One of the problematic sectors according to GHG and ammonia emissions quantities is agriculture. Without endangering food production (and in order to intensify), greenhouse gas emissions from all sources in animal husbandry will be comprehensively reduced by applying a holistic process management model to one of the most popular cowsheds in Lithuania (260-seat boxing cowshed, cows are milked on site, computerized management of technological processes, productivity 8600 kg of milk, barn system, liquid manure). Considering the cow keeping technology applied on the farm, the equipment used and the feed production and ration system, a model for the management of technological parameters of production processes is prepared for the farm. This model is a trade-off between animal welfare, cow productivity, production costs and GHG and ammonia emissions. The aim of adapting the integrated model is to fully control, manage and optimize milk production processes through bio- and engineering innovations, to implement climate-friendly feed production, feeding and feed rationing systems, to improve animal housing and working conditions and to reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions without increasing production costs. The environmental impact assessment was performed with SimaPro 9.1 process modeling software. Data from milk production, biomass cultivation, and feed preparation, transportation, and equipment were used from the Ecoinvent v3 database. Based on the LML-I calculation methodology, the effect of processes was determined. In order to quantify the potential emissions in the dairy farm, the emission factors were estimated using a life cycle assessment method, per functional unit - 1000 kg of standardized milk. Grass silage, bread silage and feed concentrate were found to account for the largest share of gas emissions - 26.09% (107.39 kg CO2 eq. FU-1), 22.70% (93.44 kg CO2 eq. FU-1) and 21.85% (89.92). kg CO2 eq FU-1) - total CO2 emissions during the process. Considering the critical points of the classic SC scenario, the cultivation technology has been adjusted, where 50% of N fertilizers are replaced by BIO products. Both scenarios (Classic SC and Bio SC) were evaluated for comparison. The use of biopreparations in the categories reduced the environmental impact from 0.1% to 45.7% in dairy production technology grass silage, barley grain, hay production and corn silage stocks. The carbon footprint of the average Lithuanian dairy farm was also lower, i. 392.75 / 1000 = 0.393 kg CO2 eq kg-1 milk). Based on this methodology, it is possible to assess many dairy farms and address critical points in an integrated way, which can help to improve the quality of dairy production and the environment.
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Air pollution control applying optimal milk production management
Published:
10 February 2022
by MDPI
in 1st International Online Conference on Agriculture - Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology
session Poster Session
https://doi.org/10.3390/IOCAG2022-12205
(registering DOI)
Abstract:
Keywords: biopreparations; ammonia emissions reduction; manure; environment; management