Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands

Bos, J.F.F.P.; Haan, J.J. de; Sukkel, W.; Schils, R.L.M.

doi:10.1016/j.njas.2013.12.003

Cited by 77 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Also, Küstermann and Hülsbergen [19] state that organic farming systems produce less N 2 O and CO 2 emissions generally due to lower inputs. A similar conclusion had been previously reached by Haas et al [20], as well as Bos et al [21]. Daxbeck et al [22] claim that the conventional farming system produces a higher emission load than the organic one.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Environmental and economic aspects of Triticum aestivum L. and Avena sativa growing

et al. 2016

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This paper deals with the assessment of cultivation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and oat (Avena sativa) grown in Central Europe within the conventional and organic farming systems in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and economic profitability. Organic farming may be one of the tools for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production. In the context of crop production, cereals rank among the most commonly grown crops and therefore bread wheat and oat were chosen. The Climate change impact category was assessed within the simplified LCA method and the production of greenhouse gas emissions expressed in CO2e per the production unit was calculated. Economic balance of the cultivation of monitored cereals was compiled based on the yields, farm gate prices and costs. On its basis, the cultivation of wheat within the organic farming system appears to be the most profitable. From an environmental point of view, the emission load of the organic farming system is reduced by 8.04 % within the wheat production and by 15.46 % within the oat cultivation. Therefore, the organic farming system in the Czech Republic appears to be more environmentally friendly and economically efficient within the cereals production.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Environmental and economic aspects of Triticum aestivum L. and Avena sativa growing

et al. 2016

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“…Studies exploring the impact of organic agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions have shown mixed results [35,41,56]. When measured on a per area basis, organic systems may fare better than conventional systems, but when the yield gap in organic is taken into effect, the emissions may be higher per unit of output [39,48].…”

Section: Challenges In Organic Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

2016

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Agriculture faces the unprecedented task of feeding a world population of 9 billion people by 2050 while simultaneously avoiding harmful environmental and social effects. One effort to meet this challenge has been organic farming, with outcomes that are generally positive. However, a number of challenges remain. Organic yields lag behind those in conventional agriculture, and greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching remain somewhat problematic. In this paper, we examine current organic and conventional agriculture systems and suggest that agroforestry, which is the intentional combination of trees and shrubs with crops or livestock, could be the next step in sustainable agriculture. By implementing systems that mimic nature's functions, agroforestry has the potential to remain productive while supporting a range of ecosystem services. In this paper, we outline the common practices and products of agroforestry as well as beneficial environmental and social effects. We address barriers to agroforestry and explore potential options to alter policies and increase adoption by farmers. We conclude that agroforestry is one of the best land use strategies to contribute to food security while simultaneously limiting environmental degradation.

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“…Experimentally testing the scenarios examined here would require the farm systems to be operated for several years to ensure the accuracy of the data created. Examples of where models were used to undertake similar exercises include DairyWise (Schils et al, 2007), which has been used to compare the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems (Bos et al, 2014). Similarly, the DAFOSYM model (Rotz et al, 1989) has been used to determine the effect on annual net return of using automatic milking systems across farms of different sizes (Rotz et al, 2003) or to determine the effect of feeding strategy and protein supplements on the nitrogen loss and profitability on farm.…”

Section: Models and Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using models to establish the financially optimum strategy for Irish dairy farms

Ruelle

Delaby

Wallace

et al. 2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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Determining the effect of a change in management on farm with differing characteristics is a significant challenge in the evaluation of dairy systems due to the interacting components of complex biological systems. In Ireland, milk production is increasing substantially following the abolition of the European Union milk quota regime in 2015. There are 2 main ways to increase the milk production on farm (within a fixed land base): either increase the number of animals (thus increasing the stocking rate) or increase the milk production per animal through increased feeding or increased lactation length. In this study, the effect of increased concentrate feeding or an increase in grazing intensity was simulated to determine the effect on the farm system and its economic performance. Four stocking rates (2.3, 2.6, 2.9, and 3.2 cow/ha) and 5 different concentrate supplementation strategies (0, 180, 360, 600, and 900 kg of dry matter/lactation) resulting in 20 different scenarios were evaluated across different milk, concentrate, and silage purchase prices. Each simulation was run across 10 yr of meteorological data, which had been recorded over the period 2004 to 2013. Three models-the Moorepark and St Gilles grass growth model, the pasture-based herd dynamic milk model, and the Moorepark dairy systems modelwere integrated and applied to simulate the different scenarios. Overall, this study has demonstrated that the most profitable scenario was a stocking rate of 2.6 cow/ha with a concentrate supplementation of 600 kg of dry matter/cow. The factor that had the greatest influence on profitability was variability of milk price.

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Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands

Cited by 77 publications

References 27 publications

Environmental and economic aspects of Triticum aestivum L. and Avena sativa growing

Environmental and economic aspects of Triticum aestivum L. and Avena sativa growing

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

Using models to establish the financially optimum strategy for Irish dairy farms

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