Costs of regulating ammonia emissions from livestock farms near Natura 2000 areas - analyses of case farms from Germany, Netherlands and Denmark

Jacobsen, Brian H.; Latacz‐Lohmann, Uwe; Luesink, H.H.; Michels, Rolf; Ståhl, Lisa

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.05.106

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Regarding the livestock sector, several research articles published in recent years have evaluated the costs, sometimes in association with environmental aspects. Among these, we report those related to the analysis of the cost of production of forage to feed dairy cattle in Northern Italy (25), and to the definition of costs to regulate ammonia emissions from livestock farms in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark (26). The paper authored by Cecchini et al (27) analyzed the environmental efficiency of carbon dioxide abatement costs in dairy cattle farms in Italy, associated with efficiency performance measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability of Four Dairy Farming Scenarios in an Alpine Environment: The Case Study of Toma di Lanzo Cheese

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The dairy sector accounts for a large share of all European agricultural production, at the same time however, it is one of the most ascribed sector contributors to the environmental impact of agriculture, particularly for greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, it is a strategic sector for the economy but generates increasing debate in the community regarding the social aspects mainly related to the use of resources and the food-feed competition of livestock involving the reduction of human-edible crops. In this general framework, this study aims to compare four different dairy farming scenarios characterized by different use of environmental resources in the Alpine area, considering as a case study the production of the Toma di Lanzo cheese (a traditional cheese produced in the mountainous regions of Piedmont-Northwest Italy). The study envisaged the integrated use of three methodologies: Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and the assessment of human-edible feed conversion efficiency to jointly analyze environmental, economic and social aspects. The main results of this research highlighted how the utilization of local breeds, which maximize the efficiency in the use of territory resources, such as grasslands in a mountain environment, allowed dairy production to reduce emissions, when compared to the high-input traditional breeding systems. Although the mountain livestock systems have several critical issues mainly linked to social factors such as low generational turnover, work schedules, modest life quality of families, it is however possible to earn more income than in lowland scenarios. At the same time, this production system allows the Toma di Lanzo cheese-making heritage to be preserved. This mountain pasture cheese, to which superior organoleptic and nutritional characteristics are attributable, when compared to cheeses from the valley floor, incorporates traditional values, a link to the territory and the transmission of knowledge. With reference to food-feed competition in livestock involving the reduction of the use of human-edible crops and feedstuffs in animal diets, we found that grazing and grass-based feeding systems were one of the most sustainable ways to produce milk.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability of Four Dairy Farming Scenarios in an Alpine Environment: The Case Study of Toma di Lanzo Cheese

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Aside from addressing topographic variability through spatially explicit characterisation factors, we also considered the following two spatial parameters for the development of the four geographic case studies: (i) proximity of pig farm to nature sensitive areas (Natura 2000 network) and (ii) pig farming density at municipality level. If a pig farm was located closer than 400 m from a Natura 2000 area, we considered it to be 'at close proximity' to nature-sensitive areas (Jacobsen et al 2019). We evaluated the 'distance from Natura 2000 areas' criterion by performing a buffer analysis for Natura 2000 areas contained within the extent of Danish administrative boundaries.…”

Section: Geographic Case Studies and Spatial Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The neighbouring distance depends on the size of the farms. In this study, we assumed the neighbouring farms would be of the same size, 500-sow integrated pig farming systems, which corresponds to the 1-km distance threshold (Jacobsen and Ståhl 2018;Jacobsen et al 2019). Therefore, for regions with 7-9 pig farms per hectare (cases HD and N-HD) we assumed the lower maximum allowance and that the available arable land would be shared between at least three pig farms, while for regions with 2-3 pig farms ha −1 , we assumed the higher allowance and no neighbours to share land for manure application.…”

Section: Geographic Case Studies and Spatial Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regulations and restrictions imposed by regionalised policies for environmental pollution mitigation (i.e. Nitrates Directive, Water Framework Directive) can cause significant increases in slurry transportation costs and may require additional farm investments for manure treatment (Fealy and Schröder, 2008;Jacobsen et al 2019). Pig farm density at regional level can affect the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of potential farm investments (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a large part of this land is covered by nature-sensitive areas designated to protect various species and habitats (i.e. Natura 2000 areas) (Jacobsen et al 2019). Moreover, the country is characterised by large regional variability in pig production intensity (Larue et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Accounting for spatial variability in life cycle cost-effectiveness assessments of environmental impact abatement measures

Pexas

Mackenzie

Wallace

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The environmental and economic impacts of livestock production systems are typically assessed using global characterisation factors and data, even though several impact categories call for site-specific assessments. Here, we account for spatial variability by addressing potential interactions between geographic locality and the cost-effectiveness of farm investments that aim to reduce system environmental impact, using Danish pig production as a case-in-point. Methods An LCA-based, spatially explicit environmental abatement cost framework was developed to assess the cost-effectiveness of potential environmental abatement strategies. The framework was tested for Danish pig production in a “4 manure management × 4 geographic location” scenario analysis design. In addition to the baseline, the alternative manure management strategies were on-farm anaerobic digestion, slurry acidification and screw press slurry separation, implemented in an integrated pig farming system. The geographic locations differed in their proximity to Natura 2000 areas and in pig farming density. Eight different impact categories were assessed through an LCA using spatially explicit characterisation factors whenever possible, and annualised abatement potential was estimated for each manure management scenario and in each geographic location. We also estimated the financial performance for each scenario, through a discounted cash flow analysis at a whole-farm level. Results and discussion We observed significant interactions between geographic location and system environmental and economic performance under baseline conditions. Significant location effects were also observed for the cost-effectiveness of all manure management strategies tested. Anaerobic digestion was the only “win–win” strategy that increased farm profits while reducing system environmental impact in two of the geographic cases: when implemented in a region of high pig farming density located near Natura 2000 and when implemented in a region of high pig farming density located far from Natura 2000 areas. Slurry acidification and slurry separation achieved sizeable abatement potential for impacts on ecosystem quality but incurred large additional costs in all geographic case studies considered, particularly when arable land was limited near the pig farm. Conclusions Accounting for basic spatial characteristics within an environmental abatement cost framework had significant impact on the cost-effectiveness of on-farm investments for mitigation of system environmental impact. To the best of our knowledge, no studies to date have utilised such spatial characteristics within environmental abatement cost modelling of livestock farming systems. The presented framework has the potential to be further expanded using more detailed spatial, economic and geophysical data, which could ultimately improve decision-making regarding cost-effective investments that aim to improve the sustainability of livestock farming operations.

show abstract

Constructing legitimacy for technologies developed in response to environmental regulation: the case of ammonia emission-reducing technology for the Flemish intensive livestock industry

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study is focused on unsustainable agri-food systems, especially intensive livestock farming and its resulting environmental harms. Specifically we focus on the development of technologies that seek to mitigate these environmental harms. These technologies are generally developed as incremental innovations in response to government regulation. Critics of these technological solutions allege that these developments legitimate unsustainable food production systems and are incapable of supporting agri-food systems transformation. At the same time, technology developers and other actors seek to present these technologies as the legitimate solution to agri-environmental harms. Our study seeks to explore the perceptions and constructions of legitimacy for technologies that are developed to reduce ammonia emissions in intensive livestock farming in Flanders (Belgium). We use a qualitative case study, employing semi-structured interviews and workshops, with technology developers of ammonia-emission reducing technologies and stakeholders in the intensive livestock farming industry in Flanders. What our study shows is that technologies developed to reduce emissions are dependent on regulative legitimacy. The normative and cognitive legitimacy of these technologies is lacking, both due to ties to the intensive livestock industry and due to uncertainty over the performance of these technologies. With the delegitimation of intensive livestock farming, the legitimacy of these technologies is also under threat. In response, technology developers are looking to (re-)construct this legitimacy through knowledge claims over the performance of their technologies. We show several ways for other actors to deal with this, centred on either re-legitimising technologies to maintain the status quo, or to contest these knowledge claims and use them to disrupt path dependencies.

show abstract

Costs of regulating ammonia emissions from livestock farms near Natura 2000 areas - analyses of case farms from Germany, Netherlands and Denmark

Cited by 23 publications

References 4 publications

Sustainability of Four Dairy Farming Scenarios in an Alpine Environment: The Case Study of Toma di Lanzo Cheese

Sustainability of Four Dairy Farming Scenarios in an Alpine Environment: The Case Study of Toma di Lanzo Cheese

Accounting for spatial variability in life cycle cost-effectiveness assessments of environmental impact abatement measures

Constructing legitimacy for technologies developed in response to environmental regulation: the case of ammonia emission-reducing technology for the Flemish intensive livestock industry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About