Carbon emissions and dairy systems
Above: PhD Student Mulisa Dida
PhD student, Mulisa Dida, has been working with the Dairy UP team on P1d Carbon on NSW dairy farms. He recently had a paper published in the Journal of Dairy Science: Greenhouse gas emissions of confinement and pasture-based dairy farms: Implications for mitigation.
The study found that enteric methane (from cows burping) was the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in both intensively-housed and pasture-based dairy systems. Manure was the second biggest source in intensively housed systems. In pasture-based systems, the second biggest source was pre-farm embedded emissions (purchased grains, concentrates, forages, and fertilisers. Milk emission intensity (greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk produced) was similar between the two systems.
About Dairy UP
Dairy UP is a collaborative research, development and extension program for the NSW dairy industry. It aims to unlock the potential of pastures, cows, water and milk to increase productivity and profitability, and de-risk the industry and develop new markets.