Greenhouse gas, water, and land footprint per unit of production of the California dairy industry over 50 years

Naranjo, Anna; Johnson, A.; Rossow, Heidi A; Kebreab, E.

doi:10.3168/jds.2019-16576

Cited by 54 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The study was based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted for the dairy industry in California [4]. The feed ingredients used by Naranjo et al [4] were adjusted and recalculated using NRC (2001). The main ingredients were alfalfa hay, corn silage, corn grains, canola meal, almond hulls and distillers dried grains with solubles.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dairy industry has an environmental impact including GHG emissions related to crop production, enteric and manure CH 4 , water resource for feed production, excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus, and land management [4]. There are several mitigation strategies developed to reduce GHG emission from dairy, but most are modest in magnitude and some not applicable to California [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Feng

Kebreab

2020

PLoS ONE

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The livestock industry is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and there is an increasing demand for the industry to reduce its carbon footprint. Several studies have shown that feed additives 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate to be effective in reducing enteric methane emissions. The objective of this study was to estimate the net mitigating effect of using 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate on total greenhouse gas emissions in California dairy industry. A life cycle assessment approach was used to conduct a cradle-to-farm gate environmental impact analysis based on dairy production system in California. Emissions associated with crop production, feed additive production, enteric methane, farm management, and manure storage were calculated and expressed as kg CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 e) per kg of energy corrected milk. The total greenhouse gas emissions from baseline, 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate offered during lactation were 1.12, 0.993, and 1.08 kg CO 2 e/kg energy corrected milk, respectively. The average net reduction rates for 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate were 11.7% and 3.95%, respectively. In both cases, using the feed additives on the whole herd slightly improved overall carbon footprint reduction compared to limiting its use during lactation phase. Although both 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate had effects on decreasing the total greenhouse gas emission, the former was much more effective with no known safety issues in reducing the carbon footprint of dairy production in California.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Feng

Kebreab

2020

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

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“…The study was based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted for the dairy industry in California [4]. The feed ingredients used by Naranjo et al [4] were adjusted and recalculated using NRC (2001). The impact of producing the feed additives 3NOP and nitrate was integrated in the LCA model.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from USDA-NASS Quick Stats [18], USDA farm and ranch irrigation reports [19], California specific agricultural reports [20, 21], USDA-ERS reports [22], University of California crop cost and return studies [23], and values published in literatures [24] were used to estimate the emissions during the crop production. Enteric CH4 emissions, farm management, energy and water used for producing crop, feeding cattle, cooling livestock facilities, animals, and milk, sanitation, cleaning, and dealing with onsite waste were according to Naranjo et al [4]. Similarly, manure methane and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions were based on methodology described by Naranjo et al [4].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Enteric CH4 emissions, farm management, energy and water used for producing crop, feeding cattle, cooling livestock facilities, animals, and milk, sanitation, cleaning, and dealing with onsite waste were according to Naranjo et al [4]. Similarly, manure methane and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions were based on methodology described by Naranjo et al [4].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Kebreab

Feng

2020

Preprint

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18The livestock industry is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and there is 19 an increasing demand for the industry to reduce its carbon footprint. Several studies have shown 20 that feed additives 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate to be effective in reducing enteric methane 21 emissions. The objective of this study was to estimate the net mitigating effect of using 3-22 nitroxypropanol and nitrate on total greenhouse gas emissions in California dairy industry. A life 23 cycle assessment approach was used to conduct a cradle-to-farm gate environmental impact 24 analysis based on dairy production system in California. Emissions associated with crop 25 production, feed additive production, enteric methane, farm management, and manure storage 26 were calculated and expressed as kg CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 e) per kg of energy corrected milk. 27 The total greenhouse gas emissions from baseline, two 3-nitroxypropanol and three nitrate 28 scenarios were 1.12, 0.993, 0.991, 1.08, 1.07, and 1.09 kg CO 2 e/kg energy corrected milk. The 29 average net reduction rates for 3-nitroxypropanol and nitrate were 11.7% and 3.95%, 30 respectively. In both cases, using the feed additives on the whole herd slightly improved overall 31 carbon footprint reduction compared to limiting its use during lactation phase. Although both 3-32 nitroxypropanol and nitrate had effects on decreasing the total greenhouse gas emission, the 33 former was much more effective with no known safety issues in reducing the carbon footprint of 34 dairy production in California. 35 Introduction 37The main greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agricultural food production include nitrous 38 oxide (N 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ). Livestock sector contributes to 3 39 approximately 14.5% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions with 80% attributed to CH 4 40 production from enteric fermentation and manure management from ruminants [1]. Dairy 41 production is the third largest agricultural industry in the United States with total milk production 42 increasing 13% over the past decade reaching over 215 billion pounds in 2019 [2]. California, as 43 the top dairy production state accounted for over 20% of the total milk production with 1.73 44 million cows [2, 3]. 45 The dairy industry has an environmental impact including GHG emissions related to crop 46 production, enteric and manure CH 4 , water resource for feed production, excretion of nitrogen 47 and phosphorus, and land management [4]. There are several mitigation strategies developed to 48 reduce GHG emission from dairy, but most are modest in magnitude and some not applicable to 49 California [5]. In the last few years, several feed additives have been developed to reduce enteric 50 CH 4 emissions with varying results. Two of the most studied feed additives that substantially 51 reduce enteric CH 4 emissions include 3-nitroxypropanol (3NOP) and nitrate (e.g., [6][7][8][9]). 3-52 nitroxypropanol (also known as Bovaer in Europe), is a synthetic compound that inhibi...

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Can a sustainability facts label reduce the halo surrounding organic labels?

Neuhofer

Lusk

Villas-Boas

2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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Consumers often form beliefs about credence attributes unsupported by the best available evidence. In particular, prior research has revealed many consumers have overly‐optimistic beliefs about the environmental and nutritional impacts of organic food. We propose and study the effects of a sustainability facts label (SFL), which displays quantitative environmental information related to global warming potential, land use, and energy use per serving size of the product. The SFL is akin to a nutrition facts label (NFL), which we also study. We surveyed a nationally representative sample of milk consumers in the United States (USA) to measure their choices and beliefs about organic vs. conventional milk under one of three different label information treatments; the NFL only, the SFL only, and both labels relative to a control without any nutrition or sustainability information. Unexpectedly, our results show that the SFL increased the likelihood of organic purchases. Facts panels altered beliefs; The participants exposed to the SFL increased their perception that organic performs better on environmental metrics, despite the fact the information contained in the label provided a nuanced picture with organic better in some dimensions and worse in others. Consistent with the information provided, consumers exposed to the NFL decreased their perception that organic had fewer calories and more protein than conventional milk. Prior beliefs about organic were found to be important determinants of choice and information acquisition.

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Greenhouse gas, water, and land footprint per unit of production of the California dairy industry over 50 years

Cited by 54 publications

References 33 publications

Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from feed additive use in California dairy cattle

Can a sustainability facts label reduce the halo surrounding organic labels?

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