AUSTRALIA,PHOTO: ELLINBANK
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Who will win the carbon neutrality race?
Thousands of dairy farms across the world have worked to reduce carbon emissions during the last few years, if not much longer, but only four have made a public commitment to being carbon neutral by a given date. The farm that’s first across the finish line is sure to get global attention – and inspire the dairy industry across the planet to achieve further carbon emissions reductions. The race is on! Here are the four contenders.
BY TREENA HEIN, CORRESPONDENT A
broad international timeline was put forth in mid-2021 at the 22nd Dairy Conference of the In- ternational Farm Comparison Network. Attendees concluded that widespread carbon-neutral dairy
farming by 2050 is possible, and the “Net Zero – Pathways to Low-Carbon Dairy” initiative was launched. Before we look at the self-imposed deadlines and progress of our four contenders, let’s review the broad strokes of how dairy farms are coming ever closer to carbon neutrality and what may impede or accelerate the reaching of this milestone.
Reducing methane production Lowering emissions of methane on dairy farms is critical be- cause over the long term, methane emissions are more than 85 times worse than CO2
emissions in terms of global warm-
ing. There are two sources of emissions on dairy farms of this very intense greenhouse gas (GHG): cow burps (“enteric” methane) and manure. Enteric methane emissions can be reduced by up to 95% through feeding cattle supplements of red seaweed (visit
dairyglobal.net for more info). For putting a halt to methane emissions from manure, biodi-
Farm name: SmartFarm at Ellinbank Goal year to reach carbon neutrality: 2026 Location: State of Victoria, Australia Owner: State government (Agriculture Victoria) Feeding system: Pasture-based Progress: Steady; digester to be added as well as additional solar power generation. Methane: Currently, dairy waste deposited on the dairy yards and feedpad flows into the effluent ponds and accounts for about 19% of farm GHG emis- sions. Biodigester options are currently being evaluated and may potentially accept other farm and off-farm waste streams besides the farm’s cow manure. The digestate will reduce the amount of fertiliser needed for pasture growth, and the timing of application will be closely examined for how it may also reduce GHG emissions. Regarding enteric methane emissions, red seaweed is currently being trialled with preliminary data looking “very promising” with twice-day feeding (morning and evening milking). Enteric methane emissions account for just over 60% of GHG emissions. Other options to reduce enteric emissions include cow breeding, improved feed efficiency and improved lifetime performance. Renewable energy: About 110 kW of electricity from solar panels is being generated on the farm, displacing use of electricity from the national grid (primarily coal-powered generation). About 100 kW is used for general farm operation (coupled to a 100-kWh battery system that allows diversion of electricity as needed to meet high-demand times such as milking). The other 10 kWh is used with a battery to pump water from a spring-fed dam to supply water by gravity around the farm. The team hopes to at least double the amount of the farm’s solar power generation. Additional electricity will be generated from the biodigester.
6 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 9, No. 2, 2022
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