Development of an integrated protocol for evaluating animal welfare and environmental impact of dairy cattle farms

To support the sustainability and resilience of livestock systems, an overall evaluation that takes into consideration both environmental impact (EI) and animal welfare (AW) is highly needed. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is currently recognised as the best tool for EI assessment. However, it might fail to capture the complexity of farming systems and reward more intensive conditions, without fully considering other factors that might be more important for the long-term sustainability of livestock farming, including AW. To date, there is no consistent and accepted approach for an integrated AW-EI evaluation. The goal of this LCA study was to assess the EI of milk production across four dairy farms and to investigate the relations among EI, AW and antimicrobial use. The ultimate goal is to generate an overall sustainability score that will enable farmers to improve, and guide policymakers and consumers in their decision-making process. For the first testing phase, 4 dairy cattle farms located in Northern Italy have been included. A cradle-to-farm gate LCA was conducted, with 1 kg of fat protein corrected milk as declared unit. Crop production, purchased feed and bedding materials, and fuels were the primary contributors to the impact of milk production across most categories. In the same impact category, the contribution of each process was influenced by the management of each farm. Although not significant, a strong correlation was found between global warming potential (GWP) and AW and between GWP and DDDAit. This supports the relationship between EI and AW and prompts for further investigations.