FeedPrint

Carbon Footprint Animal Nutrition

Theun Vellinga, Wageningen UR Livestock Research

Hans Blonk, Blonk Milieu Advies

A database and calculation tool of the feed production chain

to calculate GHG emissions by using LCA

Scope of the FeedPrint project

Strategic goals:

awareness of and insight in GHG emissions

production chain of animal feed and from feed utilization;

identify potential mitigation options

not meant for use in carbon labelling !!

Operational goals:

Elaborate methodology: scientific sound, international alignment

Develop robust database

Develop calculation tool including animal nutrition

Methodology, database and tool are public available

Use of the CFP calculation tool “Feedprint”

Main users:

Compound feed industry and their suppliers

Main applications:

Strategic management

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

International alignment and application

FAO, FEFAC, IDF, JRC, SCP-RT,...

Relationship FeedPrint and FAO/FEFAC

project FeedPrint NL

Database

Cultivation

Processing

Feed mill

Calculation CFP

Till Feed Intake

Calculation CFP

Feed Intake/

Nutrition/farm

FP

Upstr

eam

D

ow

n

str

ea

m

FeedPrint FAO/FEFAC

Database

Cultivation

(Processing)

(Feed mill)

Calculation CFP

Till Feed Intake

FP

Upstr

eam

Life Cycle Assessment in agricultural

systems ISO and others define basic LCA principles:

System Borders/Functional Units/Allocation rules

Agricultural systems are complex:

biological processes

diffuse sources, many (small) holdings

simulation models and calculation rules required

Data requirement and collection issues:

Process data, not (only) statistic outputs

Variation between farmers, locations and time

Modelling biological processes

2006 IPCC Guidelines

Emission factors N2O, CH4

N from crop residues

• Volume 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

– Chapter 10: livestock and manure management

– Chapter 11: nitrous oxide emissions from managed soils

– Enteric fermentation cattle: based on accepted Tier 3 (NIR)

LUC factor (All sectors and countries are

linked) Total CO2e emission by LUC

5.8 Gt per year

• (Ramankutty et al., 2007; Houghton, 2010)

Total agricultural land use from FAOstat (2008):

4.9 * 106 hectare

Emissions per ha :

1180 kg CO2-equivalents per ha per year

Emissions per kg:

1 000 kg/ha: 1.18 kg CO2e per kg

10 000 kg/ha: 0.118 kg CO2e per kg

Data in all kinds

Background processes:

• Energy production/ transport means/

capital goods/ chemicals

Foreground processes:

• Cultivation

• Industrial processing

• Compund feed production

• Transport

• Feed utilization

Default data

Ecoinvent, International Energy

Agency

Default data

Specific data

Required data

Crops Transp Processing Transp Feed mill

Emission kg CO2eq Data (average and distribution)

CO2fossil 1 fossil MJ and kg CO2e-MJ

CO2biogene 0 not calculated (+1 en -1)

CH4 25 measurement or according IPCC & NIR

N2O 298 calculated according IPCC based on N fluxes

Land use change:

m2*year 0.118

Fram Transp

Data analysis and interpretation

Multiple values, expert judgement:

• Pedigree matrix (Ecoinvent) used in decisions on average

values

• Confidentiality interval, uncertainty for all data

• Uniform, normal , lognormal or triangular distribution

• Monte Carlo simulation for limited set of data

Lack of data:

• standard procedure for defaults, e.g. MEXALCA

Allocation in processing and livestock production

Preferred approach in feed: economic allocation

Other options available: mass, gross energy

Show embedded (allocated) emissions

What enters “your” link in the chain

What is the contribution of your link

Allocation is only shifting emissions, it does not

change emissions.

Primary products

Primary product NL

Germ

any

Fra

nce

Belg

ium

UK

Pola

nd

Fin

land

Ukra

ine

Denm

ark

Esto

nia

Lithuania

Latv

ia

Hungary

S A

merica

Austr

alia

N

Am

erica

Asia

Barley X X X X X

Oats X X X X X X X X X

Corn X X X X X

Rye X X X X X X X X X

Wheat X X X X X

Triticale X X X X

Legumes X X X X X

Sugar beet X X X X X X

Sugar cane X X

Potatoes X X

Cassava X

Primary products

Primary product NL

Germ

any

Fra

nce

Belg

ium

UK

Pola

nd

Fin

land

Ukra

ine

Denm

ark

Esto

nia

Lithuania

Latv

ia

Hungary

S A

merica

Austr

alia

N

Am

erica

Asia

Rapeseed X X X X X X

Linseed X X X X X X

Oil palm X

Soy X X

Sunflower X X X X X

Grass fresh X

Grass silage X

Maize silage X

Lucerne X

Milk powder X X X X X X

Whey X X X X X X

Animal products X X X X X

Fish products X X X

Data collection plant raw materials

Yield (kg/ha) and dry matter content

Nutrients: N, P, K, energy (GE, ME, NE)

Crop residues

Inputs:

Synthetic fertilizer (N, P, K)

Manure

Pesticides

Seeds

Energy for cultivation (direct/indirect) and storage

Land Use and Land Use Change (LULUC)

Industrial processing

Milling, wet and dry: grains, potatoes

Crushing: pressing, extraction: oil seeds

Sugar refinery: beet and cane

Biofuel production: maize, wheat

Rendering: animal products

Artificial drying: whey, milk powder, roughages

Energy inputs, use of auxiliaries

Processing plant and animal products

Product in:

Mass

Dry matter

C, N, P

= 100

Co product 1 out:

Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €

Co products total out:

Mass, DM, C, N, P

= 100

€total

Co product 2 out:

Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €

Co product n out:

Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €

Processing

(split up in

1 – 4 sub

processes)

Mitigation options, a protocol at sector level

FeedPrint contains secondary, default, data,

A protocol describes:

when to use secondary data

when to collect additional primary activity data

how to account for them

Basic principle:

communication on improved performance

must be based on primary activity data

Thank you for listening