How sustainable strategies can impact the dairy industry
How sustainable strategies can impact the dairy industry
Dairy production is considered one of the major industries in the world due to its economic and nutritional benefits. In 2019, the total global production reached “851.8 million” tons of milk equivalent, with the main consumption per capita at about 111.4 kg/year globally. There are more than “245 million” dairy cows around the world, each of which produces 2,300 kg of milk on average annually.
There are many dairy derivatives that are produced and traded as part of the global dairy market, for example: powdered milk, butter and cheese. India is the world’s largest dairy producer, with 22% of global production, while the United States comes in second in production, followed by China, Pakistan and Brazil.
This enormous amount of milk production has a major global benefit to human health, society, and the economy. In countries with developing economies, livestock serve many purposes, as they are considered a source of family income, a source of food security, and a direct link to human health, and these benefits increase significantly in terms of achieving sustainability goals when viewed on a small scale.
Milk and dairy products are a well-known source of calcium and other vitamins and minerals, in addition to being a high-quality complete protein. Perhaps one of the most well-documented nutritional benefits of dairy products is bone health due to their ability to prevent osteoporosis along with other bone diseases, as the calcium found in milk positively affects bone mass in children.
The impact of the dairy industry on the environment
The Earth’s surface has witnessed tremendous rises in temperature, especially in the past three decades, and in the past thirty years we have witnessed the hottest periods ever. In addition to this increase in temperatures, there have been other major changes in climate, including increased ocean temperature, sea level rise, as well as a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Several studies have indicated that livestock production, including the stages of growth, transportation, processing and consumption, has a relatively large impact on climate change. Dairy cows in particular have been shown to impact the environment through their potentially negative contributions to air, water and land.
Despite the continuous development of this industry, dairy production systems still have a negative impact on the environment, through emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) that result from enteric fermentation, natural manure (dung) resulting from cows, and feed production processes, in addition to the water used in feed production and dairy processing operations, and finally, water polluted with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) resulting from dung.
Cow manure can have a negative impact on the environment. Nitrogen that is not retained by the animal or excreted in the milk will come out with urine and manure. Therefore, dairy industry waste is an important source of nitrogen and phosphorus. Land use in excess of crop requirements can also cause surface water pollution. This excess of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water can also lead to a rapid bloom in the growth of algae populations that consume oxygen dissolved in the water. Which reduces the dissolved oxygen needed for the growth of aquatic life.
An excess of nitrogen can also lead to water pollution, and this poses a problem for human and animal health as nitrates consumed in drinking water are converted to nitrites in the digestive system, which replaces oxygen in hemoglobin; It leads to a decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood.
Impact of the dairy industry on air quality
Air quality also affects human and animal health as well as the environment, and it is known that dairy cows contribute to air pollution, as they produce one of the compounds that affects air quality, which is ammonia NH3. Ammonia is produced when nitrogen in urea from animal urine reacts with urease in feces. Dairy waste management strategies also significantly affect emissions of NH3 to the air.
Nitrogen in waste can also contribute to the production of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) through the formation and volatilization of nitrous oxide (N2O), as manure on croplands, as well as from it seeping into lakes, can contribute to nitrous oxide emissions.
Another major greenhouse gas produced by dairy cow waste is methane (CH4). The amount of methane emitted from dairy waste depends on the amount of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen present in the waste, making manure storage, diet, and land use major contributors to total methane production.
A smaller percentage of methane is also produced in the animal’s intestines through the process of digestion and fermentation. This methane is mostly absorbed in the intestines (89%) and the remaining percentage is eventually eliminated in the form of gases and dung.
Effect of nutrition on emissions from dairy cows
Diets of dairy cattle greatly influence enteric emissions, especially methane, and because there is significant variation in the ingredients and chemical composition of diets fed to dairy cows, feeding strategies have the greatest potential to reduce methane emissions, with potential reductions between 2.5 and 15%.
The amount of methane produced depends on many factors, including the type of feed, the chemical composition of carbohydrates, the retention time of the food in the abdomen, the fermentation rate of various feeds, as well as the rate of methane formation.
An overall reduction in methane emissions can be achieved through a variety of variable feeding strategies. Increasing energy density or more digestible feed results in additional energy available to the animal and less methane generation from enteric fermentation. Increasing the proportion of starch in the diet, for example by increasing concentration levels, leads to faster fermentation of these feed materials and thus reduced methane production.
Diets high in starch will certainly require an increase in grain production, which may lead to additional consumption of fossil fuels and fertilizers, which will ultimately lead to increased nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide; However, this diet is usually offset by a significant reduction in total methane emissions.
Dung emissions are also greatly affected by different feeding strategies for dairy cows, as it has been proven that feed containing high levels of fiber reduces intestinal emissions, as well as those resulting from dung. On the other hand, high-sugar feeds reduce nitrogen excretions and also have the potential to reduce the nitrogen available for volatilization as gaseous emissions. In general, a variety of feeding strategies can be used to help mitigate emissions from enteric sources and waste from dairy animals.
Environmental Impact Mitigation Strategies
In addition to changes in the composition of diet components, there are also additives to diets that may reduce enteric emissions, especially methane. One promising strategy for reducing methane is through nutritional supplements that inhibit the activity of some enzymes that help form methane in the intestines of livestock.
Nitrates offer one of the most promising solutions for mitigating methane emissions and have been well studied for their use in cattle feed with more recent research focusing on their potential use in dairy cows. Nitrates in the diet serve as a non-protein source of nitrogen; Which leads to reduced effectiveness and constant enteric emissions.
On the other hand, water recycling represents one of the essential elements to transform this industry into sustainability. As we know, milk consists of 87% water, and therefore, with the help of modern technology, it is possible to recover water from milk used in the cheese and dried milk industries and reuse it again.
Sustainability in the dairy industry extends to fodder production farms, where adopting sustainability is considered an essential element that transforms the dairy industry into sustainability, through the use and application of modern agricultural methods that take into account the health of agricultural land, saving water and energy consumption, and preserving the health of agricultural land.
On the other hand, maintaining the health of animals used in dairy production is certainly important. On the one hand, the animal will be able to give higher productivity with good quality, and on the other hand, it will be less expensive, both from an environmental and economic standpoint, and vaccination programs have a crucial role in achieving this. To reduce the risk of various diseases.
In the same context, relying on renewable energy sources is another thing that dairy farms can resort to to provide their energy needs without negatively affecting the environment, in addition to the regular maintenance of farm facilities; With the aim of increasing efficiency in water and energy consumption.
