Increasing Dairy Sustainability with Integrated Crop–Livestock Farming

Susanne Wiesner, Alison J. Duff, Ankur R. Desai and Kevin Panke-Buisse
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Susanne Wiesner: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Alison J. Duff: U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Madison, 53706, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578, USA
Ankur R. Desai: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Kevin Panke-Buisse: U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Madison, 53706, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Dairy farms are predominantly carbon sources, due to high livestock emissions from enteric fermentation and manure. Integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLSs) have the potential to offset these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as recycling products within the farm boundaries is prioritized. Here, we quantify seasonal and annual greenhouse gas budgets of an ICLS dairy farm in Wisconsin USA using satellite remote sensing to estimate vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines to calculate farm emissions. Remotely sensed annual vegetation NPP correlated well with farm harvest NPP (R 2 = 0.9). As a whole, the farm was a large carbon sink, owing to natural vegetation carbon sinks and harvest products staying within the farm boundaries. Dairy cows accounted for 80% of all emissions as their feed intake dominated farm feed supply. Manure emissions (15%) were low because manure spreading was frequent throughout the year. In combination with soil conservation practices, ICLS farming provides a sustainable means of producing nutritionally valuable food while contributing to sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 . Here, we introduce a simple and cost-efficient way to quantify whole-farm GHG budgets, which can be used by farmers to understand their carbon footprint, and therefore may encourage management strategies to improve agricultural sustainability.

Keywords: dairy farm; carbon budget; remote sensing; net primary productivity; greenhouse gas emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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