AN EVALUATION OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES OF CATTLE MILK PRODUCTION; WITH A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NEW HERITAGE DAIRIES LANKA (PVT) LTD

Abstract

1. Introduction Cattle milk is a nutrient-rich animal-based product that serves as a primary source of nutrition for humans and is a main ingredient of various dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, and butter. Nonetheless, dairy production has a significant negative influence on the environment. As demand and production of cattle milk increase, the potential environmental impact will also increase unless it is reduced. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the ecological impacts associated with cattle milk production through an LCA. 2. Research Methodology Utilizing the cradle-to-farm gate LCA approach, the environmental performance of cattle milk produced on a zero-grazing farm was assessed. The impact of one litre of cattle milk was obtained considering midpoint and endpoint impact categories from the ReCiPe 2016 method. The modeling of the production process and calculating the environmental impacts were done using the SimaPro faculty version. Additionally, the emission of GHG is calculated by the Cool Farm Tool(CFT). 3. Findings and Discussion Feed production was the main contributor to impacts in milk production in every category. Maize serves as the main component of the feed composition. Therefore, there is a clear relationship between the environmental impact of maize production and the impact of milk per unit. The findings indicate that the carbon footprint of cattle milk production averages 1.94 kg CO2 eq of milk, with feed production and cattle enteric fermentation identified as the main contributors to GHG emissions. 4. Conclusion and implications Literature-based control measures suggested here are aimed at minimizing those environmental effects in order to attain the best improved environmental performance without compromising on the technical and quality of milk production. Mainly, environmental impact can be reduced through sustainable agricultural practices, feed manipulation, and feed additives.