Abstract
Extensive dairy production in less favorable production areas has a long tradition in Austria. Nevertheless, dairy production also contributes considerable environmental impacts (EIs), e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient losses, and land use. Therefore, 20 organic dairy farms located in the Lungau region in Austria were assessed concerning their EIs via life cycle assessment (LCA). Cumulative exergy demand (CExD), normalized eutrophication potential (EP), aquatic ecotoxicity potential (AE), and global warming potential (GWP) were considered as impact categories to describe the farms' EIs. The farms were part of a pilot project aiming to produce high-quality dairy products and keep production cycles closed within the project region. Consequently, the purchase of key off-farm resources was only possible within the project region. We adapted existing life cycle inventories to account for those regional resource purchases. Subsequently, the EIs of the 20 farms were related to the functional units (FUs) of 1 kg energy-corrected milk (ECM) and 1 ha agricultural area for milk production and compared to a representative model dairy farm (MDF) that was created based on statistical data and average production values of organic Austrian dairy farms. Compared to the MDF, results show an ~58% lower EP per ha and 44% per kg ECM of the Lungau farms. Further, the CExD per ha was about 24% lower due to a lower use of resources caused by the lower production intensity of the Lungau farms. Regarding GWP, Lungau farms are favorable considering 1 ha as the FU, whereas the MDF seems advantageous if 1 kg ECM is used as the FU. However, caused by a high variation of purchased roughage and the lower production intensity, the Lungau farms cause higher AE, regardless of the FU. Overall, we identified three principal production parameters determining the environmental performance of milk production in a closed production cycle in a less favorable area, namely, (1) the stocking rate, (2) the fed concentrate, and (3) the purchased roughage. Using those inputs at moderate intensity, the extensively managed Lungau farms can competitively contribute to producing food, thus highlighting the importance of site-adapted agriculture.
Highlights
The further goal of the study was to compare the resource use and environmental impacts (EIs) of the 20 farms to a model dairy farm (MDF) representative for organic milk production in Austria to assess the environmental performance of milk production in a less favorable production area in Austria and its principal determining production parameters
The absolute values of the four considered EIs (CExD, global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential (EP), and aquatic ecotoxicity potential (AE)) comprising direct and indirect emissions of the 20 Lungau farms and the MDF are given in Supplementary Table 3
We present the median values for the Lungau farms, and the EIs were normalized to the maximum value to indicate EIs, where further action of the Lungau farms might be needed
Summary
Modern agriculture has been facing a seemingly paradoxical challenge. On the other hand, agriculture causes substantial environmental impacts (EIs) and contributes significantly to climate change (FAO, 2018). Agriculture and especially livestock production currently account for about 24 and 14.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, respectively (FAO, 2018). Foley et al (2011) identified both agricultural expansion [mainly in the tropics where it replaces forests (Gibbs et al, 2010)] and intensification as major contributors to climate change. Intensification has increased dramatically over the last decades and caused increased energy use, degradation of aquatic ecosystems, and reduced biodiversity (Matson et al, 1997; Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008; Canfield et al, 2010; Foley et al, 2011)
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