Consequential Life Cycle Assessment of Pasture‐based Milk Production: A Case Study in the Waikato Region, New Zealand

Chobtang, Jeerasak; McLaren, Susan; Ledgard, S. F.; Donaghy, DJ

doi:10.1111/jiec.12484

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…When local emission factors for N 2 O emissions from urine and dung [37] and those from Table 4 were taking into account, the C footprint for scenarios including pasture, without accounting for sequestered CO 2 -C from perennial pasture-0.91 kg CO 2 e (kg ECM) -1 -was lower than the range of values described above. However, these values were still greater than high-performance confinement systems in UK and USA [53] or grass based dairy systems in Ireland [9,53] and New Zealand [8,54], which ranged from 0.52 to 0.89 kg CO 2 e (kg ECM) -1 . Regardless of which emission factor was used, we found a lower C footprint in all conditions compared to scenarios with lower milk production per cow or in poor conditions of manure management, which ranged from 1.4 to 2.3 kg CO 2 e (kg ECM) -1 [8,55].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 85%

Potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through different dairy cattle systems in subtropical regions

2020

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Carbon (C) footprint of dairy production, expressed in kg C dioxide (CO 2) equivalents (CO 2 e) (kg energy-corrected milk (ECM))-1 , encompasses emissions from feed production, diet management and total product output. The proportion of pasture on diets may affect all these factors, mainly in subtropical climate zones, where cows may access tropical and temperate pastures during warm and cold seasons, respectively. The aim of the study was to assess the C footprint of a dairy system with annual tropical and temperate pastures in a subtropical region. The system boundary included all processes up to the animal farm gate. Feed requirement during the entire life of each cow was based on data recorded from Holstein × Jersey cow herds producing an average of 7,000 kg ECM lactation-1. The milk production response as consequence of feed strategies (scenarios) was based on results from two experiments (warm and cold seasons) using lactating cows from the same herd. Three scenarios were evaluated: total mixed ration (TMR) ad libitum intake, 75, and 50% of ad libitum TMR intake with access to grazing either a tropical or temperate pasture during lactation periods. Considering IPCC and international literature values to estimate emissions from urine/dung, feed production and electricity, the C footprint was similar between scenarios, averaging 1.06 kg CO 2 e (kg ECM)-1. Considering factors from studies conducted in subtropical conditions and actual inputs for on-farm feed production, the C footprint decreased 0.04 kg CO 2 e (kg ECM)-1 in scenarios including pastures compared to ad libitum TMR. Regardless of factors considered, emissions from feed production decreased as the proportion of pasture went up. In conclusion, decreasing TMR intake and including pastures in dairy cow diets in subtropical conditions have the potential to maintain or reduce the C footprint to a small extent.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 85%

Potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through different dairy cattle systems in subtropical regions

2020

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“…These studies have been reviewed and summarized by Baldini et al (2016), de Vries and de Boer (2010), and Yan et al (2011). Additionally, there are a few studies using consequential LCA to assess environmental impacts of future dairy farming systems (Chobtang et al, 2016c;Dalgaard et al, 2014;Nguyen et al, 2013;Thomassen et al, 2008). As consequential LCA accounts only for marginal technologies, as opposed to average technologies (Ekvall and Weidema, 2004;Weidema, 2003), the results derived from consequential LCA studies do not represent the average situation.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental trade-offs associated with intensification methods in a pasture-based dairy system using prospective attributional Life Cycle Assessment

Chobtang

McLaren

Ledgard

et al. 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

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“…These are all products with relatively high carbon footprints (see, for example, Chobtang et al. , ), economic values, and calories compared with many other agri‐food products on a mass basis (e.g., many cereals, fruits, and vegetables); however, the yield per hectare is low compared with many other major agri‐food products (e.g., maize, potatoes, sugar cane). Therefore, the carbon budget for the NZ agri‐food sector is relatively high when using the grandfathering, economic, and calorific content methods, and low when using the agri‐land method.…”

Section: The Aslca Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Absolute Sustainability‐Based Life Cycle Assessment (ASLCA): A Benchmarking Approach to Operate Agri‐food Systems within the 2°C Global Carbon Budget

Chandrakumar

McLaren

Jayamaha

et al. 2018

J of Industrial Ecology

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Given the increasing environmental impacts associated with global agri-food systems, operating and developing these systems within the so-called absolute environmental boundaries has become crucial, and hence the absolute environmental sustainability concept is particularly relevant. This study introduces an approach called absolute sustainability-based life cycle assessment (ASLCA) that informs the climate impacts of an agri-food system (on any economic level) in absolute terms. First, a global carbon budget was calculated that is sufficient to limit global warming to below 2°C. Next, a share of the carbon budget available to the global agri-food sector was estimated, and then it was shared between agri-food systems on multiple economic levels using four alternative methods. Third, the climate impacts of those systems were calculated using life cycle assessment methodology and were benchmarked against those carbon budget shares. This approach was used to assess a number of New Zealand agri-food systems (agri-food sector, horticulture industries and products) to investigate how these systems operated relative to their carbon budget shares. The results showed that, in 2013, the New Zealand agri-food systems were within their carbon budget shares for one of the four methods, and illustrated the scale of change required for agri-food systems to perform within their carbon budget shares. This method can potentially be extended to consider other environmental impacts with global boundaries; however, further development of the ASLCA is necessary to account for other environmental impacts whose boundaries are only meaningful when defined at a regional or local level. Keywords:absolute environmental sustainability agri-food carbon budget climate change industrial ecology life cycle assessment Supporting information is linked to this article on the JIE website

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Consequential Life Cycle Assessment of Pasture‐based Milk Production: A Case Study in the Waikato Region, New Zealand

Cited by 10 publications

References 62 publications

Potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through different dairy cattle systems in subtropical regions

Potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through different dairy cattle systems in subtropical regions

Environmental trade-offs associated with intensification methods in a pasture-based dairy system using prospective attributional Life Cycle Assessment

Absolute Sustainability‐Based Life Cycle Assessment (ASLCA): A Benchmarking Approach to Operate Agri‐food Systems within the 2°C Global Carbon Budget

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