Assessment of Cleantech Options
to Mitigate the Environmental Impact
of South African Dairy Farming
Regula Keller, Lea Eymann, Sarah Wettstein, Deborah Scharfy
and Matthias Stucki
Abstract Milk production in South Africa has increased substantially over the past
ten years and is associated with various environmental impacts. These can be
reduced by different means, four of which were analysed in this study: choice of
breed, the use of methane emission reducing feed additives, solar power as well as
variable frequency drive usage in fodder irrigation. The results showed that
Holstein cows had a lower impact than Ayrshire cows per litre of milk, but that
differences between farms were greater than between breeds alone. The feed
additive 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP) led to an 18% reduction in the climate change
impact category, and did not have negative effects in other categories. Using solar
power for irrigation decreased the environmental impact by a larger degree than
integrating a variable frequency drive to reduce the electricity demand of the water
pump. All four are adequate means of reducing the environmental impact of milk.
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the main contributor to global anthropogenic non-CO 2 greenhouse
gas emissions [1] and also contributes considerably to air pollution, land, soil and
water degradation, and the reduction of biodiversity [2]. As in most emerging
economies, livestock is one of the fastest growing sectors of the agricultural
economy in South Africa. Milk production increased by 26% in South Africa from
2004 to 2014 [3] and rising meat consumption could exacerbate water stress in
South Africa [4]. Given the considerable environmental impacts caused by dairy
production systems and the industry’s growth, environmental mitigation strategies
are required.
Enteric emissions are responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas
emissions of milk at farm gate [5]. Effective measures to reduce enteric methane
R. Keller (&) Á L. Eymann Á S. Wettstein Á D. Scharfy Á M. Stucki
Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Natural Resource Sciences,
Life Cycle Assessment, 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland
e-mail: Regula.Keller@zhaw.ch
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_14
115
to Mitigate the Environmental Impact
of South African Dairy Farming
Regula Keller, Lea Eymann, Sarah Wettstein, Deborah Scharfy
and Matthias Stucki
Abstract Milk production in South Africa has increased substantially over the past
ten years and is associated with various environmental impacts. These can be
reduced by different means, four of which were analysed in this study: choice of
breed, the use of methane emission reducing feed additives, solar power as well as
variable frequency drive usage in fodder irrigation. The results showed that
Holstein cows had a lower impact than Ayrshire cows per litre of milk, but that
differences between farms were greater than between breeds alone. The feed
additive 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP) led to an 18% reduction in the climate change
impact category, and did not have negative effects in other categories. Using solar
power for irrigation decreased the environmental impact by a larger degree than
integrating a variable frequency drive to reduce the electricity demand of the water
pump. All four are adequate means of reducing the environmental impact of milk.
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the main contributor to global anthropogenic non-CO 2 greenhouse
gas emissions [1] and also contributes considerably to air pollution, land, soil and
water degradation, and the reduction of biodiversity [2]. As in most emerging
economies, livestock is one of the fastest growing sectors of the agricultural
economy in South Africa. Milk production increased by 26% in South Africa from
2004 to 2014 [3] and rising meat consumption could exacerbate water stress in
South Africa [4]. Given the considerable environmental impacts caused by dairy
production systems and the industry’s growth, environmental mitigation strategies
are required.
Enteric emissions are responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas
emissions of milk at farm gate [5]. Effective measures to reduce enteric methane
R. Keller (&) Á L. Eymann Á S. Wettstein Á D. Scharfy Á M. Stucki
Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Natural Resource Sciences,
Life Cycle Assessment, 8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland
e-mail: Regula.Keller@zhaw.ch
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_14
115