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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Dairy Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #406645
Research Project: Forage and Feed Characteristics on Performance, Feed Efficiency, Environmental Impact, and Farm Nutrient Cycling of Dairy Production Systems

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: How does crop production and diet formulation affect dairy emissions?

Author
item Duff, Alison
item French, Elizabeth

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2023
Publication Date: 8/28/2023
Citation: Duff, A., French, E.A. 2023. How does crop production and diet formulation affect dairy emissions?. Meeting Abstract. Decode 6.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Dairy producers select forage crops based on the nutritional needs of their herd, crop suitability to the regional climate and soils, and their farm production system. The carbon footprint of a dairy farm is an estimate of all GHG emissions – from the herd, field, manure, and feed management subsystems – and carbon storage in soil and vegetation. Climate-friendly forage crops are those which significantly increase net carbon accumulation in the field and do not appreciably increase GHG emissions from enteric fermentation (i.e., cattle digestion).