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Kumar R, Singh G, Rani E. Impact of smallholder cattle farms on the environment: a study. Trop Anim Health Prod 2023; 55:236. [PMID: 37306726 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-023-03652-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rakesh Kumar
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, 125004, India
| | - Gautam Singh
- Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, 125004, India
| | - Ekta Rani
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, 125004, India.
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Agossou DJ, Koluman N. Developing new methane emission factors and quantifying methane emission from Beninese cattle production. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 848:157545. [PMID: 35905963 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Recent greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories carried out in The Republic of Benin have shown that cattle are the major emitters of livestock-related GHG. Due to the unavailability of national emission factors (EF), most of the previous GHG inventories were conducted according to the Tier 1 method based on the use of default EF suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). The use of Tier 1 presents accuracy limits. Thus, this study was conducted to develop country-specific EF; the use of which in future inventories of methane (CH4) emitted will provide data that will be more accurate. EF was calculated for six local breeds: zebu cattle (Gudali, White Fulani, and Azawak) and humpless cattle - Bos taurus (Borgou, Lagune, and Somba). We calculated EF for CH4 emitted from enteric fermentation and manure management following the Tier 2 methods. Firstly, we characterized and categorized the cattle population according to species, breed, sex, and age. Then, the gross energy (GE) intake for each category was calculated. Finally, the categorical EF and total CH4 emitted for the period 1999-2019 were calculated and determined. The results revealed great EF heterogeneity within species, breeds, and age groups. The national enteric EF of 57.91 kg CH4 head-1 year-1 was obtained for all cattle. The EF for CH4 emitted from manure management was 1.60kg CH4 head-1 year-1. The highest (73.74 kg CH4 head-1 year-1) and the lowest (34.90 kg CH4 head-1 year-1) were recorded in Azawak and Lagune cattle, respectively. CH4 emissions were mainly emitted from enteric fermentation, with an annual average of 2849.59 Gg CO2eq, accounting for 97.31 %. Manure-related emissions were yearly at 78.71 Gg CO2eq, representing 2.69 % of total CH4 emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nazan Koluman
- Department of Animal Science, Çukurova University, 01330 Balcalı, Adana, Turkey
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LCA to Estimate the Environmental Impact of Dairy Farms: A Case Study. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14106028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Intensive farming is responsible for extreme environmental impacts under different aspects, among which global warming represents a major reason of concern. This is a quantitative problem linked to the farm size and a qualitative one, depending on farming methods and land management. The dairy sector is particularly relevant in terms of environmental impact, and new approaches to meeting sustainability goals at a global scale while meeting society’s needs are necessary. The present study was carried out to assess the environmental impact of dairy cattle farms based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) model applied to a case study. These preliminary results show the possibility of identifying the most relevant impacts in terms of supplied products, such as animal feed and plastic packaging, accounting for 19% and 15% of impacts, respectively, and processes, in terms of energy and fuel consumption, accounting for 53% of impacts overall. In particular, the local consumption of fossil fuels for operations within the farm represents the most relevant item of impact, with a small margin for improvement. On the other hand, remarkable opportunities to reduce the impact can be outlined from the perspective of stronger partnerships with suppliers to promote the circularity of packaging and the sourcing of animal feed. Future studies may include the impact of drug administration and the analysis of social aspects of LCA.
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Oliveira M, Zucaro A, Santagata R, Ulgiati S. Environmental assessment of milk production from local to regional scales. Ecol Modell 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Natural Carbon Sinks Linked to Pastoral Activity in S Spain: A Territorial Evaluation Methodology for Mediterranean Goat Grazing Systems. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13116085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Exploring and developing new tools for the accounting and management of natural C sinks will provide a closer, more accurate option to remark the importance of such sinks in relation to livestock production, helping to support the persistence of some seriously endangered traditional, environmentally sustainable livestock farming. Following both precision and usability criteria, two main C sink databases covering the Andalusian region (S Spain) were developed from the Spanish Land Parcel Identification System (SIGPAC, coarse resolution) and the Spanish Information System on Land Cover (SIOSE, finer resolution) land use classes. Particular C sink factors based on growth rates for individual plant species were associated with detailed vegetation maps and, further, were linked to Land Use and Covers cartography across the region. In addition, eight ruminant farms were exhaustively studied in situ and used as a control. Results were compared with the obtained through the application of the developed C sink databases, and with the commonly used Petersen methodology. The sink capacity of vegetation associated with farms varied from 0.25 to 1.37 t CO2 ha−1 year−1, depending on the plant species composition and abundance. All the approaches showed significant differences from the control. C sink values were significantly higher when applying SIGPAC-based C sink database to farms, while values from the SIOSE and Petersen methodology approaches provided more moderate values, closer to the control. SIGPAC and Petersen approaches showed higher usability but presented lower precision due to a poor definition of plant cover. SIOSE-based C sink database provided suitable values able to be adapted to reality and used by farmers. In this regard, further research efforts to improve the adjustment of results and ease of use are required. The present approach means a methodological advance in the estimation of the C sink capacity associated with pastoral livestock farms, able to be incorporated into the CF calculation in contrasted areas worldwide, in the frame of the ‘eco-schemes’ being recently under development through the EU CAP.
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Rovelli G, Ceccobelli S, Perini F, Demir E, Mastrangelo S, Conte G, Abeni F, Marletta D, Ciampolini R, Cassandro M, Bernabucci U, Lasagna E. The genetics of phenotypic plasticity in livestock in the era of climate change: a review. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/1828051x.2020.1809540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Rovelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Simone Ceccobelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesco Perini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Eymen Demir
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Salvatore Mastrangelo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Conte
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-Ambientali, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Abeni
- Centro di ricerca Zootecnia e Acquacoltura, Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA), Lodi, Italy
| | - Donata Marletta
- Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | | | - Martino Cassandro
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse naturali e Ambiente, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Umberto Bernabucci
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Emiliano Lasagna
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
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Bittante G, Cecchinato A. Heritability estimates of enteric methane emissions predicted from fatty acid profiles, and their relationships with milk composition, cheese-yield and body size and condition. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/1828051x.2019.1698979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. Bittante
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - A. Cecchinato
- Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
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Lovarelli D, Bava L, Zucali M, D’Imporzano G, Adani F, Tamburini A, Sandrucci A. Improvements to dairy farms for environmental sustainability in Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano production systems. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/1828051x.2019.1611389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Lovarelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luciana Bava
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Maddalena Zucali
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuliana D’Imporzano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Adani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Tamburini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Sandrucci
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
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Famiglietti J, Guerci M, Proserpio C, Ravaglia P, Motta M. Development and testing of the Product Environmental Footprint Milk Tool: A comprehensive LCA tool for dairy products. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 648:1614-1626. [PMID: 30340305 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The paper describes the general structure of the PMT_01 tool developed to assess the environmental impacts of different dairy products as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses of Lombardy Region (Po Valley - Northern Italy) and High Quality fresh pasteurized milk in a cradle-to-distribution center gate approach. Based on the PEF Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, the authors aim to provide a useful instrument for technicians and researchers in the evaluation of the environmental load of dairy products, allowing the process-hotspots identification through 16 different impact categories. The tool requires a modest amount of data that can be easily collected at the farms and at the dairies. In order to test the tool's performance, the environmental impact of 10 g dry matter of Grana Padano PDO cheese was evaluated starting from the data of three different dairy farms used as "reference farming systems" and one dairy factory. A scenario and a sensitive analysis were also included in the study. The main contribution to most of the environmental impact categories was related to the raw milk production while the dairy factory process affected significantly only a few impact categories. The scenario analysis suggested that the anaerobic digestion could have a strong potential in the mitigation of the GHG emissions while the sensitive analysis confirmed that the choice of the allocation method at the dairy factory level is a key point in the methodological choices. Despite the test of the tool was done only on three farms and one dairy factory, the results were consistent with those of recent studies. Even if some improvements in the tool functionalities are needed, we believe that in the future it could be easily applied on a wider sample of farms and dairies, and used to guide the stakeholders through a responsible environmental strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacopo Famiglietti
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy.
| | - Matteo Guerci
- Distretto Latte Lombardo S.c.a.r.l., Via Einstein, 26900 Lodi, Italy.
| | - Carlo Proserpio
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Design, Via Durando 38/A, 20158 Milano, Italy.
| | - Pieter Ravaglia
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy.
| | - Mario Motta
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy.
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Environmentally Sustainable Biogas? The Key Role of Manure Co-Digestion with Energy Crops. ENERGIES 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/en8065234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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