Measures to lower carbon footprint from dairy farms
Researchers have assessed the carbon footprints of dairy farms in 5 European countries. Farm management practices explained up to 79% of the variation in carbon footprints, which implies potential for lowering emissions. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to calculate the environmental impacts of milk production on 71 farms in Ireland, England, Spain, France […]
Sheep spending the entire year on pastures have a lower Carbon Footprint
Pasture can reduce carbon footprint from sheep production by almost one third. Transhumant sheep systems, both by foot and lorry, achieve relatively low carbon footprint, compared to sedentary farms. Mobility of grazing livestock can thus be considered as a strategy to promote climate change mitigation. This is the conclusion in a research paper from […]
Measuring the economic and environmental impact of low carbon dairy farms
Circular pasture-based dairy production. On the Solohead Research Farm in Ireland, Teagasc Livestock Systems are testing systems of pasture-based dairy production with minimal external inputs, and as much internal circularity as possible. Solohead Farm is a hub in a network of 30 commercial Low Carbon Dairy Farms (LCD farms) who wants to implement similar […]
Cows eating left-overs from bakery products may produce more sustainable milk
Bakery by-products as feed ingredient for lactating cows increases milk production and may lower global warming potential. An Italian case study shows promising results for adding bakery by-products as a feed ingredient to lactating cows’ diet. Italy has a high dependency on cereal import from no EU countries. It is challenging the sustainability of […]