Carbon Footprint of a Typical Crop–Livestock Dairy Farm in Northeast China

Abstract

Dairy farming is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the livestock sector. In order to identify the key emission links and the best emission-reduction strategies for combined dairy farms, this study selected a typical large-scale combined dairy farm in northeast China, constructed a carbon emission model based on the lifecycle assessment concept, and set up different emission reduction scenarios to explore the zero-carbon pathway for combined dairy farms. The results showed that: (1) enteric fermentation and manure management of cows are important sources of carbon emissions from the seeding-integrated dairy farms, accounting for 38.2% and 29.4% of the total, respectively; (2) the seeding-integrated system showed a 10.6% reduction in carbon footprint compared with the non-seeding-integrated system; and (3) scenarios 1–4 reduced carbon emissions by 9%, 20%, 42%, and 61% compared with the baseline scenario, respectively. Therefore, the integrated-farming model is important for the green development of animal husbandry, and as the “net-zero” goal cannot be achieved at present, integrated-farming dairy farms have the potential for further emission reduction. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for low-carbon milk production.

Keywords

• lifecycle assessment
• greenhouse gas emissions
• milk production
• assessment methodology
• scenario analysis