Transcript 4.1 Natural Resources, Allan Burgess, President ADF

Whole farm systems analysis
of greenhouse gas emission
abatement strategies for dairy
farms
Richard Rawnsley, Karen Christie, and Rob Kildare
Climate Change
Warming of the climate system is
unequivocal
Humans are very likely to be causing
most of the warming that has been
experienced since 1950
It is very likely that changes in the global
climate system will continue well into the
future, and that they will be larger than
those seen in the recent past, (IPCC,
2007).
Increase in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG),is
widely believed to be responsible for the observed increase in global
mean temperatures through the 20th century, Source - BOM, 2008
Greenhouse gases
On earth the most
abundant GHG’s
are
 water vapour
 carbon dioxide
 methane
 nitrous oxide
 ozone
 CFCs
Source, Technical summary; in Climate Change 2001: The
Scientific Basis, (ed.) J.T. Houghton, Y. Ding, D.J. Griggs, M.
Noguer, P.J. van der Linden, X. Dai, K. Maskell and C.A.
Johnson
Greenhouse gases
Australia’s net GHG emissions
totalled 576 Mt CO2 –e,
approximately 1.2% of world’s
GHG emissions
Source, Australian Greenhouse Office, (2006)
Agricultural responsible for
 84% of the nitrous oxide and
 59% of the emissions of methane
Source, Australian Greenhouse Office, (2006)
Greenhouse gases
Agriculture emissions come from:
Enteric fermentation in livestock: Emissions associated with microbial
fermentation during digestion of feed by ruminant (mostly cattle and sheep) and
some non-ruminant domestic livestock
Manure management: Emissions associated with the decomposition of animal
wastes while held in manure management systems
Rice cultivation: Methane emissions from anaerobic decay of plant and other
organic material when rice fields are flooded
Agricultural soils: Emissions associated with the application of fertilisers, crop
residues and animal wastes to agricultural lands and the use of biological N fixing
crops and pastures
Prescribed burning of savannas: Emissions associated with the burning of tropical
savanna and temperate grasslands for pasture management, fuel reduction, and
prevention of wildfires
Field burning of agricultural residues: emissions from field burning of cereal and
other crop stubble, and the emissions from burning sugar cane prior to harvest.
Dairy GHG Abatement
Project
Agriculture and in particular dairy presents a new set of challenges for
emissions benchmarking that is not reflected in other sectors.
Project objectives
 Identify methods of validating GHG emissions and abatement
 Quantify the GHG emissions (including embedded emissions in key
inputs) from three typical dairy farming systems
 Quantify the impacts of a range of GHG abatement strategies
 Develop a abatement calculator for dairy farm systems
Abatement Strategies
GHG emissions
Enteric Methane
Herd based strategies
10-20% potential
Extended lactations
Reduced herd size
Higher FCE
Extended longevity
in the herd
Research undertaken in
Australia and New
Zealand has identified an
array of potential
abatement strategies for
dairy farm systems.
Feed based strategies
10-20% potential
Feeding fats & oils
Feeding condensed tannins
Feeding ionophores
Maximise diet digestibility
Nitrous oxide
Herd based strategies
10-50% potential reduction
in urinary nitrogen
Condensed tannins
Nitrification inhibitors in urine
Higher FCE
Balance crude protein in the diet
Soil based strategies
10-20% potential
Nitrification inhibitors
Stand-off pads during winter
Improved drainage
Improved irrigation management
Fertiliser managementrate/ timing/ formulation
GHG emission sources from
dairy
Total farm
Tree plantings
N2O - Indirect
On farm N2O
N2O - Dung, Urine & Spread
N2O - N Fertiliser
N2O - Effluent ponds
CH4 - Effluent ponds
On farm CH4
CH4 - Enteric
On farm CO2
CO2 -Energy
Fuel production
Other feed sources
Grain
Pre-farm
Herbicide
TMR
HSF
LSF
Fertiliser
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
GHG emission (t CO2-e)
3000
3500
4000
Intensity of GHG emissions
The intensity of GHG’s is the amount of GHG’s produced per unit
of product
The intensity of GHG’s can be reduced in two ways:
 Increasing output per unit of emissions, or
 Lowering emissions per unit of output
4000
Total farm GHG emissions (t CO2-e)
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
LSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
HSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
TMR
Intensity of GHG emissions
The intensity of GHG’s is the amount of GHG’s produced per unit
of product
The intensity of GHG’s can be reduced in two ways:
 Increasing output per unit of emissions, or
 Lowering emissions per unit of output
4000
20
Total farm GHG emissions (t CO2-e)
16
3000
14
2500
12
2000
10
8
1500
6
1000
4
500
2
0
0
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
LSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
HSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
TMR
GHG emissions/ t MS (t CO2-e/t MS)
18
3500
Intensity of GHG emissions
The intensity of GHG’s is the amount of GHG’s produced per unit
of product
The intensity of GHG’s can be reduced in two ways:
 Increasing output per unit of emissions, or
 Lowering emissions per unit of output
4000
20
Total farm GHG emissions (t CO2-e)
16
3000
14
2500
12
2000
10
8
1500
6
1000
4
500
2
0
0
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
LSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
HSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
TMR
GHG emissions/ t MS (t CO2-e/t MS)
18
3500
Intensity of GHG emissions
The intensity of GHG’s is the amount of GHG’s produced per unit
of product
The intensity of GHG’s can be reduced in two ways:
 Increasing output per unit of emissions, or
 Lowering emissions per unit of output
20
18
3500
16
3000
14
2500
12
2000
10
8
1500
6
1000
4
500
2
0
0
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
LSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
HSF
Baseline
Abatement
strategy
TMR
GHG emissions/ t MS (t CO2-e/t MS)
Total farm GHG emissions (t CO2-e)
4000
The way forward
 Profitability versus emission reduction. Need to focus
on win-win abatement strategies
 Emissions reporting – how ?
 Formulate emission factors that are more location
specific
 Maintain a research focus where maximum results
can be achieved
 A CPRS should not diminish our international
competitive advantage
 Develop approaches to the emerging conflict between
adaptation to CC and GHG abatement
(eg. extensification vs intensification)