Greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian dairy industry in 2001

Abstract

In order to demonstrate the impact of an increase in production efficiency on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is important to estimate the combined methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions per unit of production. In this study, we calculated the GHG emissions from the Canadian dairy industry in 2001 as a fraction of the milk production and per dairy animal. Five regions were defined according to the importance of the dairy industry. N 2O and CO 2 emissions are directly linked with areas allocated to the dairy crop complex which includes only the crop areas used to feed dairy cattle. The dairy crop complex was scaled down from sector-wide crop areas using the ratios of dairy diet to national crop production of each crop type. Both fertilizer application and on-farm energy consumption were similarly scaled down from sector-wide estimates to the dairy crop complex in each region. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology, adapted for Canadian conditions, was used to calculate CH 4 and N 2O emissions. Most of the CO 2 emission estimates were derived from a Fossil Fuel for Farm Fieldwork Energy and Emissions model except for the energy used to manufacture fertilizers. Methane was estimated to be the main source of GHG, totalling 5.75 Tg CO 2 eq with around 80% coming from enteric fermentation and 20% coming from manure management. Nitrous oxide emissions were equal to 3.17 Tg CO 2 eq and carbon dioxide emissions were equal to 1.45 Tg. The GHG emissions per animal were 4.55 Mg CO 2 eq. On an intensity basis, average GHG emissions were 1.0 kg CO 2 eq/kg milk. Methane emissions per kg of milk were estimated at 19.3 l CH 4/kg milk which is in agreement with Canadian field measurements.