Can technology mitigate the environmental impact of dairy farms?

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the adoption of precision technologies in dairy cattle farms on environmental impact of milk production, estimated using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Primary data were collected from five dairy farms. Based on this information, scenarios were created to evaluate the effect of introducing an Automated Milking System (AMS) and adopting technologies for udder health monitoring and heat detection. Comparisons among scenarios showed that the application of these technologies helps to reduce the environmental impact of milk production at the farm level. The introduction of the AMS resulted in a mitigation of 1.2–5.8% of Global Warming Potential (GWP) per kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM). The implementation of technological systems for udder health monitoring led to a decrease in GWP per kg FPCM of 0.06–0.04% for every 5% increase in the detection of infected cows. The use of automatic systems for heat detection reduced GWP of 1 kg of FPCM by 9.4%, Acidification by more than 10% and Land use 5.65–7.69%. The effectiveness of precision technologies on environmental impact mitigation depends not only on their implementation and reliability but also on how the information provided is used by farmer.