Invited Review: Emission and mitigation of greenhouse gases from dairy farms: The cow, the manure, and the field

Wattiaux, M.A.; Uddin, Md. Elias; Letelier, P.; Jackson, Randall D.; Larson, R. H.

doi:10.15232/aas.2018-01803

Cited by 60 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…The enteric emission mitigation strategies might not be equally applicable and relevant for all pastoral production systems. For example, supplementation of concentrate feeds (i.e., source of non-structural carbohydrates) has great potential to reduce enteric CH 4 either through improving production performance (i.e., dilution effect) or through acting as a sink of hydrogen in the rumen (Wattiaux et al, 2019). This strategy could be implemented in agro-pastoral systems.…”

Section: Climate Change Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Impact of Food and Climate Change on Pastoral Industries

Uddin

Kebreab

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The industrialization of agriculture based on inexpensive fossil fuels allowed for unprecedented levels of food production and population growth, but simultaneously contributed to a threat to food systems and population well-being: climate change. This paper analyses the impacts and adaptations available to the world's pastoral production systems including potential mitigation and adaptation strategies. The current food system is under pressure to satisfy the needs of the increasing population with already limited natural resources particularly land and water, and now increasingly under pressure due to climate change. Increasing incomes from greater number of people have increased demand for animal source foods. As a result, domestic livestock numbers are rising, particularly in low-income countries with greater dependence on pasture for animal feed. The carrying capacity of pastured land is limited; therefore, increasing animal numbers may cause environmental degradation and loss of productivity from pastoral industries. In some countries, the increasing demand has prompted some to burn forestlands and convert them into crop production, and after the land is degraded into pasture mainly for raising large ruminants. Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and ambient temperatures are predicted to make a number of changes to the growth of herbage for animals. Several strategies can be implemented to optimize the pasture-based food system, including choosing the right breed, improving reproductive efficiency, improving grazing management, and maintaining an animal feed base. The global challenge is to meet our food production needs while sustaining our environment. Producers in all income categories have a role to play in adapting to these challenges.

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Section: Climate Change Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Impact of Food and Climate Change on Pastoral Industries

Uddin

Kebreab

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…However, usually, the greater the productive level of the farm, or its productive efficiency, the lower the environmental footprint per kg of milk [55]. Moreover, Price and Bell [56] observed that the improvement of the genetic selection practices of dairy cows in Australia in the last 10 years led to a reduction in CO 2 eq emissions of about 1%, and Wattiaux et al [57] explained that the factor most associated with farms' emissions was the management practices. It can be argued that the emissions values obtained in the present study are in line with those reported in most studies considering farms with similar production efficiency, but irrespective of the breed reared.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Dairy Farms Rearing the Italian Simmental Dual-Purpose Breed

Baldini

Borso

Rossi³

et al. 2020

Animals

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This study aimed to assess the environmental footprint of dairy farms rearing a dual-purpose breed, and to evaluate, through alternative scenario analyses, the fattening of calves and the cultivation of hemp as strategies for reducing the environmental impact of these farms. Eleven farms were evaluated for global warming (GWP), acidification (AC) and eutrophication (EUP) potential. The Life Cycle Assessment method with three scenarios, REAL, based on real data, BEEF, where calves were fattened in farm, and HEMP, where hemp was cultivated in farms, were considered. If referred to 1 m2 of utilizable agricultural land, the GWP, AC and EUP were 1.6 kgCO2eq, 21.7 gSO2eq and 7.1 gPO43−eq, respectively. If referring to 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk, the emissions were 1.1–1.4 kgCO2eq, 14.8–19.0 gSO2eq, and 5.0–6.4 gPO43−eq, depending on the allocation method adopted. The emissions were associated positively with culling rate and negatively with production intensity. In BEEF and HEMP scenarios, the emissions were reduced by 8–11% and by 1–5%, respectively. Fattening the calves, evaluating the cultivation of alternative plants and improving the productive and reproductive efficiency of animals could be effective strategies for reducing the environmental footprint of the farm.

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“…Trading harvest products could be an attractive measure to offset farm emissions through interconnected farming systems, where farms serving as large carbon sinks due to their extensive vegetation areas could serve as C donors through feed to smaller farms, which may exceed their GHG budget on a seasonal or annual basis [69]. Similarly, manure trading could increase farm sustainability [69], as field applications generally decrease GHG emissions, specifically of CH 4 due to less anaerobic conditions (Figure 3), compared to long-term manure pit storage [70,71].…”

Section: Seasonal Ghg Budgets and Recommendations For Reducing Ghg Emmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our results show that there are a number of opportunities in feed, vegetation planting, and manure management that can significantly lower GHG emissions on dairy farms while maintaining production. Because pastures sequestered more carbon than they released back to the atmosphere even during winter months, their integration into cattle diets, given that feed conversion efficiency remains similar [71] at Prairie du Sac, could significantly lower the farm's C emissions throughout the first three months of the year (by at least 10%), compared to other crops. Furthermore, perennial vegetation was shown to have lower overall soil GHG emissions compared to annual crops like corn [71], thus further highlighting the GHG mitigation potential of pastures for dairy farms.…”

Section: Seasonal Ghg Budgets and Recommendations For Reducing Ghg Emmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because pastures sequestered more carbon than they released back to the atmosphere even during winter months, their integration into cattle diets, given that feed conversion efficiency remains similar [71] at Prairie du Sac, could significantly lower the farm's C emissions throughout the first three months of the year (by at least 10%), compared to other crops. Furthermore, perennial vegetation was shown to have lower overall soil GHG emissions compared to annual crops like corn [71], thus further highlighting the GHG mitigation potential of pastures for dairy farms. Additionally, improving field fertilizer and manure application strategies such as urea (here on corn fields) in conjunction with urease inhibiters could significantly decrease N losses and N 2 O emission from soils [72].…”

Section: Seasonal Ghg Budgets and Recommendations For Reducing Ghg Emmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing Dairy Sustainability with Integrated Crop–Livestock Farming

et al. 2020

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Dairy farms are predominantly carbon sources, due to high livestock emissions from enteric fermentation and manure. Integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLSs) have the potential to offset these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as recycling products within the farm boundaries is prioritized. Here, we quantify seasonal and annual greenhouse gas budgets of an ICLS dairy farm in Wisconsin USA using satellite remote sensing to estimate vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines to calculate farm emissions. Remotely sensed annual vegetation NPP correlated well with farm harvest NPP (R2 = 0.9). As a whole, the farm was a large carbon sink, owing to natural vegetation carbon sinks and harvest products staying within the farm boundaries. Dairy cows accounted for 80% of all emissions as their feed intake dominated farm feed supply. Manure emissions (15%) were low because manure spreading was frequent throughout the year. In combination with soil conservation practices, ICLS farming provides a sustainable means of producing nutritionally valuable food while contributing to sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Here, we introduce a simple and cost-efficient way to quantify whole-farm GHG budgets, which can be used by farmers to understand their carbon footprint, and therefore may encourage management strategies to improve agricultural sustainability.

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Invited Review: Emission and mitigation of greenhouse gases from dairy farms: The cow, the manure, and the field

Cited by 60 publications

References 1 publication

Review: Impact of Food and Climate Change on Pastoral Industries

Review: Impact of Food and Climate Change on Pastoral Industries

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Dairy Farms Rearing the Italian Simmental Dual-Purpose Breed

Increasing Dairy Sustainability with Integrated Crop–Livestock Farming

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