scholarly journals The effects of improved performance in the U.S. dairy cattle industry on environmental impacts between 2007 and 2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith L Capper ◽  
Roger A Cady
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Environmental Modeling ◽  
Nutrient Excretion ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The U.S. dairy industry considerably reduced environmental impacts between 1944 and 2007, primarily through improved dairy cow productivity. However, although milk yield per cow has increased over the past decade, whole-system environmental impact analyses have not been conducted over this time period, during which environmental modeling science has improved considerably. The objective of this study was to compare the environmental impact of U.S. dairy cattle production in 2007–2017. A deterministic model based on population demographics, metabolism, and nutrient requirements of dairy cattle was used to estimate resource inputs, nutrient excretion, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per 1.0 × 106 t (one million metric t or MMT) of energy-corrected milk (ECM) produced in 2007 and 2017. System boundaries extended from the manufacture and transport of cropping inputs to milk at the farm gate. Milk transport, processing, and retail were not included. Dairy systems were modeled using typical management practices, herd population dynamics, and production data from U.S. dairy farms. Cropping data were sourced from national databases. The resources required to produce 1.0 MMT ECM in 2017 were considerably reduced relative to those required in 2007, with 2017 production systems using 74.8% of the cattle, 82.7% of the feedstuffs, 79.2% of the land, and 69.5% of the water as compared to 2007. Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with the 2017 U.S. dairy industry producing 79.4%, 82.5%, and 85.7% of the manure, N, and P excretion, respectively. Dairy production in 2017 emitted 80.9% of the CH4 and 81.5% of the N2O per 1.0 MMT ECM compared to 2007. Enteric and manure emissions contributed the major proportion (80%) of GHG emissions per unit of milk, with lesser contributions from cropping (7.6%) and fertilizer application (5.3%). The GHG emissions per 1.0 MMT ECM produced in 2017 were 80.8% of equivalent milk production in 2007. Consequently, although total U.S. ECM production increased by 24.9% between 2007 and 2017, total GHG emissions from this milk production increased by only 1.0%. In line with previous historical analyses, the U.S. dairy industry has made remarkable productivity gains and environmental progress over time. To maintain this culture of continuous improvement, the dairy industry must build on gains made to date and demonstrate its commitment to reducing environmental impacts while improving both economic viability and social acceptability.

Current issues and controversies in assessing the environmental impacts of livestock production.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (044) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith L. Capper
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Specific Practice ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The environment impact of livestock production is one of the most significant issues within agriculture. Global concerns over climate change, resource use, pollution and other environment indicators means that producers must implement practices and systems to reduce environmental impacts, yet this may only be achieved through assessments that allow impacts to be quantified, benchmarked and improved over time. Although environmental indicators are widely accepted, the metrics by which these are assessed continue to evolve over time as assessment objectives gain clarity and focus, and as the science relating to controversial topics (e.g. global warming or carbon sequestration) becomes more refined. however, significant negative trade-offs may occur between different metrics and denominators such that a specific practice or system may appear to have greater or lesser impacts, depending on assessment methodology. A number of tools and models have been developed to empower producers in quantifying environmental impacts, which will be increasingly important is satisfying future consumers' hunger for information as well as food. These tools must be supplied in tandem with information as to the potential consequences of changing management practices and systems. At present however, tools available are based on differing methodologies, are often opaque in their background calculations and do not necessarily account for all the factors that influence environmental impacts from livestock. There is a clear need for robust tools that can be used as standards for assessing environmental impacts from the global livestock industry and that go beyond GHG emissions to produce a more rounded holistic assessment.

DEVELOPMENT OF MILK PRODUCTION IN UKRAINE AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF THE DAIRY COMPLEX

2019 ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Vitalii NITSENKO ◽  
Yuriy I. DANKO
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
The State ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Cattle Breeding ◽  
Starting Point

The aim of the study was to develop theoretical, methodological and practical foundations for achieving the economic sustainability of dairy products by enterprises. The structure of the dairy subcomplex in terms of supply chain management is disclosed. This methodological approach made it possible to outline the external environment of the milk production and the dairy industry as a whole. We consider the category «economic sustainability» as the system ability to maintain its working condition in order to achieve the planned results in the presence of various perturbation effects (destabilizing internal and external factors). The starting point was the hypothesis that the economic sustainability of the dairy subcomplex as a whole depends on the economic sustainability of milk production entities (agricultural enterprises and households). Comparing the profitability level that has the potential to provide dynamic economic stability with the average in the dairy industry proves - without active state support the dairy industry in Ukraine is in danger of phasing out. The analysis of economic practices in Ukraine (in particular, data of the State Statistics Service) allowed to formulate the author's vision of the directions of achieving the dairy sub-sector of the state of dynamic economic stability. They include: the development of industrial dairy cattle as opposed to the dominance of small-scale production; changes in pricing policy, as well as the calculation of government subsidies by reformatting approaches to determining the cost of milk production, which will allow to adjust the reproduction system of own livestock and will increase the profitability of the dairy industry; achievement of higher quality of dairy raw materials by means of logistical re-equipment of farms, improvement of personnel qualification, provision of high sanitary standards, improvement of veterinary services; diversification of milk distribution channels in order to reduce the market power of the processing industry enterprises. Key words: milk production, economic sustainability, dairy subcomplex, industrial cattle breeding, dairy cattle breeding.

scholarly journals Regional Impacts of Federal Milk Marketing Order Policy Alternatives

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Schiek
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
Class I ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Regional Impacts ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Milk Marketing ◽  
The U.S

Impacts of alternative federal milk marketing policies which result in reduced fluid (Class I) milk prices were assessed using a simulation model of the U.S. dairy industry. Results indicated that milk production, farm milk prices and producer revenues were significantly reduced in the Southern and Northeast regions of the country under some options. The regional shares of total U.S. milk production were not significantly altered from those which would exist under a continuation of the current policy.

scholarly journals A Review on Sub Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cattle

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Champak Bhakat
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Complex Disease ◽  
Subclinical Mastitis ◽  
Clinical Mastitis ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Potential Risk Factors

Subclinical mastitis is the most prevalent and economically destructive disease in dairy cattle throughout the country. It is 3–40 times more common than clinical mastitis and causes the greatest overall losses in most dairy herds. It is a multi etiological complex disease which consists infectious and noninfectious agents as potential risk factors. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis in cows increases with increased milk production, unhygienic management practices and with increasing number of lactation. There are no visible changes in the udder or milk but it reduces milk production and adversely affects milk quality. Early detection of sub clinical mastitis can be done by various indirect and direct tests.

Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Dairy Products: A Case Study in Southeast Idaho, USA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brekke Van Slyke ◽  
Amin Mirkouei ◽  
Michael McKellar
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Optimum Operating ◽  
Dairy Processing

Abstract Idaho was the 3rd largest milk producer in the United States in 2019, and the dairy industry remains one of the most considerable sections of the state’s economy. The dairy industry itself has many effects on the environment, and there are many opportunities within this industry to improve its environmental impacts. This paper explores a dairy processing facility (under current operating norms and an improved set of operating conditions) to assess techno-economic aspects, determine the gate-to-gate environmental impacts, and identify critical process parameters. In this study, the environmental impact was determined using the life cycle assessment method to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions in kg CO2 equivalents per kg of packaged milk. The economic assessment was performed, using a life cycle costing analysis method for estimating the net present value, payback period, and total profit of the various scenarios, as well as determining the major cost drivers to the process. The results show that the total environmental impact of 1 kg of packaged milk was between 0.0102 to 0.0125 kg CO2 equivalents. It was also determined that the proposed adjustments to the operating conditions could reduce the heating costs by 84% and the overall annual costs by 16.3%. This study can help provide justification for further research when determining the optimum operating conditions and energy sources for dairy processing equipment and facilities. This includes investigating both real-world and theoretical models when making plans for improving dairy processes.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Building Construction Using Cross-laminated Timber Panel Construction Method: A Case of the Research Building in Kyushu, Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuyuki Nakano ◽  
Masahiko Karube ◽  
Nobuaki Hattori
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Photochemical Oxidation ◽  
Cross Laminated Timber ◽  
Biogenic Carbon

In Japan, there has been an increase in the number of buildings built using cross-laminated timber (CLT) in order to utilize the abundant forest resources in the country. However, no studies have evaluated the environmental impact of the construction of CLT buildings in Japan. This study evaluates the environmental impacts from the start of construction to the completion of a real CLT building in Kumamoto city, Kyushu region, southern Japan. We investigated the input of the materials and energy used in the construction of the building. The environmental impact categories evaluated include climate change, ozone layer depletion, eutrophication, acidification, and photochemical oxidation. We found that the concrete used for the foundations, and the cement-based soil stabilizer used for ground reinforcement accounted for 42% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The construction site was previously used as a seedbed field, necessitating ground reinforcement. Furthermore, the large foundations were designed in order to raise the low height of the wooden structure from the ground level. Developing and applying methods with lower environmental impacts for ground reinforcement and building foundations is recommended. In addition, we found that by using biomass-derived electricity in CLT manufacturing, the environmental impacts of CLT manufacturing could be reduced, thus reducing the environmental impacts of the entire building. The biogenic carbon fixed in the wooden parts during the building usage accounted for 32% of the total GHG emissions of the building construction. Since this biogenic carbon will be released to the atmosphere at the end-of-life stage of the building, a long-term usage of the CLT buildings and/or reuse of the CLT is recommended.

scholarly journals BEEF SPECIES-RUMINANT NUTRITION CACTUS BEEF SYMPOSIUM: A role for beef cattle in sustainable U.S. food production1

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 4010-4020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire B Gleason ◽  
Robin R White
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Beef Industry ◽  
Animal Agriculture ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The increasing global population, limited resource availability, and global focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions put pressure on animal agriculture industries to critically evaluate and optimize the role they play in a sustainable food production system. The objective of this review is to summarize evidence of the various roles that the U.S. beef industry plays in the U.S. and global agricultural systems. As the world’s largest beef producer, the United States reaps considerable economic benefit from the beef industry through strong domestic and international demand, as well as employment opportunities for many Americans. Beef production contributes to GHG emissions, land use, and water use, among other critical environmental impacts but provides an important source of essential micronutrients for human consumption. The U.S. beef industry provides sufficient product to meet the protein, vitamin B12, omega-3 and -6 fatty acid requirements of 43, 137, 47, and 487 million people, respectively. In the United States, beef production was estimated to account for 53% of GHG emissions from U.S. animal agriculture and 25% of GHG emissions from all of U.S. agriculture. Footprinting studies suggest that much of the land use and water use associated with beef production are attributed to the development of feed crops or pastureland. On a global scale, beef from U.S. origin is exported to numerous developed and developing countries, representing an important international nutrient routing. Along with other prominent beef-producing nations, the United States continues to pursue a greater level of sustainability in its cattle industry, which will bear important implications for future global food security. Efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of beef production will likely be the strongest drivers of enhanced sustainability.

scholarly journals Towards a methodology to formulate sustainable diets for livestock: accounting for environmental impact in diet formulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (10) ◽  
pp. 1860-1874 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Mackenzie ◽  
I. Leinonen ◽  
N. Ferguson ◽  
I. Kyriazakis
Keyword(s):  
Energy Density ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Renewable Resource ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Nutrient Excretion ◽  
Diet Formulation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe objective of this study was to develop a novel methodology that enables pig diets to be formulated explicitly for environmental impact objectives using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. To achieve this, the following methodological issues had to be addressed: (1) account for environmental impacts caused by both ingredient choice and nutrient excretion, (2) formulate diets for multiple environmental impact objectives and (3) allow flexibility to identify the optimal nutritional composition for each environmental impact objective. An LCA model based on Canadian pig farms was integrated into a diet formulation tool to compare the use of different ingredients in Eastern and Western Canada. By allowing the feed energy content to vary, it was possible to identify the optimum energy density for different environmental impact objectives, while accounting for the expected effect of energy density on feed intake. A least-cost diet was compared with diets formulated to minimise the following objectives: non-renewable resource use, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, global warming potential and a combined environmental impact score (using these four categories). The resulting environmental impacts were compared using parallel Monte Carlo simulations to account for shared uncertainty. When optimising diets to minimise a single environmental impact category, reductions in the said category were observed in all cases. However, this was at the expense of increasing the impact in other categories and higher dietary costs. The methodology can identify nutritional strategies to minimise environmental impacts, such as increasing the nutritional density of the diets, compared with the least-cost formulation.

scholarly journals Short communication: Impact of the intensity of milk production on ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions in Portuguese cattle farms

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. e06SC05 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Pereira ◽  
Henrique Trindade
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Manure Management ◽  
Gaseous Emissions ◽  
Cattle Farm ◽  
Enteric Fermentation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cattle Farms

<p>The aim of this study was evaluate the relationship between the intensity of milk production for a wide range of Portuguese commercial cattle farms and NH<sub>3</sub> and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure management and enteric fermentation. A survey was carried out at 1471 commercial dairy cattle farms (Holstein-Friesian) and the NH<sub>3</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions at each stage of manure management were estimated as well as CH<sub>4</sub> losses from enteric fermentation. Gaseous emissions were estimated by a mass flow approach and following the recommendations of IPCC guidelines. The manure management and enteric fermentation in a typical Portuguese cattle farm contributes with 7.5±0.15 g N/L milk produced as NH<sub>3</sub> and 1.2±0.22 kg CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent per litre of milk as GHG. Increasing milk production will significantly reduce NH<sub>3</sub> and GHG emissions per litre of milk produced. It can be concluded that a win-win strategy for reducing NH<sub>3</sub> and GHG emissions from dairy cattle farms will be the increase of milk production on these farms. This goal can be achieved by implementing animal breeding programs and improving feed efficiency in order to increase productivity.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing costs and environmental impacts of municipal food waste treatment options in Columbia, Missouri : a decision support tool integrating life cycle analysis and robust optimization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lydia Schreiber
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Average Case ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Feed Production

Many municipal governments currently have goals in place to align with global efforts and policy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions and take advantage of waste as a resource for renewable energy and nutrients. To meet specified goals and targets, decisionmakers need data-driven analysis to understand both the costs and environmental impacts of their plans. This study develops a decision support tool applied in Columbia, Missouri, USA, with aims to model the economic and environmental tradeoffs in solid waste management decisions for the collection and treatment of food waste in the municipal solid waste stream while considering existing infrastructure and uncertainty in environmental impact data. The tool uses life cycle analysis environmental impact data from literature and cost data from case-studies to simulate both a FW collection route and the processing of FW through various potential and existing treatment options (anaerobic digestion, anaerobic co-digestion with sewage sludge, composting, landfilling, dry animal feed production, wet animal feed production). The model calculates the cost and greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation and treatment processes in each simulation. The tool can choose the best FW management scenario for the objective of minimizing cost or minimizing GHG emissions. Robust optimization incorporates uncertainty into the model by allowing environmental impacts for any FW treatment option to assume a maximum or minimum of a range of values from literature, representing the worst- and best-case values for environmental performance, respectively. Average case results indicate that a minimum cost scenario uses a combination of landfilling and composting FW that results in net positive GHG emissions. To minimize environmental impact, the average case results favor anaerobic digestion, a scenario which results in net negative GHG emissions. Compared to the minimum cost scenario, the transportation costs in the minimum impact scenario are similar, while the costs to treat the FW are nearly nine times higher. Robust results focus on variability in environmental impacts. In the model results, anaerobic digestion is favored when assuming its minimum environmental impact value but is outperformed by other options when anaerobic digestion assumes the maximum of its possible range. All considered options outperform landfilling, but the rankings among landfilling alternatives depend highly on assumptions regarding offsets estimated in life cycle assessment. Without any offsets, wet animal feed production is the best FW treatment solution. Environmental impact of transportation in this model is not influential. The results demonstrate the importance of model assumptions, uncertainty in life cycle GHG estimates, and consideration of existing infrastructure in determining the optimal scenarios.

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