Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia

In Colombia, cattle production is responsible for 31% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector. Dairy farms account for 15% of the Colombian cattle herd. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from these farms are not common, and when performed, are based on a small numbe...

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Autores principales: González Quintero, Ricardo, Barahona Rosales, Rolando, Chirinda, Ngonidzashe, Arango, Jacobo, Pantevez, Heiber Alexander, Bolívar Vergara, Diana María, Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange
Formato: Conference Proceedings
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103768
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author González Quintero, Ricardo
Barahona Rosales, Rolando
Chirinda, Ngonidzashe
Arango, Jacobo
Pantevez, Heiber Alexander
Bolívar Vergara, Diana María
Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange
author_browse Arango, Jacobo
Barahona Rosales, Rolando
Bolívar Vergara, Diana María
Chirinda, Ngonidzashe
González Quintero, Ricardo
Pantevez, Heiber Alexander
Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange
author_facet González Quintero, Ricardo
Barahona Rosales, Rolando
Chirinda, Ngonidzashe
Arango, Jacobo
Pantevez, Heiber Alexander
Bolívar Vergara, Diana María
Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange
author_sort González Quintero, Ricardo
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In Colombia, cattle production is responsible for 31% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector. Dairy farms account for 15% of the Colombian cattle herd. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from these farms are not common, and when performed, are based on a small number of farms. LCA is important because the identification of appropriate GHG mitigation actions requires larger data sets. This study quantified the carbon footprints (CF) on 192 dairy farms in Colombia by using LCA methodology. Farms were classified according to their herd size: small (0-30 animals; n=94), medium (31-50; n=32), large (>50; n=66). Emissions were estimated using the GHG emission factors reported in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and locally estimated emission factors. A “cradle to farm gate” system boundary was established, and a physical allocation method proposed by the International Dairy Federation, was used to distribute GHG emissions between co-products. The functional units were 1 kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) and 1 kg live weight gain (LWG). The CF (kg CO2-eq kg-1FPCM/LWG) for medium (1.6 FPCM and 13.8 LWG) and large farmers (1.6 FPCM and 13.1 LWG) were the lowest among the categories. The medium and large farm categories were characterized by implementing better pasture and herd management practices, by the highest milk productivity (3240.8 and 3645.6 kgFPCM Cow-1Year-1) and stocking rate (4.5 AU ha-1;4.4 AU ha-1). It is possible to improve the environmental performance of farms by increasing productivity and adopting better agricultural practices.
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spelling CGSpace1037682025-11-05T16:31:12Z Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia González Quintero, Ricardo Barahona Rosales, Rolando Chirinda, Ngonidzashe Arango, Jacobo Pantevez, Heiber Alexander Bolívar Vergara, Diana María Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange global warming greenhouse gases livestock production systems agriculture In Colombia, cattle production is responsible for 31% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector. Dairy farms account for 15% of the Colombian cattle herd. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from these farms are not common, and when performed, are based on a small number of farms. LCA is important because the identification of appropriate GHG mitigation actions requires larger data sets. This study quantified the carbon footprints (CF) on 192 dairy farms in Colombia by using LCA methodology. Farms were classified according to their herd size: small (0-30 animals; n=94), medium (31-50; n=32), large (>50; n=66). Emissions were estimated using the GHG emission factors reported in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and locally estimated emission factors. A “cradle to farm gate” system boundary was established, and a physical allocation method proposed by the International Dairy Federation, was used to distribute GHG emissions between co-products. The functional units were 1 kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) and 1 kg live weight gain (LWG). The CF (kg CO2-eq kg-1FPCM/LWG) for medium (1.6 FPCM and 13.8 LWG) and large farmers (1.6 FPCM and 13.1 LWG) were the lowest among the categories. The medium and large farm categories were characterized by implementing better pasture and herd management practices, by the highest milk productivity (3240.8 and 3645.6 kgFPCM Cow-1Year-1) and stocking rate (4.5 AU ha-1;4.4 AU ha-1). It is possible to improve the environmental performance of farms by increasing productivity and adopting better agricultural practices. 2019-08 2019-09-26T14:17:58Z 2019-09-26T14:17:58Z Conference Proceedings https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103768 en Open Access application/pdf González Quintero, Ricardo; Barahona-Rosales, Rolando; Chirinda, Ngonidzashe; Arango, Jacobo; Pantevez, Heiber Alexander; Bolívar-Vergara, Diana María; Sánchez-Pinzón, María Solange (2019). Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia. In: August 4-10 of 2019 Conference: Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture Conference (GGAA). 1p. At: Brazil
spellingShingle global warming
greenhouse gases
livestock
production systems
agriculture
González Quintero, Ricardo
Barahona Rosales, Rolando
Chirinda, Ngonidzashe
Arango, Jacobo
Pantevez, Heiber Alexander
Bolívar Vergara, Diana María
Sánchez Pinzón, María Solange
Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title_full Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title_fullStr Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title_full_unstemmed Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title_short Life Cycle Assessment of small, medium and large dairy cattle farms in Colombia
title_sort life cycle assessment of small medium and large dairy cattle farms in colombia
topic global warming
greenhouse gases
livestock
production systems
agriculture
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103768
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