Forage systems and sustainability of milk production: Feed efficiency, environmental impacts and soil carbon stocks

Gislon, G.; Ferrero, Francesco; Bava, L.; Borreani, G.; Prà, Aldo Dal; Pacchioli, M. T.; Sandrucci, A.; Zucali, Maddalena; Tabacco, Ernesto

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121012

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…However, these values are below the average emissions recorded in other works (65,66), given the high self-sufficiency and the low dependence on purchased feed in the Toma di Lanzo production process. Our results could also be justified by considering previous research of Guerci et al (23).…”

Section: Environmental Implicationscontrasting

confidence: 63%

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

et al. 2020

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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.

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Section: Environmental Implicationscontrasting

confidence: 63%

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

et al. 2020

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“…Sustainable intensification of production systems is clearly identified by scientists as key action for climate change mitigation strategy in agri-food sector (Gislon et al, 2020). From this point of view, Sardinian sheep sector represents an interesting case study for testing strategies aimed to achieve a sustainable livestock supply chain and to better understand how to conciliate food provision with Accepted paper reduced environmental impacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does soil carbon sequestration affect greenhouse gas emissions from a sheep farming system? Results of a life cycle assessment case study

et al. 2021

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Highlights Extensification of dairy sheep systems provides an environmental benefit when soil C sequestration is considered. Extensification of dairy sheep systems determines lower environmental impact per hectare of utilized agricultural area. Enteric methane emissions are the main source of GHG emissions of the sheep milk life cycle. Carbon sequestration in permanent grasslands can considerably contribute to climate change mitigation. Abstract A life cycle assessment (LCA) study of a transition from semi-intensive to semi-extensive Mediterranean dairy sheep farm suggests that the latter has a strong potential for offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the soil C sequestration (Cseq) in permanent grasslands. The extensification process shows clear environmental advantage when emission intensity is referred to the area-based functional unit (FU). Several LCA studies reported that extensive livestock systems have greater GHG emissions per mass of product than intensive one, due to their lower productivity. However, these studies did not account for soil Cseq of temporary and permanent grasslands, that have a strong potential to partly mitigate the GHG balance of ruminant production systems. Our LCA study was carried out considering the transition from a semi-intensive (SI) towards a semi-extensive (SE) production system, adopted in a dairy sheep farm located in North-Western Sardinia (Italy). Impact scope included enteric methane emissions, feed production, on-farm energy use and transportation, infrastructures as well as the potential C sink arising from soil Cseqwith respect to the emission intensity. In order to provide a more comprehensive analysis, we used the following FUs: 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) and 1 ha of utilised agricultural area (UAA). We observed that the extensification of production system determined contrasting environmental effects when using different FUs accounting for soil Cseq. When soil Cseq in emission intensity estimate was included, we observed slightly lower values of GHG emissions per kg of FPCM in the SI production system (from 3.37 to 3.12 kg CO2 equivalents – CO2-eq), whereas a greater variation we observed in the SE one (from 3.54 to 2.90 kg CO2-eq). Considering 1 ha of UAA as FU and including the soil Cseq, the emission intensity in SI moved from 6,257 to 5,793 kg CO2-eq, whereas values varied from 4,020 to 3,299 kg CO2-eq in SE. These results indicated that the emission intensity from semi-extensive Mediterranean dairy sheep farms can be considerably reduced through the soil Cseq, although its measurement is influenced by the models used in the estimation.

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“…of different high-quality forages in balanced diets can lead to a similar milk production without increasing methane emissions and N excretion per unit of product. The forages used in the trial were all produced locally on commercial farms and are representative of the most widespread forage systems in Northern Italy (Gislon et al, 2020b). The diets were formulated to meet ME and MP requirements, but some important differences in DMI, digestibility, rumen fermentative pattern, NE L content, N excretion (g/d), and methane emissions (% DE intake) were observed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experimental treatments were based on the typical forage systems that have been identified as the most representative of the Po Plain (Northern Italy; Gislon et al, 2020b). The 4 dietary treatments were as follows: (1) a corn silage-based system (CS), which was considered representative of the most widespread intensive forage system in the Po Plain; (2) a forage system based on double-cropped corn (harvested as whole-ear silage), alfalfa (harvested as silage at an early growth stage), and Italian ryegrass (harvested as silage at an early growth stage; AS); (3) a forage system based on double-cropped corn (harvested as whole-ear silage) and winter cereal (harvested as silage, wheat in the present experiment; WS); and (4) a representative forage system of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production (PDO), based on dried forages from alfalfa and permanent meadows (PR).…”

Section: Dietsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water availability and the destination of milk for protected designation of origin (PDO) cheeses are the main drivers of the organization of forage systems in the Po Plain (Mantovi et al, 2015). The availability of water and the high soil fertility in the north of the Po River have historically favored the cultivation of corn (whole-plant silage and dry grain), which is recognized to produce a high DM yield per hectare and to be more suitable for an easy conservation by ensiling (Borreani et al, 2013;Gislon et al, 2020b) than permanent meadows and legume forage crops. An emerging forage system called dynamic forage system (Tabacco et al, 2018) is replacing the conventional system based on monocropped corn silage by reintroducing the use of legume forages and producing whole-ear silage, thereby producing high-quality forages and increasing farm protein self-sufficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Milk production, methane emissions, nitrogen, and energy balance of cows fed diets based on different forage systems

Gislon

Colombini

Borreani

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Science

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Eight lactating Italian Friesian cows were housed in individual respiration chambers in a repeated Latin square design to determine their dry matter intake (DMI) and their milk and methane production, as well as to collect the total feces and urine to determine the N and energy balances. Four diets, based on the following forages (% of dry matter, DM), were tested: corn silage (CS, 49.3), alfalfa silage (AS, 26.8), wheat silage (WS, 20.0), and a typical hay-based Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production diet (PR, 25.3 of both alfalfa and Italian ryegrass hay). The greatest DMI was observed for cows fed PR (23.4 vs. 20.7 kg/d, the average of the other 3 diets). The DM digestibility was lower for PR (64.5 vs. 71.7%, the average of the other diets). The highest ash-free neutral detergent fiber digestibility values were obtained for CS (50.7%) and AS (47.4%). In the present study, no differences in milk production were observed between diets, although PR showed a higher milk yield trend. The highest milk urea N concentration (mg/dL) was found for the cows fed the WS diet (13.8), and the lowest was observed for the cows fed AS (9.24). The highest milk urea N concentration for the cows fed WS was also correlated with the highest urinary N excretion (g/d), which was found for the cows fed that same diet (189 vs. 147 on average for the other diets). The protein digestibility was higher for the cows fed the CS and WS diets (on average 68.5%) than for the cows fed AS and PR (on average 57.0%); dietary soybean inclusion was higher for CS and WS than for AS and PR. The rumen fermentation pattern was affected by the diet; the cows fed the PR diet showed a higher rumen pH and decreased propionate production than those fed CS, due to the lower nonfiber carbohydrate content and higher ash-free neutral detergent fiber content of the PR diet than the CS diet. Feeding cows with PR diet increased the acetate: propionate ratio in comparison with the CS diet (3.30 vs. 2.44 for PR and CS, respectively). Cows fed the PR diet produced a greater daily amount of methane and had a greater methane energy loss (% of digestible energy intake) than those fed the CS diet (413 vs. 378 g/d and 8.67 vs. 7.70%), but no differences were observed when methane was expressed as grams per kilogram of DMI or grams per kilogram of milk. The PR diet resulted in a smaller net energy for lactation content than the CS diet (1.36 vs. 1.70 Mcal/kg of DM for the PR and CS diets, respectively). Overall, our research suggests that a satisfactory milk production can be attained by including different high-quality forages in balanced diets without any negative effect on milk production or on the methane emissions per kilogram of milk.

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Forage systems and sustainability of milk production: Feed efficiency, environmental impacts and soil carbon stocks

Cited by 43 publications

References 39 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

How does soil carbon sequestration affect greenhouse gas emissions from a sheep farming system? Results of a life cycle assessment case study

Milk production, methane emissions, nitrogen, and energy balance of cows fed diets based on different forage systems

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