Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows

Weyenberg, Stéphanie Van; Ulens, Tim; Reu, Koen De; Zwertvaegher, Ingrid; Demeyer, Peter; Pluym, Liesbet

doi:10.17221/8059-vetmed

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Crucially, lack of market has been a major reason cited by livestock farmers for not cultivating miscanthus (Wilson et al, ), alongside years of failed energy crop policies (Adams & Lindegaard, ). However, the recent demonstration of miscanthus’ efficacy as a bedding material (AHDB, ; HCCMPW, ; Van Weyenberg et al, ) paves the way for a new market on the doorstep of livestock farms, where the opportunity costs of cultivating miscanthus are much lower than on arable farms where gross margins per hectare are significantly higher (FBS, ). Numerous other factors are likely to favour alternative bedding materials such as miscanthus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers' attitudes towards miscanthus cultivation and general sustainability will play a key role in the adoption of miscanthus bedding. Farmers may decide to grind miscanthus into finer bedding particles, which would require grinding equipment, and are not considered in this study (Van Weyenberg et al, ). Farmers are resourceful and could modify their farm systems in a multitude of ways following the introduction of miscanthus bedding, which may influence environmental outcomes in unpredictable ways (Henriksson, Flysjö, Cederberg, & Swensson, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is some uncertainty about the quantity of miscanthus needed to replace straw bedding. If chopped and dried to moisture contents of 25% and below, miscanthus could replace straw bedding on a 1:1 basis (AHDB, ; Van Weyenberg et al, ). Preliminary studies on absorbency at Aberystwyth are suggesting that miscanthus could replace wheat straw by around 1.6:1 while some of the hardier, upland varieties bred at IBERS could be as low as 1.2:1 due to better texture and lower initial moisture content (M. Fraser, personal communication, October 2, 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Efforts by the livestock industry to address this issue have given rise to trials of alternative bedding materials such as woodchips, miscanthus, paper, bracken and reed canary grass among others (HCCMPW, ). Among these alternatives, miscanthus bedding is used because of its highly absorbent nature compared with other bedding materials and its usefulness in keeping the animals clean and warm (HCCMPW, ; Van Weyenberg et al, ). It can be cultivated on lower quality agricultural land than cereal straw, as is typical in regions where livestock are common, achieve good yields with low inputs and could supply farmers with enough bedding material for their livestock needs (McCalmont, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consequential life cycle assessment of miscanthus livestock bedding, diverting straw to bioelectricity generation

et al. 2019

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Straw is an important livestock bedding material facing increasing demand for alternative uses in Europe and is often transported long distances from arable to livestock regions. Alternative bedding materials cultivated directly on livestock farms could potentially avoid this transport and competition for use. For the first time, we applied consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) to account for the direct and indirect implications of miscanthus bedding production on livestock farms, considering displacement of fodder or livestock, and substitution of fossil fuels with straw in electricity generation. We modelled the effect of substituting straw with ‘home‐grown’ miscanthus bedding across seven beef and sheep farms. The consequences of displacing grass forage (or animal) production with home‐grown miscanthus bedding cultivation were evaluated via three farmer decision scenarios: buy extra concentrate feed (D1), utilize remaining pasture areas more efficiently (D2) and buy grass silage (D3). Electricity generated from displaced straw (bedding) substituted either natural gas or coal electricity. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken using 34 scenario permutations to represent combinations of feed and electricity substitution, miscanthus fertilization rates and yields, and the quality of displaced pasture. Consequential LCA indicates that miscanthus bedding production could be environmentally beneficial, under scenarios involving D2 and D3. However, greenhouse gas emissions and wider environmental burdens may be increased under D1 scenarios, owing to the environmental cost of additional concentrate feed production, and possible indirect land use change, outweighing the benefits from: (a) fossil electricity substitution with straw bioelectricity; (b) reduced animal emissions via improved digestibility of concentrate feed; (c) avoided straw transport. The ratio of the yield of miscanthus to replaced grass was found to be a critical determinant of D1 environmental outcomes. We conclude that if grass forage production can be better managed, the use of miscanthus as a bedding material on livestock farms provides environmental benefits via diversion of straw to bioenergy use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consequential life cycle assessment of miscanthus livestock bedding, diverting straw to bioelectricity generation

et al. 2019

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“…A wide range of miscanthus genotypes have been screened for different marginality factors such as salinity [6] and erosion [7]. Miscanthus biomass has quality characteristics that allow it to be used to manifold ways: as a combustion fuel, [8][9][10], bioethanol [11][12][13], bedding material [10,14,15], building material [16][17][18][19][20] and in biogas production [21,22]. For example, low inorganic constituents and high lignin content is preferred for combustion [23], whereas low lignin is required for efficient biogas [24] as well as ethanol production [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane Yield Potential of Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deuter)) Established under Maize (Zea mays L.)

et al. 2019

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This study reports on the effects of two rhizome-based establishment procedures ‘miscanthus under maize’ (MUM) and ‘reference’ (REF) on the methane yield per hectare (MYH) of miscanthus in a field trial in southwest Germany. The dry matter yield (DMY) of aboveground biomass was determined each year in autumn over four years (2016–2019). A biogas batch experiment and a fiber analysis were conducted using plant samples from 2016–2018. Overall, MUM outperformed REF due to a high MYH of maize in 2016 (7211 m3N CH4 ha−1). The MYH of miscanthus in MUM was significantly lower compared to REF in 2016 and 2017 due to a lower DMY. Earlier maturation of miscanthus in MUM caused higher ash and lignin contents compared with REF. However, the mean substrate-specific methane yield of miscanthus was similar across the treatments (281.2 and 276.2 lN kg−1 volatile solid−1). Non-significant differences in MYH 2018 (1624 and 1957 m3N CH4 ha−1) and in DMY 2019 (15.6 and 21.7 Mg ha−1) between MUM and REF indicate, that MUM recovered from biotic and abiotic stress during 2016. Consequently, MUM could be a promising approach to close the methane yield gap of miscanthus cultivation in the first year of establishment.

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Physical Properties of Miscanthus Grass and Wheat Straw as Bedding Materials for Dairy Cattle

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Conti

et al. 2020

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

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Feasibility of Miscanthus as alternative bedding for dairy cows

Cited by 23 publications

References 40 publications

Consequential life cycle assessment of miscanthus livestock bedding, diverting straw to bioelectricity generation

Consequential life cycle assessment of miscanthus livestock bedding, diverting straw to bioelectricity generation

Methane Yield Potential of Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deuter)) Established under Maize (Zea mays L.)

Physical Properties of Miscanthus Grass and Wheat Straw as Bedding Materials for Dairy Cattle

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