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

Standard ISO Life Cycle Assessment methodology 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, respectively and system boundaries were from cradle to cooperative's gate, including the agricultural production, the transport to the cooperative, and the cleaning as well as storage phases. Specific primary data collected both at farm and cooperative's premises, were used in the study. The results, according to ILCD impact assessment methods, show that the major hotspot for both cereals in all impact categories is the agricultural phase, due to fertilizers 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.