Leveraging dairy cattle to upcycle culled citrus fruit for emission mitigation and resource co-benefits: A case study

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable wastes are the largest components of global food loss and waste (FLW), leading to tremendous management, resource, and environmental burdens. The objective of this study is to find ways for effectively upcycling fruit waste via dairy cattle and to assess multiple sustainability benefits. Fresh citrus waste from a fruit processing center was incorporated into treatment diet (7.1 kg cow−1 day−1), fed to 160 cows for 24 days at a research dairy facility, in comparison with control diet. Additionally, at a commercial dairy farm, fresh citrus waste was co-ensiled with grass hay to prevent spoilage and preserve the feeding value, the resulting silage subsequently incorporated into diet and fed to lactating cows. Both feeding trials supported cow productivity and lowered feed cost. Sustainability implications were quantitatively assessed, including GHG emission mitigation and the sparing of land, water, fertilizer and herbicide uses due to substitution of conventional feed ingredients.