The impact of low-input grass-based and high-input confinement-based dairy systems on food production, environmental protection and resource use

Dentler, Juliane; Kiefer, Lukas; Hummler, Theresa; Bahrs, Enno; Elsaesser, M.

doi:10.1080/21683565.2020.1712572

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Laisse et al (95) estimated that cows fed grass and small amounts of concentrate can produce 2.5 times more human-edible protein than they consume. Comparing different dairy systems, Dentler et al (96) detected significantly higher heFCE values for lowinput grass-based farms compared to high-input confinementbased farms, both in terms of crude protein (3.30 vs. 0.76, respectively) and energy (2.95 vs. 0.69, respectively).…”

Section: Feed Efficiency Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Feed Efficiency Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Schader et al (2015) showed that the global food system would be more sustainable if livestock was fed less food-competing feed. Additionally, Dentler et al (2020) conclude that "high nutrient use efficiency, high resource use efficiency and high food production efficiency within dairy farming can be fostered by a more extensive farming system based on grassland, with low concentrate inputs." With these aspects in mind, the target of self-sufficiency with soy at the current consumption level and export of dairy and meat products should be critically reflected.…”

Section: Support and Barriers Of Soy Expansion In Bavariamentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecologically and biophysically optimal allocation of expanded soy production in Bavaria, Germany

Gebhardt

Haensel²,

Schulp³

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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A debate about cultivation and trading of soy has emerged among scientists, policymakers, and the public in recent years. Export-orientated soy production in regions of South America is associated with large-scale ecosystem destruction. Since soy is an important source of animal fodder, policymakers are developing schemes to support and enhance sustainable domestic soy cultivation, especially in the EU. Expanded soy cultivation should ideally provide high yields and at the same time promote environmental benefits. For this purpose, we applied a multi-objective optimization algorithm that selects areas with maximum soy suitability, minimum erosion risk, need for low fertilizer input due to water quality issues, and need for diversification of monotonous crop rotations. We use the state of Bavaria in Germany as a case study, modeling full self-sufficiency of soy. The results of the optimization indicate synergies between plantation suitability with need for low fertilization input and crop variation, which implies that the environmental benefit of nitrogen fixation and rotation diversification from soy plants can easily be reconciled with food productivity. However, slight trade-offs occur between erosion risk and the three other objectives, i.e., locations with better soy production might be more prone toward erosion risk. As a potential consequence of expanded soy cultivation in Bavaria, we identified winter wheat, grain maize, potatoes, and sugar beet as those crops that have the highest share of displaced cultivation area. To reduce such land use conflicts and ensure self-sufficiency in relevant crops, we recommend to limit the use of soy as animal feed. Nevertheless, we propose to explicitly incorporate the local need for the environmental benefits of soy cultivation in the planning for soy expansion. In doing so, domestic soy can turn into a real sustainable alternative to imported plant protein.

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“…The lower milk production of grazing systems was observed worldwide between farms or in the transition between systems in which milk yield of grazing systems are lower in comparison with con nement systems (Hartwiger et al, 2018). Par example, Dentler et al (2020) in Germany observed that low-input farms (grazing systems) produced 35% less milk in comparison with high-input farms (con nement systems); and Holly et al (2019) reported in Pennsylvania that grazing systems produced 20% less milk in comparison with con nement systems; which is like the 19% reported by Mazzetto et al (2020) in Costa Rica. However, the similar milk yield between zero-grazing and mixed was observed in developed countries (Holly et al, 2019) and in developing countries (Mazzetto et al, 2020); whilst the difference between zero-grazing and pasture systems is bigger in comparison with the results of Dutreuil et al (2014) in Wisconsin, in which conventional dairy farms (con nement system) produced 46% more milk in comparison with pasture system (grazing + organic dairy farms); or by the registered by Mazzetto et al (2020) in Costa Rica, where the difference was of 14%.…”

Section: Production Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milk Carbon Footprint in Latin American Livestock: effect of dairy system, breed and climate

Velarde-Guillén

Arndt²,

Bravo

2021

Preprint

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The study reviewed carbon footprint (CF) analyses for milk production in Latin America from cradle to farm gate. The objective was to estimate: (1) the effect of production system (zero-grazing, mixed, and pasture), (2) animal breed (specialized dairy vs. dual-purpose), and (3) climate (tropical vs. temperate) on milk production (kg/cow/day) and CF [kg CO2eq/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM)]. A systematic literature review was conducted, in which 11 studies which estimate 32 individual CF were included in the final analysis. Studies included in the final analysis allowed to calculate CF per kg FPCM, included upstream emissions calculations, and used a Tier 2 approach for enteric methane emissions. The range of the CF observed in the region was of 1.54 to 3.57 kg CO2eq/kg FPCM. The production system had a significant effect on milk production, but not on CF. Zero-grazing compared with pasture systems had a 140% greater milk production (20.1 vs. 8.4 kg of milk/cow/day), but numerically greater CF (70%) for pasture systems. Compared with specialized dairy cattle, dual-purpose breeds produced less milk and higher CF. Compared with temperate climate, tropical climate systems produced less milk and higher CF. In conclusion, in Latin America the breed selection and the climate have more impact in the CF that the dairy production system.

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The impact of low-input grass-based and high-input confinement-based dairy systems on food production, environmental protection and resource use

Cited by 21 publications

References 49 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

Ecologically and biophysically optimal allocation of expanded soy production in Bavaria, Germany

Milk Carbon Footprint in Latin American Livestock: effect of dairy system, breed and climate

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