The environmental impact of milk production is drawing increasing attention. The integrated maize silage planting and dairy breeding system (IPBS) is regarded as a sustainable way to recycle manure, reduce chemical fertilizer consumption and improve soil quality. However, the cumulative environmental impact and mitigation potential of this system remains unclear. In particular, what is the effect of this model in reducing greenhouse gas emissions? How about resource conservation and its environmental impact? These are important issues in promoting low-carbon production and high-quality development of the dairy cow breeding industry in China.

The Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) conducted a study based on data from dairy farms in Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces. Using the methods of life cycle assessment (LCA), ordinary least square (OLS), and scenario analysis were used to compare environmental performance of non-IPBS and IPBS in milk production in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, soil acidification, water eutrophication, energy consumption, water consumption, and land use, the team explored the determinants that affect the environmental performance of IPBS and reveal the potential greenhouse gas emission reduction that would be available to China's dairy cow breeding industry by adopting IPBS.

Results indicate that compared with non-IPBS, IPBS could potentially reduce the effects of global warming by 14%, acidification by 10%, eutrophication by 18%, non-renewable energy use by 10%, water use by 8% and land use by 13% compared to the current effects. It is estimated that, in China, 81% of dairy farms could adopt IPBS, resulting in a reduction of approximately 21% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to the current situation, but that premise is based on 2.0 million ha of cropland being dedicated to maize silage cultivation. Thus, mitigation of the environmental impact of milk production could be realized by combining a short-term strategy of increasing maize silage planting in dairy farms and a long-term plan for technological improvements for better yield crop and milk yields. 

The research results were published in the Journal of Cleaner Production (IF 9.3) as “Mitigating environmental impacts of milk production via integrated maize silage planting and dairy cow breeding system: A case study in China”. Huang Xianlei, a doctoral student at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (IARRP) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), is the first author. Yin Changbin, a doctoral supervisor at the Innovation Team of Resources Utilization and Regional Planning of IARRP, CASS, is the corresponding author. The research was funded by the National Social Science Foundation Major Project (18ZDA048).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127343