Author/Authors :
V، Sejian نويسنده Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre, School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ohio State University , , C، Alan Rotz نويسنده Agricultural Engineer, USDA / ARS, Building 3702, Curtin Road, University Park, PA 16802 , , J، Lakritz نويسنده Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, the Ohio State University , , T، Ezeji نويسنده Department of Animal Sciences, the Ohio State University-Wooster Campus , , R، Lal نويسنده Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre, School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ohio State University ,
Abstract :
Agricultural activities are important sources of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study is designed to predict the GHG emission from a dairy farm at the Ohio State University using an integrated farm system model. The primary objective of this study was to test the capacity of this model to predict the whole farm GHG emission. The model requires inputs regarding animal details, feeding details, management strategies, manure handling and weather prevailing in the locality. The model also has the provision to calculate the C- footprint based on CO2e per kg of energy-corrected milk. The selected farm consists of 120 healthy female Holstein cows. These animals were fed a total mixed ration with roughage and grains in the proportion of 70% and 30%, respectively. The housed animals contributed maximum to GHG emission followed by manure handling. In the dairy system approximately one-half of the total GHG in CO2 equivalents is contributed by CH4 and one-third by N2O. CO2 emissions per unit product were the least contributor to GHG emission. Total daily net GHG emission from the dairy farm in CO2 equivalent is 2471 kg and net total annual emission is 0.9 Gg in the dairy farm. Integrated farm system model effectively predicted GHG emissions from dairy farm. This model may be an important step towards the development of a harmonized methodology for the quantification of GHG emissions in dairy farms.
