Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms
ABSTRACT: Land occupation (LO) is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of livestock competition with agricultural activities. In this study, the area needed to produce purchased feeds for animal nutrition was used to estimate the off-farm land occupation of dairy farms, allowing for a precis...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224013407 |
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| author | Gabriele Rolando Francesco Ferrero Stefania Pasinato Luciano Comino Daniele Giaccone Ernesto Tabacco Giorgio Borreani |
| author_facet | Gabriele Rolando Francesco Ferrero Stefania Pasinato Luciano Comino Daniele Giaccone Ernesto Tabacco Giorgio Borreani |
| author_sort | Gabriele Rolando |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Land occupation (LO) is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of livestock competition with agricultural activities. In this study, the area needed to produce purchased feeds for animal nutrition was used to estimate the off-farm land occupation of dairy farms, allowing for a precise calculation of the total land occupation requirement for milk production (on-farm plus off-farm LO, expressed in m2 per unit of standardized milk). We use 4 approaches (designated LO1, LO2, LO3A, and LO3B) to calculate the off-farm land used for milk production on dairy farms, and applied them to 14 dairy farms in northern Italy as a case study. The LO1 used mass allocation of each purchased product between the fraction of DM yield of each product (main, byproducts, and crop residues) derived from the whole crop. This procedure was considered as the reference. The LO2 considered only the main product as the driver of land use, without considering byproducts. The LO3A and LO3B approaches converted all the purchased feeds into energy, protein, and fiber equivalents. The LO1 was accurate, even though it was time-consuming, whereas the procedures of LO3A and LO3B showed comparable values with easier required input data. When total LO was considered (on-farm and off-farm using LO1), the average surface to produce milk resulted in 1.47 m2/kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM); however, the off-farm LO1 was 0.76 m2/kg FPCM (± 0.24 m2/kg). This large variability indicates that LO largely depends on farm management and adopted animal feeding strategies. Moreover, half of the milk production was linked to the purchased feeds. We found positive correlations between all off-farm LO approaches and N surplus (r = 0.45 to r = 0.73), supporting previous studies suggesting that concentrated animal agriculture, in which the fulfillment of the animal's needs has been delegated to purchased feeds, is the main source of nitrogen surplus on farmlands. The LO per unit of production can be reduced by increasing on-farm feed production, particularly protein components, and to a lesser extent by valorizing byproducts, while not increasing the on-farm N surplus and carbon footprint. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bfb128febc2b45d4b75861ab12eabc7e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-bfb128febc2b45d4b75861ab12eabc7e2025-08-20T02:18:04ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022025-03-0110832595260910.3168/jds.2024-25359Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farmsGabriele Rolando0Francesco Ferrero1Stefania Pasinato2Luciano Comino3Daniele Giaccone4Ernesto Tabacco5Giorgio Borreani6Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy; Corresponding authorDepartment of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyRegional Breeder Association of Piedmont (ARAP), Fraz. Madonna dell'Olmo, 12100 Cuneo, ItalyRegional Breeder Association of Piedmont (ARAP), Fraz. Madonna dell'Olmo, 12100 Cuneo, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyABSTRACT: Land occupation (LO) is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of livestock competition with agricultural activities. In this study, the area needed to produce purchased feeds for animal nutrition was used to estimate the off-farm land occupation of dairy farms, allowing for a precise calculation of the total land occupation requirement for milk production (on-farm plus off-farm LO, expressed in m2 per unit of standardized milk). We use 4 approaches (designated LO1, LO2, LO3A, and LO3B) to calculate the off-farm land used for milk production on dairy farms, and applied them to 14 dairy farms in northern Italy as a case study. The LO1 used mass allocation of each purchased product between the fraction of DM yield of each product (main, byproducts, and crop residues) derived from the whole crop. This procedure was considered as the reference. The LO2 considered only the main product as the driver of land use, without considering byproducts. The LO3A and LO3B approaches converted all the purchased feeds into energy, protein, and fiber equivalents. The LO1 was accurate, even though it was time-consuming, whereas the procedures of LO3A and LO3B showed comparable values with easier required input data. When total LO was considered (on-farm and off-farm using LO1), the average surface to produce milk resulted in 1.47 m2/kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM); however, the off-farm LO1 was 0.76 m2/kg FPCM (± 0.24 m2/kg). This large variability indicates that LO largely depends on farm management and adopted animal feeding strategies. Moreover, half of the milk production was linked to the purchased feeds. We found positive correlations between all off-farm LO approaches and N surplus (r = 0.45 to r = 0.73), supporting previous studies suggesting that concentrated animal agriculture, in which the fulfillment of the animal's needs has been delegated to purchased feeds, is the main source of nitrogen surplus on farmlands. The LO per unit of production can be reduced by increasing on-farm feed production, particularly protein components, and to a lesser extent by valorizing byproducts, while not increasing the on-farm N surplus and carbon footprint.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224013407land occupationdairy farmsland use impactnitrogen surpluscarbon footprint |
| spellingShingle | Gabriele Rolando Francesco Ferrero Stefania Pasinato Luciano Comino Daniele Giaccone Ernesto Tabacco Giorgio Borreani Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms Journal of Dairy Science land occupation dairy farms land use impact nitrogen surplus carbon footprint |
| title | Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms |
| title_full | Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms |
| title_short | Comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on-farm and off-farm feed production on Italian dairy farms |
| title_sort | comparison of frameworks for defining land occupation considering on farm and off farm feed production on italian dairy farms |
| topic | land occupation dairy farms land use impact nitrogen surplus carbon footprint |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030224013407 |
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