Environmental assessment of wheat and maize production in an Italian farmers cooperative

ISO Life Cycle Assessment method was applied to the production of wheat and maize in an Italian farmers’ cooperative, with the aim to assess the potential environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of these crops as well as to identify the hotspots in the production chains. The functional units were 1 tonne of wheat and maize and system boundaries were from cradle to cooperative’s gate and included the agricultural production, the transport to the cooperative, and the cleaning as well as storage phases. Specific primary data were used in the study. The results according to the CML and UseTox impact assessment methods show that the major hotspot for both crops in almost all impact categories is the agricultural phase, due to fertilisers and pesticides use. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed, using different methods for the calculation of on-field nitrogen and pesticides emissions, in order to assess their effects on LCA results.