The demand for milk and dairy products is increasing, and this raises a question on the environmental performance of the agri-food sector. The objective of this work is to evaluate the environmental impacts of raw milk production through two case studies of two different farms located in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. The farms, which are situated in the towns of Brunico and Monguelfo, are characterized by activities occurring on a small scale and at a high altitude. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of raw milk production was performed in order to quantify the environmental burden involved up to farm gate, using 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk as functional unit. The production was modeled according to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method and following the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for dairy products. As such, 19 impact categories were evaluated through OpenLCA software v1.11. The results indicated a relatively higher environmental impact in the farm of Brunico. 6 processes were considered to perform a contribution analysis in each farm: on-farm water use, on-farm feed production, purchased feed, energy resources, enteric fermentation and manure management. Based on the outcomes, feed production on farm field and feed purchase from outside the farm boundaries proved to be the major hotspots in raw milk production under most impact categories in both Brunico and Monguelfo. To further investigate the outcome of the LCA, a comparison was made between the results of the two case studies and the results of a literature study. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the effect of the modification of factors related to manure handling on the environmental impacts. The results of the present work could serve to propose some mitigation strategies to be implemented in the dairy sector.
La domanda di latte e prodotti lattiero-caseari è in aumento, e questo solleva un interrogativo sulle prestazioni ambientali del settore agroalimentare. L'obiettivo di questo lavoro è la valutazione degli impatti ambientali della produzione di latte crudo attraverso due casi di studio di due diversi allevamenti situati nella provincia autonoma di Bolzano. Gli allevamenti, situati nei comuni di Brunico e Monguelfo, sono caratterizzati da attività agricole svolte su piccola scala e in alta quota. Nel lavoro è stata eseguita una valutazione del ciclo di vita (LCA) della produzione di latte al fine di quantificare l’imbatto ambientale generato dall’attività, utilizzando 1 kg di latte corretto per in funzione del contenuto di grassi e proteine. La produzione è stata modellata secondo il metodo Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) e seguendo le Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) per i prodotti lattiero-caseari. Pertanto, 19 categorie di impatto sono state valutate tramite il software OpenLCA v1.11. I risultati hanno indicato un impatto ambientale relativamente più elevato nell'azienda agricola di Brunico. L’analisi del contributo agli impatti in ciascuna azienda agricola è stata svolta considerando 6 processi: uso dell'acqua in azienda, produzione di mangime in azienda, mangime acquistato, risorse energetiche, fermentazione enterica e gestione del letame. Sulla base dei risultati, la produzione di mangimi sul campo e l'acquisto di mangimi al di fuori dei confini dell'azienda si sono rivelati i principali punti critici nella produzione di latte crudo nelle categorie di maggiore impatto sia a Brunico che a Monguelfo. Per indagare ulteriormente l'esito dell'LCA, è stato effettuato un confronto tra i risultati di due casi di studio ei risultati di uno studio di letteratura. Infine, sono state condotte due analisi di sensibilità per esaminare l'effetto della modifica dei fattori legati alla manipolazione del letame sugli impatti ambientali. I risultati di questo lavoro potrebbero servire a proporre alcune strategie di mitigazione da attuare nel settore lattiero-caseario.
Life cycle assessment of raw milk production in the autonomous province of Bolzano
Kallam, Iman;Abdallah, Rouba
2022/2023
Abstract
The demand for milk and dairy products is increasing, and this raises a question on the environmental performance of the agri-food sector. The objective of this work is to evaluate the environmental impacts of raw milk production through two case studies of two different farms located in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. The farms, which are situated in the towns of Brunico and Monguelfo, are characterized by activities occurring on a small scale and at a high altitude. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of raw milk production was performed in order to quantify the environmental burden involved up to farm gate, using 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk as functional unit. The production was modeled according to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method and following the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for dairy products. As such, 19 impact categories were evaluated through OpenLCA software v1.11. The results indicated a relatively higher environmental impact in the farm of Brunico. 6 processes were considered to perform a contribution analysis in each farm: on-farm water use, on-farm feed production, purchased feed, energy resources, enteric fermentation and manure management. Based on the outcomes, feed production on farm field and feed purchase from outside the farm boundaries proved to be the major hotspots in raw milk production under most impact categories in both Brunico and Monguelfo. To further investigate the outcome of the LCA, a comparison was made between the results of the two case studies and the results of a literature study. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the effect of the modification of factors related to manure handling on the environmental impacts. The results of the present work could serve to propose some mitigation strategies to be implemented in the dairy sector.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/212623