitioning to milk (−2%), and N utilization efficiency (−2.3%). In conclusion, offering cows LCP had no negative influence on milk production or milk composition over the main grazing season where high pasture quality was maintained. However, any potential negative effects of offering LCP on milk production may have been offset by the increased PDMI. Furthermore, offering cows LCP decreased N utilization efficiency due to the higher PDMI and feed N intake associated with cows on this treatment in our study.
... In their investigations of emissions from agriculture in Africa, Tongwane et al. [6] determined that gastrointestinal fermentation was responsible for over half of all emissions originating from agriculture. Studies conducted in Ireland showed that 49% of emissions originated from gastrointestinal fermentation [47]. However, it should be noted that, in general, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated based on data for an average agricultural holding in the region or country and include all green- house gases. ...
The negative impact of agricultural production on the environment is manifested, above
all, in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). The goals of this study were to estimate methane and nitrous oxide emissions at the level of individual farms and indicate differences in emissions depending on the type of production, and to investigate dependencies between greenhouse gas emissions and economic indicators. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions were estimated at three types of farms in Poland, based on FADN data: field crops, milk, and mixed. Data were from 2004–2018. Statistical analysis confirmed the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and economic performance. On milk farms, the value of methane and nitrous oxide emissions increased
with increased net value added and farm income. Milk farms reached the highest land productivity and the highest level of income per 1 ha of farmland. On field crops farms, the relationship between net value added and farm income and methane and nitrous oxide emissions was negative. Animals remain a strong determinant of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and the emissions at milk farms were the highest. On mixed farms, emissions result from intensive livestock and crop production. In farms of the field crops type, emissions were the lowest and mainly concerned crops.
... In these cases, the conversion to organic farming practices seems to have reduced the vulnerability of these farms (Bouttes et al. 2019). On the other hand, this could provide an interesting approach towards reducing the impact from milk production on greenhouse gas emissions which are, in fact, relevant, from the enteric fermentation to the energy consumed (Casey and Holden 2005). Organic farming may be, indeed, one, among many, solutions towards mitigating the negative environmental impacts from farms' activities (Casey and Holden 2006). ...
The milk sector across the European Union (EU) has experienced several changes, due to the intrinsic characteristics of its respective structures of production. In fact, due to significant increases in production, this sector has suffered dramatic surplus supplies, which have had a relevant impact, namely on the market’s management. In this framework, the EU created the milk quota system in the 1980s to control the milk markets and prepare the sector for the subsequent reforms verified by the agricultural policy instruments. However, this system was a temporary measure from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and was removed in 2015, having new and relevant impacts on the sector around Europe and, specifically, in Portugal. In this context, the main objective of this research was to assess the several impacts from the several reforms of the CAP instruments for the milk sector within the Portuguese context. For this, a literature survey from the Web of Science (Core Collection) was carried out searching for the topics “milk” and “Common Agricultural Policy.” From this search, 57 documents (only articles were considered, excluding, for example, proceedings papers) were obtained. To complement this literature review, several data from the Eurostat and from the Portuguese agricultural market information system were considered and explored through econometric approaches. The main insights obtained show that the milk sector is a controversial topic, which continues to need special policy attention, namely to avoid asymmetries across the several EU member-states.
... The main motivation of rural producers for adopting a new production system is often linked to their profitability, systems with use of pasture with low production costs attract more producers in Germany (Kiefer et al., 2014). A clear and measurable analysis of the economic and environmental impact assessment of milk production is essential between both criteria (Dolman et al., 2014;Casey and Holden, 2005;Cederberg and Flysjö, 2005). O'Brien et al. (2014) point out that the reasons why some producers do not take actions that allow the mitigation of emissions and increase the profitability of the system are diverse, among them are risk aversion and difficulty adopting technological innovation or managing the business efficiently to maximize profit. ...
The intensification of milk production in Brazil in the past decade has imposed great stress on the environment. Therefore, it is very important to find a balance between economic, social, and environmental objectives. The paper assesses the economic costs by production systems: confined feedlot, semi-confined feedlot, and pasture in the south of the country. The economic assessment was realized on some investment analysis tools and the GHG emissions costs for the different production systems indicated. Our results show that hectare and the total area of rural properties were lower in the confined feedlot system, followed by the semi-confined feedlot system and pasture-based grazing system. However, the reduction of the need for feed inputs in the pasture system resulted in lower feeding costs when compared to the other systems. The hectare analysis suggested that the superior productivity of the semi-confined system conditioned higher emission costs in relation to the other systems. However, considered the total emissions of the systems, the pasture system obtained higher values, justified by the greater need for an area for production. The results showed that the higher the food efficiency of a system, the greater the profitability.
... Pour ce faire, certains apports méthodologiques ont dû être faits. Dans le cas du CO2, comme dans beaucoup d"ACV, certains intrants comme le matériel, les bâtiments et les produits phytosanitaires sont souvent négligés en raison de l"absence d"information (Casey et Holden, 2005;Cederberg et Mattsson, 2000). Grâce à des enquêtes plus approfondies, nous avons pu incorporer le bilan environnemental (GES et ENR) de ces intrants dans cette ACV. ...
Les auteurs de ce travail ont évalué les émissions de Gaz à Effet de Serre (GES) et les consommations d‟énergie non renouvelable (ENR) dans un échantillon de 1250 années-éleveurs en ovin-viande, évoluant dans des productions dites biologiques (AB) et conventionnelles (AC) et suivies sur la période 1987-2012, par la méthode de l‟Analyse de Cycle de Vie (ACV). Il n‟y a pas de différence significative pour la consommation d‟ENR (79.6 MJ en AB et 79.7 MJ en AC, par kilo de carcasse). En effet, le gain réalisé en AB par la faible utilisation d‟engrais chimiques et l‟achat de moins d‟aliments concentrés est compensé par le niveau élevé de mécanisation (ici carburants et matériels). Quant aux émissions de GES, on observe une différence significative favorable à l‟élevage biologique de l‟ordre de 5% (31.1 contre 32.7 kg CO2 eq/kg carcasse).
... farms. These uncertainty ranges are larger than the ±11.5% estimated in a study of New Zealand dairy farms based on statistical data (Basset-Mens et al., 2009) and the range of uncertainties (±16.9% to ±21.0%) reported in a study of Irish dairy farms based on survey data (Casey and Holden, 2005). This reflects differences in assumptions applied in the uncertainty analysis as well as greater uncertainty associated with data collection methods used in this study. ...
Milk production by smallholders in Africa has a high carbon footprint (CF) and is predicted to increase significantly in the coming decades. This study, based on data from a sample of 382 farms in central Kenya, is the first assessment of the CF of milk production in Sub-Saharan Africa based on a large dataset of actual farm management practices. The aims of the study were (1) to determine whether there are significant differences in the CF of farms with different feeding systems (i.e., zero-grazing, grazing and mixed systems), and (2) to identify factors associated with variability in CF between farms. This analysis is used to identify options for mitigating GHG emissions from Kenya's growing dairy production. Average CF ranged between 2.19 and 3.13 kg CO2e/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), depending on the GWPs and allocation method used. Analysis based on variability in farm management showed that CF was similar between farms with zero-grazing and mixed feeding systems, and significantly higher on farms with grazing only feeding systems, but no difference was detected when input parameter uncertainty was considered. At individual cow level, variation in milk yields explained more than 70% of the variation in GHG intensity. At farm level, milk yield explained less than half of variation in CF. CF was correlated with feed characteristics, manure management practices and herd size and composition. In particular, the level of concentrate use was positively correlated with CF, and was the most important factor explaining variation in CF not attributable to variation in milk yield. Our findings suggest that promoting balanced feed rations and feeding concentrate according to cows' needs across the lactation cycle could provide opportunities to both increase milk production and reduce the CF of milk production on smallholder farms in central Kenya. Supporting smallholder farmers to implement these mitigation options will require interventions at several levels in feed supply chains in the dairy sector.
... • 1 kg or tonne of energy corrected milk (ECM) leaving the farm-gate over a specific period of time (Cederberg and Stadig, 2003;Cederberg and Mattsson, 2000;Cederberg and Flysjö, 2004;Casey and Holden, 2005); ...
In order to produce the sheer amount of agricultural products necessary to feed a growing human population, agricultural systems have become increasingly efficient as well as often embedded in global supply chains. They have also been implicated as a key contributor to a wide range of sustainability challenges. In parallel, a growing awareness of sustainability issues across environmental, economic, and social dimensions has prompted decision makers to adopt more holistic perspectives and approaches with respect to managing agricultural product life cycles. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - a method that originates in the manufacturing industry - is increasingly applied to agricultural systems. However, the practice of applying LCA to agricultural systems is far from being standardized. Key methodological issues remain unresolved, resulting in a plethora of ways in which LCA is applied in practice. In turn, this results in the generation of sometimes conflicting results. Issues include delimitation of system boundary, defining the functional unit, handling co-production, and choice of impact assessment methods. This chapter highlights the typical methodological issues of agricultural LCA and demonstrates, through case studies, how they have been and can be dealt with.
... Various techniques have been employed in quantifying GHG emissions such as; modelling techniques (Klimont and Brink, 2004;Olesen et al., 2006;Schils et al., 2007), direct-field measurements (Harper et al., 1999;Leytem et al., 2011;Allen et al., 2013) SF 6 tracer techniques and chamber techniques for methane measurement (Storm et al., 2012). Modelling techniques are superior to other methods of estimating GHG emissions when used to estimate emissions from large herds of cattle at country (Casey and Holden, 2005;Paul et al., 2018), regional (Mottet et al., 2017) and global scales (Herrero et al., 2016). ...
Sustainable milk processing is essential to minimize negative environmental impacts. The purpose of this study was to determine the carbon footprint (CF) of the production of milk products in an industrial plant in Poland. Annual production and technological processes were analyzed, and relevant parameters were determined, as well as the method of data collection according to the chosen method of analysis and the developed database. It was found that each process is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and affects the CF of the product. The total carbon footprint of the production of milk products was 0.367 kgCO2eq/kg. The average GHG emissions associated with production came mainly from indirect emissions (electricity consumption) and accounted for 50% of the total emissions. The determined relationship between the CF and monthly production volume also allows production planning in the context of sustainability. An increase in the monthly production volume by about 12% results in a reduction in the carbon footprint by about 18%. Decarbonization of dairies is possible through the use of renewable energy sources. Determining the CF of milk processing is the first step toward reducing GHG emissions, improving the sustainability of the sector and aligning with global trends and regulations.
In this study, the effect of awareness of renewable energy sources on sustainable production in dairy farming was determined. One hundred thirty-six surveys were conducted in the research area. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the effect of awareness of renewable energy resources of dairy cattle farms on sustainable production. According to the results of the analysis, the number of animals, land assets, and age of farmers were found to be statistically significant at a 5% significance level. Awareness of renewable energy sources, environmental factors, and economic factors were found to be significant at a 10% significance level. Therefore, biogas should be converted into electricity. In order to provide waste management, organization should be ensured, and animal waste collection centers should be established.
A significant amount of GHG is produced during milk production and dairy product processing and manufacturing. In this context, the current research was carried out in Haryana (India), with the objective to estimate the GHGs emission from dairy buffaloes and dairy products. Further, by using LCA methodology and tier-2 technique of IPCC guidelines, this research estimated the CF (Carbon Footprint) of raw milk production from buffalo using the “cradle to farm gate” system boundary and CF of major Indian dairy products using “Farm gate to factory gate” system boundary. LCA calculations were as per ISO:14,040 and 14,044 to detect and measure the effect within system boundary. The result showed that the average CF for raw milk production was 2.24 kg CO2-eq/ Kg FPCM. The study estimated the most significant source for GHG (tonne CO2-eq. head−1 year−1) contribution was from enteric fermentation (3.27), followed by feed and fodder production (1.37) and manure-management (0.29). The CF of Ghee, curd, and Pasteurized milk were 4.2, 1.8 and 0.24 kg CO2-eq, respectively. The overall CF of dairy products (Kg CO2-eq) was significantly higher for Ghee (47.6), followed by Curd (4.28) and pasteurized milk (3.68). The emission values for GHGs in the study were estimated on higher side as compared to other countries due to low productivity, poor management practices, higher emission factors and poor environmental efficiency of the dairy sector. Further studies to accurately estimate CF of milk from specialized farms using LCA while giving a special concern to multifunctionality of animals are advocated.
Intensive dairy farming, particularly enteric fermentation and manure management, is a major contributor to negative impacts on the local and global environment. A wide range of abatement measures has been proposed to reduce livestock-related emissions, yet the individual and combined effects of these innovations are often unknown. In this study, we performed an attributional life cycle assessment of three innovative measures modeled in two synthetic German dairy farm systems: Feeding of the seaweed Asparagopsis, installing an in-house cow toilet system, and performing on-field slurry acidification. These measures were modeled both individually and in combination to account for single and cumulative effects and compared to a reference scenario under current practices. Our results showed that feeding high levels of Asparagopsis and the combination of all three measures were most effective at reducing global warming potential (20-30%), while only the latter mitigated eutrophication (6-9%) and acidification potential (14-17%). The cow toilet required additional adapted manure management (separated storage and injection of urine) to effectively reduce eutrophication (8-10%) and acidification potential (19-23%) and to decrease global warming potential (3-4%) and abiotic depletion (4-5%). Slurry acidification slightly affected all the considered environmental impact categories. All three measures involved trade-offs, either between LCA impact categories (global warming potential vs. abiotic depletion), the location of impacts (off- vs. on-farm), or the emission reduction in individual gases (ammonia vs. nitrous oxide). Measure combinations could compensate for the observed trade-offs. Our study highlights the potential of novel abatement measures but also shows the interdependencies of measures in different stages. This calls for a revisiting of current priorities in funding and legislation, which often focus on single objectives and measures (e.g. ammonia reduction) toward the preferential use of measures that are effective without driving trade-offs or improving resource efficiency.
Understanding the environmental consequences associated with dairy cattle production systems is crucial for the implementation of targeted strategies for emission reduction. However, few studies have modelled the effect of tailored emission mitigation options across key European dairy production systems. Here, we assess the single and combined effect of six emission mitigation practises on selected case studies across Europe through the Sustainable and Integrated Management System for Dairy Production model. This semi-mechanistic model accounts for the interacting flows from a whole-farm perspective simulating the environmental losses in response to different management strategies and site-specific conditions. The results show how reducing the crude protein content of the purchased fraction of the diet was an adequate strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas and nitrogen emission intensity in all systems. Furthermore, implementing an anaerobic digestion plant reduced the greenhouse gas emissions in all tested case studies while increasing the nitrogen emissions intensity, particularly when slurry was applied using broadcast. Regarding the productivity increase, contrasting effects were observed amongst the case studies modelled. Moreover, shallow slurry injection effectively mitigated the intensity of nitrogen losses from the fields due to strong reductions in ammonia volatilisation. When substituting urea with ammonium nitrate as mineral fertiliser, site-specific conditions affected the mitigation potential observed, discouraging its application on sandy-loam soils. Rigid slurry covers effectively reduced the storage-related nitrogen emissions intensity while showing a minor effect on total greenhouse gas emission intensity. In addition, our results provide novel evidence regarding the advantages of cumulative implementation of adapted mitigation options to offset the negative trade-offs of single-option applications (i.e. slurry covers or anaerobic digestion and slurry injection). Through this study, we contribute to a better understanding of the effect of emission mitigation options across dairy production systems in Europe, thus facilitating the adoption of tailored and context-specific emission reduction strategies.
In China, although per capita energy consumption is lower in the urban rail transit system than other modes of transportation, the total energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will reach considerable levels based on the current speed of urban rail transit system development. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) theory, this research constructs the urban rail transit system GHG emission assessment method, calculates emission outputs based on resource inputs from actual investigated data, makes a quantitative analysis on the GHG emissions. The results show that, in recent years the GHG emission of urban rail transit construction and operation in China is between 2000×10 ⁴ tons and 4200×10 ⁴ tons CO 2 e per year, the proportion of construction and operational phases in the above emission is 57% and 43% respectively. In the construction phase, the GHG emission intensity per unit mileage of shield tunnel and per unit area of station is about 1.3×10 ⁴ tons CO 2 e/km and 3.71×10 ⁴ tons CO 2 e/ha respectively. In the operational phase, the GHG emission intensity per unit trip is 0.084 kg CO 2 e/passenger-km. The entire life-cycle GHG emissions per unit kilometer of urban rail transit systems is 11.69×10 ⁴ tons CO 2 e (with a service life of 50 years) in China, construction phase and operation phase generated about 18.73% and 81.27% of the above emission respectively. The preliminary conclusions of this study may help shed light on the emission reduction potential of urban rail transit systems and the emission reduction targets in China, especially in the energy-saving potential of the operation phase.
The availability of methane in the atmosphere is presently around two-and-half times more than pre-industrial stages and is increasing gradually, and such escalation has imperative implications for climate change. The actual approximations of methane emissions are subject to a high degree of uncertainty, but the recent estimate advocates that annual global methane emissions are around 570 million tonnes. Methane is known to be one of the most important greenhouse gases contributing to global warming by the livestock sector, which is formed by anaerobic fermentation in the different portions of the gut, and its concentration varies significantly among species. Methane is synthesized from certain types of microorganisms known as methanogens, and the species conformation of methanogens are widely affected by the diet, geographical location, host, and gut portions. The three major orders of methanogens in gut environments are Methanomicrobiales, Methanobacteriales and Methanosarcinales and normally present in less numbers (below 3% of total microbes). The key changes in archaeal activity among various gastrointestinal parts and animal species are usually the fermentation of substrate and metabolism to complete the anaerobic process of plant material. Generally, three key substrates are used by archaea such as CO2, acetate and methyl group-containing compounds. Therefore, the present chapter will describe the metabolic pathways and methanogens involved in enteric CH4 synthesis as well as their mitigation strategies to combat the challenges of global warming effect for sustainability.KeywordsGlobal warming Greenhouse gasLivestock-associated environmental pollutionMethane emissionRuminal archaea
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from livestock production have a major impact on the environment. Livestock is responsible for approximately 18% of total global GHG emissions. The chapter focuses on applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to examine the emission load of foods from various farming production systems. The LCA of dairy farms is a tool for determining the environmental impact of GHG emissions and emission intensity (Ei) for milk production with a system boundary from “cradle-to-farmgate” or “cradle-to-retailer.” The emissions were calculated using whole-farm GHG models based on IPCC methodology with a yearly time-step or country-specific default emission parameters. This method can be summarized as a collection of all inputs and outputs during the production process with the environment. These inputs and outputs would then reveal the impact on the environment. The LCA comprises four sequential phases: definition of objectives and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and result interpretation. The LCA for agricultural GHG emissions is generally based on the requirements and guidelines specified in ISO 14040 to 14044. The article aims to assess carbon footprint from cradle to farm gate following LCA for per kg milk production.KeywordsGlobal warmingGreenhouse gasesLife cycle assessmentCarbon footprint methane emission
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic created heavy pressure on firms, by increasing the challenges and disruptions that they have to deal with on being sustainable. For this purpose, it is aimed to reveal the role of the Smart Circular Supply Chain (SCSC) and its enablers towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for post pandemic preparedness.
Methodology: Total interpretive structural modelling and MICMAC have been applied to analyse the SCSC enablers which are supported by the natural-based resource view in Turkey’s food industry. In this context, industry experts working in the food supply chain (meat sector) and academics came together to interpret the result and discuss the enablers that the supply chain experienced during the pandemic for creating a realistic framework for post pandemic preparedness.
Findings: The results of this study show that "governmental support" and "top management involvement" are the enablers that have the most driving power on other enablers, however, none of them depend on any other enablers.
Originality: The identification of the impact and role of enablers in achieving SDGs by combining smart and circular capabilities in the supply chain for the post pandemic.
Dairy and livestock sector is a significant contributor of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon footprint (CF) is commonly used to indicate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2 equivalent) at various life cycle stages of a product. Studies undertaken globally on CF of dairy products were reviewed, reported CF values for various products are summarized and important contributing factors are discussed. In various studies undertaken globally, CF of dairy products has been calculated by using different international standards and methodologies like ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067, publicly available specification (PAS 2050). Most of the studies have used functional units such as kilogram greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of fat-and-protein-corrected-milk (FPCM) and energy correlated milk (ECM). Direct emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from on-farm livestock production and indirect CO2 and N2O emissions related to inputs on the farm have generally been considered in various studies. Enteric methane (CH4) has been reported as the major source of dairy farm emissions, followed by manure management, fertilizer production and its application. Processed milk products were found to have higher CF value as compared to the unprocessed milk. Various mitigation strategies have been suggested for emission reduction from dairy farms for example balanced feed rations and concentrates according to animal body requirements during lactation period, reducing use of nitrogen based fertilizers and increasing efficiency in application during crop production, use of biogas in place of cow dung, anaerobic digestion (AD) and efficient manure management.
The potential of tree component neutralization was studied to understand the relationship between livestock, forest production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the carbon balance in a silvopastoral system including semi-intensive dairy farming and to quantify emissions per unit milk produced in Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The tree component of the silvopastoral system was a hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla in a semi-intensive production system, including Brachiaria decumbes as forage grass and crossbred dairy cow. Carbon stock was calculated from the estimated wood volume with forest inventory data, wood density and wood carbon content factor for tree species. Livestock (enteric fermentation and animal waste management), electricity, fuel consumption, nitrogen and limestone fertilization were the GHG emissions considered using emission factors. The carbon balance was obtained by comparing annually the GHG emissions with the increase of this element. The Average Annual Carbon Increment (IMAC) was 7.631 Mg CO2e ha−1 year⁻¹ and the Annual Average Emission of 5.817 Mg CO2e ha−1 year⁻¹. The carbon balance, in all the years, was positive evidencing the contribution of the silvopastoral system to minimize GHG emissions and neutralize the emissions in milk production.
Rapidly warming climate, tightening environmental requirements, an aging society, rising wages, and demand for organic products are forcing farming to be more efficient and sustainable. The main aim of this study was to perform an analytical analysis and to determine the energy use and GHG emissions of organic sugar beet production using different weed control methods. Seven different methods of non-chemical weed control were compared. Mechanical inter-row loosening, inter-row cutting and mulching with weeds, weed smothering with catch crops, and thermal inter-row steaming were performed in field experiments at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania, 2015–2017). The other three, namely, automated mechanical inter-row loosening with cameras for row-tracking, inter-row loosening with a diesel-powered robot, and inter-row loosening with an electric robot were calculated analytically. The results showed that the average total energy use of organic sugar beet production was 27,844 MJ ha−1, of which manure costs accounted for 48–53% and diesel fuel for 29–35%. An average energy efficiency ratio was 7.18, while energy productivity was 1.83 kg MJ ha−1. Analysis of GHG emissions showed that the total average GHG emissions to the environment from organic sugar beet production amounted to 4552 kg CO2eq ha−1, and the average GHG emissions ratio was 4.47. The most sustainable organic sugar beet production was achieved by using mechanical inter-row loosening with a diesel-powered robot for weed control.
In recent years, great emphasis has been seen to reduce the environmental footprint of the activities in our daily lives. Food is essential for all life, and its production may have a significant environmental impact if it is not properly monitored. In this chapter the environmental impact associated with the production of dairy products, along with details of the leading method for estimating the impact, life cycle assessment (LCA), is discussed. An overview of LCA studies that assess the environmental impact of dairy products, in a number of countries worldwide, is presented in this chapter. From this analysis, acidification, eutrophication, and global warming potential found to be the three most popular environmental impact categories assessed. In addition, a case study investigating the environmental impact associated with producing fluid milk in the Republic of Ireland is presented. The outcomes from this study not only demonstrated the effectiveness of using a systematical methodology like LCA but also provide key results for fluid milk producers and provide a benchmark for individual producers and processers to compare their performance.
For grain‐based foods to be sustainable, they must be supplied without excessive current impact or adverse penalty for future generations. This means processing grain for food supply should not reduce future generations' ability to access resources and have a healthy living environment, should not disrupt social structures and networks and should ensure long term financial viability for individuals, communities, and countries. An ISO standardized method, life cycle assessment (LCA), has been developed to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. It includes four iterative assessment steps: define the goal and scope, compile a life cycle inventory (LCI), conduct an impact assessment, and interpret the results. Applying LCA to processed grain means it is possible to assess environmental impacts from upstream inputs such as fuel and pesticides, grain production at farm, from processing and distribution of grains into edible products and theoretically from consumption and wastage. LCA has been applied to various grains (e.g. rice, wheat, oat, barley, maize, rye, quinoa, and millet), food products (e.g. bread and pasta), as well as diet, however more empirical data are needed to better model the environmental impact of processed novel grains.
Milk is one of the most important food in the world, being consumed in natura or supporting the dairy industry. In Brazil, specifically, the milk supply chain corresponds to about 20% of its agro-industrial gross domestic product; however, the productivity of most domestic milk production systems are still characterized as low. In view of this, the Brazilian government supports training programs to increase milk productivity and economic returns, however, sustainability issues are usually left in the background. This work uses emergy environmental accounting to study the sustainability of milk production systems in the southern region of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, aiming at two specific goals: (i) verifying their individual environmental performance based on emergy indices, and (ii) exploring alternatives for the development of milk production under a regional perspective. Results from a cluster analysis evidenced the existence of five main milk production systems in the region (G1–G5), including differences in productivity, handling, feed diet, infrastructure, and administrative control. Emergy indicators point to the G3 system (small-scale, family-managed) as the best performer concerning renewability (28%), yield (EYR 1.72), investment (EIR 1.39), environmental load (ELR 2.46), and sustainability (ESI 0.70); however, the G2 system should be promoted when equally considering ESI and efficiency for a decision. Under a regional perspective, increasing milk productivity will also increase a system's dependence on fossil-based resources, which results in an uneven emergy matching and in a less efficient use of emergy. On the other hand, pursuing the increase of sustainability for milk production by optimizing the regional EIR would result in an expansion of the G3 system in 96% of all milking areas and the production would decrease by about 57%. Such trade-off claims for different policies in accordance with societal objectives in different periods. Besides diagnosing and ranking the milk production systems according to their environmental performance, this work also provides important subsidies for decision-makers regarding a strategic plan towards a sustainable milk production under a regional perspective.
This study aims at comparing GHG emissions and non-renewable energy use in meat sheep production, in organic farming (OF) and conventional farming systems. These two criteria have been calculated ex-post on 1261 French year-farms monitored over 26 years. The functional unit used is t he carcass weight. Regarding GHG emissions, the results show that OF emit 5 % less GHG than conventional ones, with a higher proportion of methane and less indirect CO2 associated to less inputs use. Given the methodological d difficulties, it is hard to argue if carbon sequestration in soil is different between OF and conventional. For non-renewable energy, there is no significant difference between OF and conventional farms, due to compensations (more mechanization and less concentrates and fertilizer purchased in OF). Note the great variability in the results, both in OF and conventional farms. The two main explanatory factors are ewe productivity (for GHG) and forage self-sufficiency (energy consumption).
Abordări teoretice și experimentale asupra tehnopatiilor , Conferențiar ing. dr. Ioan Huțu, Facultatea de Medicină Veterinară Timișoara,
Habilitation thesis "Herd disease - theory and studies", Associate Professor - Ioan Hutu, PhD. DMV. Eng. MS., Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Part 1. HERD DISEASES IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Part 2. TRENDS AND APPROACHES ON HERD DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NOVEL ECO-ECONOMIC PARADIGMS
In recent years, it is required to establish environmentally friendly agricultural production systems. In this study, environmental impacts of dairy production including different types of feed production systems were evaluated by Life Cycle Assessment method according to “Agricultural Production Technology Systems” created by Hokkaido and Iwate Prefecture. Four types of feed production (hay, low moisture herbage roll silage cutting three times annually, pasture, maize silage) in Hokkaido and two types of feed production (herbage roll silage cutting three times annually and maize silage) in Iwate were analyzed according to three types of fertilizer application (chemical fertilizer only, together with manure and together with slurry), respectively. These results were included into environmental impact assessment of dairy productions which consists of four types (40, 60,100 and 400 head size) of production systems in Hokkaido and 2 types (40 and 100 head size) in Iwate. Global warming load (GWL), acidification load (AL) and eutrophication load (EL) were evaluated. The results showed that the environmental impact of dairy production was lower in the types of organic fertilizer use, even though the impact of organic fertilizer use was higher in case of feed production. AL was higher in Iwate and EL was higher in Hokkaido while there was no significant difference in GWL. Large scale production systems had lower environmental impact. The result of integrated environmental impact potential by LIME2 (Life cycle Impact assessment Method based on Endpoint modeling 2) showed that the AL by ammonia had the highest contribution in economic damage amount. As a consequence, the results suggest that the selection of organic fertilizer in feed production in order to contribute to the utilization of animal excrements and the effective production systems by the efficient machinery use will contribute to the reduction of environmental impact in dairy production.
Global population growth will increase pressures on current food systems in order to supply adequate protein and produce to the increasingly urban world population. The environmental impact of food production is a critical area of study, as it influences water and air quality, ecosystem functions, and energy consumption. Aquaponics (where seafood and vegetables are grown in a closed loop system), has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of food production. A review of the current environmental and economic considerations is provided in order to identify current research gaps. Research gaps exist with respect to 1) diversity of aquatic and plant species studied, 2) inconsistent bounds, scope, and lifetime across studies, 3) diverse allocation of the environmental and economic impacts to the co‐products, 4) scale of systems considered, 5) transportation of produced food, and 6) presence of heavy metals, pests and pathogens with human health implications. These aspects require increased attention to close the existing gaps prior to widescale deployment of these systems for increased sustainable food production towards satisficing human needs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
For the environmental efficiency assessment of the plant nursery production system, the total CO2 eq emissions of 18 nurseries in China was calculated using the LCA “from cradle to gate” approach. The analysis revealed that the GHG emissions of potted plant production were higher than those of field-grown nurseries. The CO2 eq emissions were variable between 0.31 and 2.19 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for field-grown nurseries, while the lowest and the highest emissions were 4.09 and 6.06 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively, for potted plant nurseries. In 2015, the total CO2 eq emissions of the nursery production industry in China were approximately 1.59 Mt, which consisted of 1.07 Mt from field-grown nurseries and 0.52 Mt from pot-grown plant nurseries. In China, nursery production industry carbon emissions were 0.19% of the national agriculture emissions. The comparison showed that the GHG emissions of the nursery plant system have significant differences depending on region, production method, plant species and economic development level.
Information from 846 N2O emission measurements in agricultural fields and 99 measurements for NO emissions was used to describe the influence of various factors regulating emissions from mineral soils in models for calculating global N2O and NO emissions. Only those factors having a significant influence on N2O and NO emissions were included in the models. For N2O these were (1) environmental factors (climate, soil organic C content, soil texture, drainage and soil pH); (2) management-related factors (N application rate per fertilizer type, type of crop, with major differences between grass, legumes and other annual crops); and (3) factors related to the measurements (length of measurement period and frequency of measurements). The most important controls on NO emission include the N application rate per fertilizer type, soil organic-C content and soil drainage. Calculated global annual N2O-N and NO-N emissions from fertilized agricultural fields amount to 2.8 and 1.6 Mtonne, respectively. The global mean fertilizer-induced emissions for N2O and NO amount to 0.9 and 0.7, respectively, of the N applied. These overall results account for the spatial variability of the main N2O and NO emission controls on the landscape scale.
One of the major contributions to atmospheric pollution comes from nitrogen (N) derived from cattle and especially dairy cows.
Although most estimates of ammonia volitilization are based on total N excretion, it has been repeatedly shown that urinary
N is a much more important source of pollution than faecal N, specially under grazing conditions. A model was developed to
predict the amount and form of N excreted under different production systems. Analysis of N pollution was based on data collected
from Holstein/Friesian cows fed 30 different diet types consisting of 10 grass silages and 6 concentrates. While there was
a strong correlation between N intake and N output in general, urinary N was exponentially correlated with N intake and the
model predicted about 80% loss of N in urine for levels of N consumption above 500 g N/d. On the other hand, outputs of faecal
and milk N increased by less than 20% per unit increase in N intake. Model predictions also agreed well with published data
and provided reasonable estimates of the form in which N was excreted. Concentrate composition with respect to energy type
and its degradation and protein degradability and silage type had significant effects on the amount and form of N excreted.
It is concluded that N pollution may be ameliorated by using grass grown with moderate fertiliser application, and maize-based
energy supplements, formulated to provide low degradable protein and with N intakes of less than 400 g/d for average yielding
cows.
Computer spreadsheets were developed to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from U.S. beef and dairy livestock systems
from nine locations. Of the beef systems the cow-calf herd emitted the most and feedlot cattle the least methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) per unit product. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per unit product were the least for the cow-calf and greatest for the feedlot scenarios. In the dairy systems
approximately one-half of the total GHG CO2 equivalents were from CH4 and one-third from N2O. Mitigation strategies, such as intensive grazing, reduced GHG emissions by approximately 10%.
To reduce the environmental burden of agriculture, suitable methods to comprehend and assess the impact on natural resources are needed. One of the methods considered is the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, which was used to assess the environmental impacts of 18 grassland farms in three different farming intensities — intensive, extensified, and organic — in the Allgäu region in southern Germany. Extensified and organic compared with intensive farms could reduce negative effects in the abiotic impact categories of energy use, global warming potential (GWP) and ground water mainly by renouncing mineral nitrogen fertilizer. Energy consumption of intensive farms was 19.1 GJ ha−1 and 2.7 GJ t−1 milk, of extensified and organic farms 8.7 and 5.9 GJ ha−1 along with 1.3 and 1.2 GJ t−1 milk, respectively. Global warming potential was 9.4, 7.0 and 6.3 CO2-equivalents ha−1 and 1.3, 1.0 and 1.3 CO2-equivalents t−1 milk for the intensive, extensified and organic farms, respectively. Acidification calculated in SO2-equivalents was high, but the extensified (119 kg SO2 ha−1) and the organic farms (107 kg SO2 ha−1) emit a lower amount compared with the intensive farms (136 kg SO2 ha−1). Eutrophication potential computed in PO4-equivalents was higher for intensive (54.2 kg PO4 ha−1) compared with extensified (31.2 kg PO4 ha−1) and organic farms (13.5 kg PO4 ha−1). Farmgate balances for N (80.1, 31.4 and 31.1 kg ha−1) and P (5.3, 4.5 and −2.3 kg ha−1) for intensive, extensified and organic farms, respectively, indicate the different impacts on ground and surface water quality. Analysing the impact categories biodiversity, landscape image and animal husbandry, organic farms had clear advantages in the indicators number of grassland species, grazing cattle, layout of farmstead and herd management, but indices in these categories showed a wide range and are partly independent of the farming system.
The effect of climate change on grassland agriculture has important implications for the
livestock industry in Ireland. A program, Grass_sim was developed to simulate dairy farm systems
with the weather as the main driving factor dictating grass growth. The simulator was designed for
assessing the impact of climate change on milk production. It was necessary to test the sensitivity to
spatially optimize Grass_sim before using it for investigating climate change impacts.
Grass_sim was found to be suitably sensitive to variation in stocking rate and nitrogen application,
and responded in a manner similar to real farms to most management decisions. It was also found
to be sensitive to geographic location in Ireland suggesting management strategies in accordance
with differences in current practice found around the country. The simulator was shown to function
reliably for the range of baseline climates found in Ireland.
Emissions of methane from dung pats under field and laboratory conditions have been determined. A range of dung materials from cattle and sheep and from cattle with different background managements was used and results indicated that all acted as significant sources of CH4 over a relatively short period, usually less than 10–15 days. The patterns of release were similar, although modified by environmental conditions. A strong exponential relationship was determined between total CH4 released and the C-to-N status of the dung, i.e. a greater rate of release with higher N status. Similar trends and patterns were displayed under controlled conditions. It was clear that the major effect came from dung itself with only a relatively small positive interaction when soil was present. Emission was stopped completely by a fumigation (chloroform)-evacuation procedure; evacuation alone (i.e. with the sample under vacuum) changed the pattern of release and increased the total amounts emitted. Although the emissions of CH4 from dung were significant, the amounts were small relative to the estimated total release from a complete livestock production system, i.e.
The effects of intensification in dairy cattle upon ecologically harmful emissions was investigated using a theoretical model of change in the traits of a dairy cattle population under selection. The demand for milk by the consumer was assumed to be a constant. Therefore, an increase in milk yield per cow and per year would lead to a reduced dairy cattle population with a lowered capacity for beef production. The effects of compensating the reduction of beef output from the dairy cattle population by additional rearing of purebred beef cattle was simulated. The amount of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and methane (CH4) emitted by the two different production systems is used to measure their degree of environmental compatibility. Limits in voluntary feed intake play an important role in the input/output relationships and were given important emphasis in the modelling process. Despite a reduction in the size of the total population (both dairy and beef cows) needed to maintain milk and beef protein production, the calculated corresponding emissions of N, P and CH4 were increased by 0.5 to 3.0%.
Methane (CHâ) is an important greenhouse gas and recent inventories have suggested that livestock manure makes a significant contribution to global CHâ emissions. The emission of CHâ from stored pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure was followed during a 1-yr period. Methane emission was determined by dynamic chambers. Emission rates followed a ln-normal distribution for all four manures, Indicating large spatial and seasonal variation& Monthly geometric means for pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure varied from 0.4 to 35.8, 0.0 to 34.5, 0.4 to 142.1, and 0.1 to 42.7 g CHâ mâ»Â³ dâ»Â¹, respectively. For slurries CHâ emission rates increased significantly with storage temperatures, the Qââ value ranging from 14 to 5.7 depending on slurry type. The presence of a natural surface crust reduced CHâ emission from slurry by a factor of 11 to 12. Surface crust effects declined with increasing slurry temperature. Solid manures stored in dungheaps showed significant heat production. Pig solid manure temperatures were maintained at 30 to 60°C throughout most of the year, while cattle solid manure temperatures were close to ambient levels until late spring, when heat production was initiated. Methanogenesis in solid manure also increased with increasing temperatures. For pig solid manure, CHâ emission rates peaked at 35 to 45°C. No distinct temperature optimum could be detected for cattle solid manure, however, temperatures rarely exceeded 45°C. The Qââ values for dungheaps ranged from 2.7 to 10.3 depending on-manure type and Qââ temperature interval. Annual CHâ emissions from pig slurry, cattle slurry, pig solid manure, and cattle solid manure were estimated at 8.9, 15.5, 27.3, and 5.3 kg animalâ»Â¹ yrâ»Â¹, respectively. 27 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.
An eddy covariance (EC) system with a tunable diode laser trace gas analyzer was used in a field setting in Ireland to measure N2O emissions on a continuous basis over an eight-month period, spanning a range of seasonal conditions. Intensely-grazed grassland fields within the footprint area of the EC sensors were subject to chemical fertilizer and slurry applications in order to boost grassland yield, and the amounts of these applications were documented by the farmers on a monthly basis. Three major emission events, covering a timeframe of 16 days (6.6% of the measurement period) contributed to over half (51.1%) of the observed cumulative flux. Two of these events occurred during the summer, while the third occurred during the winter, with vastly different soil moisture and soil temperature conditions associated with these times of the year. The type of N applications (fertilizer vs. slurry), soil moisture and temperature status had implications for controlling the short-term rates of N2O emissions. Cumulative N2O emissions, however, were driven by fertilizer and slurry N applications, as the emission factor of approximately 3.0% displayed consistency throughout the eight-month period.
Nitrous oxide (NâO) and methane (CHâ) emissions were measured from grassland following manure applications at three times of the year. Pig (Sus scrofa) slurry and dairy cow (Bos taurus) slurry were applied in April, at equal rates of ammoniacal-N (NHâ{sup +}-N), and in July, at equal volumetric rates (50 m³haâ»Â¹). In October, five manure types were applied to grassland plots at typical application rates: pig slurry, dilute diary cow effluent, pig farm yard manure (FYM), beef FYM and layer manure. Emissions were measured for 20, 22, and 24 d, respectively. In April, greater cumulative emissions of NâO-N were measured following application of dairy cow slurry (1.51 kg haâ»Â¹) than pig slurry (90.77 kg haâ»Â¹). Cumulative CHâ emissions following application in April were significantly greater from the dairy cow slurry treatment (0.58 kg haâ»Â¹) than the pig slurry treatment (0.13 kg haâ»Â¹) (P < 0.05). In July, significantly greater NâO-N emissions resulted from pig slurry-treated plots (0.57 kg haâ»Â¹) than dairy cow slurry-treated plots (0.34 kg haâ»Â¹). Cumulative net CHâ emissions were very low following July applications (
Human activities have increased the atmospheric concentration of methane by about 140% since pre- industrial times. The accumulation of methane and other ëgreenhouseí gases is anticipated to cause significant climate changes in the future. Ruminant livestock are the largest producers of methane in Australia and this source constitutes about 12% of the national net emissions. Australia is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, which, if it comes into force, requires limiting annual emissions during the period 2008ñ2012 to 8% over the 1990 value. Australian livestock emissions are projected to increase by 7% by 2010 with total Australian emissions expected to increase by 28ñ43%. Emissions per unit GDP are higher for the livestock sector than for most other sectors and this may neg- atively affect the sector if free market emission trading is implemented and no new technologies to reduce emis- sions cost-effectively are introduced. Using information from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, we demonstrate that reductions in emissions per unit product are already occurring in at least one Australian livestock industry and discuss ways to ensure that similar future changes will be recorded. Cautionary notes are made regard- ing options of grain feeding and more intensive production, which appear to be attractive but may lead to increas- ing emissions when viewed on a broader basis. The potential for increased animal production with new technologies developed to reduce methane emissions suggests that there may be significant opportunities for the Australian live- stock industries arising from the issue of greenhouse gas reductions. Opportunities to establish carbon sinks are also discussed. We suggest that addressing reduction of emissions per hectare rather than per head or per kilo of product results in a strong alignment with the development of more sustainable livestock industries.
Measurements of ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) were made from 11 outdoor concrete yards used by livestock. Measurements of NH3 emission were made using the equilibrium concentration technique while closed chambers were used to measure N2O and CH4 emissions, Outdoor yards used by livestock proved to be an important source of NH3 emission. Greatest emission rates were measured from dairy cow feeding yards, with a mean of 690 mg NH3-N m(-2) h(-1). Smaller emission rates were measured from sheep handling areas, dairy cow collecting yards, beef feeding yards and a pig loading area, with respective mean emission rates of 440, 280, 220 and 140 mg NH3-Nm(-2) h(-1) . Emission rates of N2O and CH4 were much smaller and for CH4, in particular, emission rates were influenced greatly by the presence or absence of dung on the measurement area. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Artificial urine containing 20.2 g N per patch of 0.2 m2 was applied in May and September to permanent grassland swards of a long-term experiment in the western uplands of Germany (location Rengen/Eifel), which were fertilized with 0, 120, 240, 360 kg N ha−1 yr−1 given as calcium ammonium nitrate. The effect on N2O fluxes measured regularly during a 357-day period with the closed-chamber technique were as follows. (1) N2O emission varied widely among the fertilized control areas without urine, and when a threshold water-filled pore space >60% was exceeded, the greater the topsoil nitrate content the greater the flux from the individual urine patches on the fertilized swards. (2) After urine application in May, 1.4–4.2% of the applied urine-N was lost as N2O from the fertilized swards; and after urine application in September, 0.3–0.9% of the applied urine-N was lost. The primary influence on N2O flux from urine patches was the date of simulated grazing, N-fertilization rate being a secondary influence. (3) The large differences in N2O emissions between unfertilized and fertilized swards after May-applied urine contrasted with only small differences after urine applied in September, indicating an interaction between time of urine application and N-fertilizer rate. (4) The estimated annual N2O emissions were in the range 0.6–1.6 kg N2O-N per livestock unit, or 1.4, 3.6, 4.1 and 5.1 kg N2O-N ha−1 from the 0–360 kg ha−1 of fertilizer-N. The study demonstrated that date of grazing and N-fertilizer application could influence the N2O emission from urine patches to such an extent that both factors should be considered in detailed large-scale estimations of N2O fluxes from grazed grassland.
In a life-cycle assessment (LCA) involving only one of several products from the same process, how are the resource consumption and the emissions associated with this process to be partitioned and distributed over these co-products? This is the central question in co-product allocation, which has been one of the most controversial issues in the development of the methodology for life-cycle assessment, as it may significantly influence or even determine the result of the assessments. In this article, it is shown that in prospective life-cycle assessments, co-product allocation can always be avoided by system expansion. Through a number of examples, it is demonstrated how system expansion is performed, with special emphasis on issues that earlier have been a focus of the allocation debate, such as joint production (e.g., of chlorine and sodium hydroxide, zinc and heavy metals, and electricity and heat), the handling of “near-to-waste” by-products, processes simultaneously supplying services to multiple product systems, and credits for material recycling and downcycling. It is shown that all the different co-product situations can be covered by the same theoretical model and the same practical procedure, and that it is also possible to include the traditional co-product allocation as a special case of the presented procedure. The uncertainty aspects of the presented procedure are discussed. A comparison is made with the procedure of ISO 14041, “Life-cycle assessment—Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis,” the international standard.
Background, Goal and ScopeSystem expansion is a method used to avoid co-product allocation. Up to this point in time it has seldom been used in LCA
studies of food products, although food production systems often are characterised by closely interlinked sub-systems. One
of the most important allocation problems that occurs in LCAs of agricultural products is the question of how to handle the
co-product beef from milk production since almost half of the beef production in the EU is derived from co-products from the
dairy sector. The purpose of this paper is to compare different methods of handling co-products when dividing the environmental
burden of the milk production system between milk and the co-products meat and surplus calves.
Main FeaturesThis article presents results from an LCA of organic milk production in which different methods of handling the co-products
are examined. The comparison of different methods of co-product handling is based on a Swedish LCA case study of milk production
where economic allocation between milk and meat was initially used. Allocation of the co-products meat and surplus calves
was avoided by expanding the milk system. LCA data were collected from another case study where the alternative way of producing
meat was analysed, i.e. using a beef cow that produces one calf per annum to be raised for one and a half year. The LCA of
beef production was included in the milk system. A discussion is conducted focussing on the importance of modelling and analysing
milk and beef production in an integrated way when foreseeing and planning the environmental consequences of manipulating
milk and beef production systems.
ResultsThis study shows that economic allocation between milk and beef favours the product beef. When system expansion is performed,
the environmental benefits of milk production due to its co-products of surplus calves and meat become obvious. This is especially
connected to the impact categories that describe the potential environmental burden of biogenic emissions such as methane
and ammonia and nitrogen losses due to land use and its fertilising. The reason for this is that beef production in combination
with milk can be carried out with fewer animals than in sole beef production systems.
Conclusion, Recommendation and PerspectiveMilk and beef production systems are closely connected. Changes in milk production systems will cause alterations in beef
production systems. It is concluded that in prospective LCA studies, system expansion should be performed to obtain adequate
information of the environmental consequences of manipulating production systems that are interlinked to each other.
Intensive agricultural systems provide opportunities for inefficiency and leakage of materials into the wider environment. Animal production systems are potential sources of two important greenhouse gases, i.e. methane and nitrous oxide. Because of the complexity of the processes involved and of the numerous interactions there is a need to consider the potential for release of these two gases on an integrated, whole farm basis to ascertain the impact of management systems. Using information from the literature, the present study examines the potential losses of CH4 and N2O from components of a model intensive dairy farm based on temperate grassland. It is estimated that a typical 76 ha dairy farm in SW England could emit nearly 12 tonnes (t) CH4-C and over 1 t N2O-N. Gaps in existing knowledge are identified and options to reduce emissions discussed.
N2O emissions were measured from cattle dung and urine applied to six separate experimental areas over a period of 15 months, to represent distinct components of a grazing season. Application of livestock excreta increased N2O emissions significantly over that measured from control (untreated) plots and fluxes up to 290 μg N m−2 h−1 from dung and 192 μg N m−2 hr−1 from urine were measured. No significant correlations were observed between N2O fluxes and environmental factors, such as rainfall and soil mineral-N. This was attributed to the specific physical and biogeochemical processes in the excreta that might override other environmental factors at our plots. Total N2O—N losses from dung and urine patches over 100 d represented up to 0.53% and 1% respectively, of the N excreted. The average annual N2O fluxes were approximately five times greater from the urine patches than from the dung, and from the excreta deposited during wet conditions (autumn) than during dry conditions (summer). Our results suggest that excreta deposited on grassland from grazing animals is an important source of N2O, and can contribute up to 22% of the total N2O emission from U.K. grassland.
A UK inventory of the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from farmed livestock was compiled to identify areas where potential abatement practices may be effective. Where possible, emission factors based on direct experimental data gathered under UK conditions were used, but published data were used when this was not feasible, together with statistical information, which included details of numbers of animals within each category of a species, animal liveweights, number of days housed, excretal rates and volumes of manures in stores. Total N2O emissions were calculated for each component of livestock production systems, i.e. animal houses, manure stores, following application of manures to land and during grazing. Emissions were also estimated from land used for forage conservation and tillage. Total annual N2O emissions from UK farmed livestock, based mainly on 1996 animal census data, were estimated to be 38.27 kt. The two main terms were 22.66 kt N2O from mineral fertilisers after application to soils and 5.61 kt N2O from stored manures (mainly in the form of farmyard manure). Within buildings, poultry were the largest contributors of N2O, 2.97 kt, followed by cattle, 1.62 kt. Within the total emissions from stored manures, cattle were the largest contributors of N2O, 3.58 kt, followed by poultry, 1.86 kt. Dietary manipulation and a move from solid manure based systems to slurry based systems appear to be promising abatement practices.
Organic agriculture addresses the public demand to diminish environmental pollution of agricultural production. Until now, however, only few studies tried to determine the integrated environmental impact of conventional versus organic production using life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim of this article was to review prospects and constraints of LCA as a tool to assess the integrated environmental impact of conventional and organic animal production. This aim was illustrated using results from LCAs in the literature and from a pilot study comparing conventional and organic milk production. This review shows that LCAs of different case studies currently cannot be compared directly. Such a comparison requires further international standardisation of the LCA method. A within-case-study comparison of LCAs of conventional and organic production, however, appeared suitable to gain knowledge and to track down main differences in potential environmental impact. Acidification potential of milk production, for example, is for 78–97% due to volatilisation of ammonia, which is not reduced necessarily by changing from conventional to organic milk production. Eutrophication potential per tonne of milk or per ha of farmland was lower for organic than for conventional milk production due to lower fertiliser application rates. Global warming potential of milk production is for 48–65% due to emission of methane. Organic milk production inherently increases methane emission and, therefore, can reduce global warming potential only by reducing emission of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide considerably. Organic milk production reduces pesticide use, whereas it increases land use per tonne of milk. Conclusions regarding potential environmental impact of organic versus conventional milk production, however, are based largely on comparison of experimental farms. To show differences in potential environmental impact among various production systems, however, LCAs should be performed at a large number of practical farms for each production system of interest. Application of LCA on practical farms, however, requires in-depth research to understand underlying processes, and to predict, or measure, variation in emissions realised in practice.
An LCA was performed on organic and conventional milk production at the farm level in Sweden. In the study, special focus was aimed at substance flows in concentrate feed production and nutrient flows on the farms. The different feeding strategies in the two forms of production, influence several impact categories. The import of feed by conventional dairy farms often leads to a substantial input of phosphorus and nitrogen. Organic milk production is a way to reduce pesticide use and mineral surplus in agriculture but this production form also requires substantially more farmland than conventional production. For Swedish conditions, however, a large use of grassland for grazing ruminants is regarded positively since this type of arable land use promotes the domestic environmental goals of biodiversity and aesthetic values.
The effect of cow genetic merit on the performance of spring calving Holstein Friesian dairy cows in first, second and third lactation was investigated. The study contained 96 first lactation animals in 1995, 96 second lactation animals in 1996, and 72 third lactation animals in 1997. Half of the animals were of high genetic merit (HG) and half of medium genetic merit (MG) for milk production. Genetic effects for the traits of interest were estimated as the contrast between the two genetic groups. The HG cows produced significantly higher yields of milk, fat, protein and lactose when compared to the MG cows. During the grazing season the HG cows had significantly (P<0.001) higher grass DM intake (GDMI). In very early lactation when cows were indoors, offered grass silage ad libitum plus 7.9 kg of concentrate DM daily, there was no difference in DM intake. During the non-lactating period the HG cows had significantly (P<0.01) higher silage DM intake (SDMI). Cow genetic merit had no significant effect on live weight with the exception of pre-calving weight at the beginning of second lactation when the HG cows had significantly (P<0.05) higher live weight. At all stages of lactation the MG cows had significantly (P<0.001) higher condition score. In early lactation the HG cows had greater (not significant) live weight loss and significantly (P<0.05) greater condition score loss (indicating greater negative energy balance). In the dry period the HG cows had significantly (P<0.01) greater live weight gain. The results of this study suggest that present day HG cows will produce high milk yields on a grass-based feeding system where an adequate quantity of high quality grass is available.
In this paper, published and unpublished information on excretion by dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep is reviewed. A number of factors are known to affect both the amount and N content of livestock excreta, most notably animal liveweight, diet and water intake and, for adults, whether in lactation or not. Relationships between liveweight and the volume and N output of excreta have been used to derive estimates for `standard' outputs for a range of adult and young stock; in the case of breeding stock, allowing for the lactation period. An alternative approach for estimating N excretion, via nitrogen balance calculations, was undertaken for a number of livestock categories and provides some validation of the standards, increasing confidence in their application. These standards are now incorporated into the guidelines already in place for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England and Wales and in the recently revised Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Water.
This article discusses the greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) related to Dutch agricultural crop production. Emissions occur during agricultural processes (direct emissions) as well as in the life cycle of the required inputs (indirect emissions). An integrated approach assesses the total greenhouse gas emissions related to Dutch agricultural crop production. The results show differences in total greenhouse gas emissions among agricultural crops and in the contribution of separate greenhouse gases to the total emissions.
Agricultural practices contribute to emissions of the greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and N2O. The aim of this study was to determine and discuss the aggregate greenhouse gas emission (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from two different farming systems in southern Germany. Farm A consisted of 30.4 ha fields (mean fertilization rate 188 kg N per ha), 1.8 ha meadows, 12.4 ha set-aside land and 28.6 adult beef steers (year-round indoor stock keeping). Farm B followed the principles of organic farming (neither synthetic fertilizers nor pesticides were used) and it consisted of 31.3 ha fields, 7 ha meadows, 18.2 ha pasture, 5.5 ha set-aside land and a herd of 35.6 adult cattle (grazing period 6 months). The integrated assessment of greenhouse gas emissions included those from fields, pasture, cattle, cattle waste management, fertilizer production and consumption of fossil fuels. Soil N2O emissions were estimated from 25 year-round measurements on differently managed fields. Expressed per hectare farm area, the aggregate emission of greenhouse gases was 4.2 and 3.0 Mg CO2 equivalents for farms A and B, respectively. Nitrous oxide emissions (mainly from soils) contributed the major part (about 60%) of total greenhouse gas emissions in both farming systems. Methane emissions (mainly from cattle and cattle waste management) were approximately 25% and CO2 emissions were lowest (circa 15%). Mean emissions related to crop production (emissions from fields, fertilizer production, and the consumption of fossil fuels for field management and drying of crops) was 4.4 and 3.2 Mg CO2 equivalents per hectare field area for farms A and B, respectively. On average, 2.53% of total N input by synthetic N fertilizers, organic fertilizers and crop residues were emitted as N2O–N. Total annual emissions per cattle unit (live weight of 500 kg) from enteric fermentation and storage of cattle waste were about 25% higher for farm A (1.6 Mg CO2 equivalents) than farm B (1.3 Mg CO2 equivalents). Taken together, these results indicated that conversion from conventional to organic farming led to reduced emissions per hectare, but yield-related emissions were not reduced.
We consume food because we need food for a proper functioning of our body. But we do not eat food only because of the need, we also like food. Moreover the consumption of food could also has a cultural, social and entertaining function; besides a physiological value, food has an emotional value. Zie: Summary
Grazing animals on managed pastures and rangelands have been identified recently as significant contributors to the global N 2 O budget. This paper summarizes relevant literature data on N 2 O emissions from dung, urine and grazed grassland, and provides an estimate of the contribution of grazing animals to the global N 2 O budget.
The effects of grazing animals on N 2 O emission are brought about by the concentration of herbage N in urine and dung patches, and by the compaction of the soil due to treading and trampling. The limited amount of experimental data indicates that 0.1 to 0.7% of the N in dung and 0.1 to 3.8% of the N in urine is emitted to the atmosphere as N 2 O. There are no pertinent data about the effects of compaction by treading cattle on N 2 O emission yet. Integral effects of grazing animals have been obtained by comparing grazed pastures with mown‐only grassland. Grazing derived emissions, expressed as per cent of the amount of N excreted by grazing animals in dung and urine, range from 0.2 to 9.9%, with an overall mean of 2%. Using this emission factor and data statistics from FAO for numbers of animals, the global contribution of grazing animals was estimated at 1.55 Tg N 2 O‐N per year. This is slightly more than 10% of the global budget.
This study was initiated to overview current knowledge on nitrous oxide (N2O). The report reviews atmospheric behaviour of N2O, global sources and sinks, Dutch emissions in 1990, options to reduce emissions, and past and future emissions. Despite the uncertainties involved, it is likely that without additional policy Dutch N2O emissions will continue to increase in the future. The technological options considered may reduce Dutch emissions by 25% relative to 1990, and include (1) a catalytic reduction step in nitric acid production, (2) improved fertilizer-N use efficiency, (3) improved combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage treatment, and (4) improved combustion in power plants, and afterburning or catalytic reduction in fluidized bed combustion. The largest reduction can be achieved in nitric acid production, but the assumption that a catalytic converter can be implemented by 2000 may be optimistic. The uncertainty in estimates on Dutch emissions could be reduced by measuring or otherwise investigating (1) N2O production during nitric acid production and other Dutch industrial sources, (2) N2O production in vehicles, (3) N2O emissions from Dutch soils, (4) N2O production in Dutch groundwaters and surface waters, (5) atmospheric formation of N2O and (6) the effect of global warming on N2O emissions. Dit rapport geeft een overzicht van de huidige kennis over het gedrag van lachgas (N2O) in de atmosfeer, wereldwijde bronnen en putten van N2O, Nederlandse N2O emissie in 1990, opties om N2O emissies te reduceren en projecties. Ondanks een aantal onzekerheden is het mogelijk de waargenomen trend in atmosferisch N2O te verklaren met bekende bronnen. Schattingen van mondiale emissies zijn minder onzeker dan die van nationale, omdat de wereldwijde emissie afgeleid kan worden van een massabalans van de atmosfeer. Ondanks de onzekerheden is het waarschijnlijk dat de Nederlandse N2O emissie zal blijven stijgen in de toekomst, tenzij aanvullend beleid wordt ingezet. Verschillende bestaande beleidsmaatregelen beinvloeden de uitstoot van N2O, bij voorbeeld die ter bestrijding van verzuring en vermesting. Een aantal van deze maatregelen kan de N2O uitstoot doen toenemen, terwijl andere kunnen resulteren in een reductie van de N2O emissie. De beschreven technische opties kunnen de Nederlandse emissie met 25% reduceren ten opzichte van 1990 door onder andere (1) katalytische N2O reductie bij de produktie van salpeterzuur, (2) efficienter gebruik van stikstof meststoffen, bijvoorbeeld door gebruik van slow release fertilizers, (3) aanpassingen in de verbranding van afval en (4) optimalisatie van de verbranding van fossiele brandstoffen, met name in oudere centrales en katalytische N2O reductie in wervelbedverbranding. De grootste reductie kan worden gerealiseerd bij industriele produktie van salpeterzuur, maar de aanname dat een katalysator geimplementeerd kan worden in 2000 lijkt optimistich. De onzekerheden in schattingen van de Nederlandse N2O emissie zouden verminderd kunnen worden door (1) meten van N2O vorming tijdens salpeterzuurproduktie, (2) voortzetting van onderzoek naar N2O produktie door voertuigen, (3) meten van N2O produktie in Nederlandse bodems, (4) onderzoek naar N2O produktie in grond- en oppervlaktewater in Nederland, (5) onderzoek naar N2O vorming in de atmosfeer en (6) onderzoek naar de effecten van klimaatverandering op N2O emissies.
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Labour on Dairy Farms – The Springtime Challenge
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A Dairy farming road map: Where now for farmers
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