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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Dairy Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409686
Research Project: Forage and Feed Characteristics on Performance, Feed Efficiency, Environmental Impact, and Farm Nutrient Cycling of Dairy Production Systems

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: Estimating carbon balance on farms

Author
item Duff, Alison
item REED, KRISTAN - Cornell University
item Vadas, Peter

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrient Management
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2024
Publication Date: 2/26/2024
Citation: Duff, A., Reed, K., Vadas, P.A. 2024. Estimating carbon balance on farms. Journal of Nutrient Management. February 2024 Issue; https://jofnm.com/article-308-Estimating-carbon-balance-on-farms.html.

Interpretive Summary: Livestock producers, scientists, and industry partners are looking for management practices and technological solutions that will reduce the carbon footprint of animal production systems. Farm carbon balance provides an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage at the farm scale. This requires assessment of the entire farm system, including estimates of emissions from all farm subsystems: field and pasture, feed, herd, manure handling, and farm energy use. This article provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that exist for improving carbon balance in manure-livestock systems, the benefits of manure as a soil amendment, and the decision-support tools that are available or in development for assisting livestock producers in estimating farm carbon balance and other sustainability metrics.

Technical Abstract: Livestock producers, scientists, and industry partners are looking for management practices and technological solutions that will reduce the carbon footprint of animal production systems. Farm carbon balance provides an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage at the farm scale. This requires assessment of the entire farm system, including estimates of emissions from all farm subsystems: field and pasture, feed, herd, manure handling, and farm energy use. This article provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that exist for improving carbon balance in manure-livestock systems, the benefits of manure as a soil amendment, and the decision-support tools that are available or in development for assisting livestock producers in estimating farm carbon balance and other sustainability metrics.