IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v136y2015icp106-113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Substitution of corn silage with sorghum silages in lactating cow diets: In vivo methane emission and global warming potential of milk production

Author

Listed:
  • Colombini, Stefania
  • Zucali, Maddalena
  • Rapetti, Luca
  • Crovetto, G. Matteo
  • Sandrucci, Anna
  • Bava, Luciana

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine whether sorghum silage can be a valid alternative to corn silage in lactating cow rations in terms of enteric CH4 production and global warming potential (GWP) per milk unit. Diets containing corn (CS), whole plant grain sorghum (WPGS) or forage sorghum (FS) silages were fed to 6 primiparous Italian Friesian cows in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. Diets were balanced to have 36.0 and 26.0% DM of NDF and starch, respectively. In each period cows were placed in individual respiration chambers to register CH4 production. The GWP of milk production in the three different forage systems was evaluated through a “cradle to farm-gate” Life Cycle Assessment. All the emissions related to on-farm activities (forage production, fuel and electricity consumptions, manure and livestock management), off-farm activities (production of fertilizers, pesticides, bedding materials, purchased forages, concentrate feed, replacement animals, electricity, fuel) and transportation were considered. The functional unit was 1 kg FPCM. Enteric emission of CH4 from cows was obtained with an in vivo experiment or predicted using an equation based on gross energy intake and on dietary NDF and ether extract.

Suggested Citation

  • Colombini, Stefania & Zucali, Maddalena & Rapetti, Luca & Crovetto, G. Matteo & Sandrucci, Anna & Bava, Luciana, 2015. "Substitution of corn silage with sorghum silages in lactating cow diets: In vivo methane emission and global warming potential of milk production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 106-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:106-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.02.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X15000220
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.02.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belflower, Jeff B. & Bernard, John K. & Gattie, David K. & Hancock, Dennis W. & Risse, Lawrence M. & Alan Rotz, C., 2012. "A case study of the potential environmental impacts of different dairy production systems in Georgia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 84-93.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ewa Pecka-Kiełb & Dorota Miśta & Bożena Króliczewska & Andrzej Zachwieja & Maja Słupczyńska & Barbara Król & Józef Sowiński, 2021. "Changes in the In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation of Diets for Dairy Cows Based on Selected Sorghum Cultivars Compared to Maize, Rye and Grass Silage," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-11, May.
    2. Pedro Henrique Presumido & Fernando Sousa & Artur Gonçalves & Tatiane Cristina Dal Bosco & Manuel Feliciano, 2018. "Environmental Impacts of the Beef Production Chain in the Northeast of Portugal Using Life Cycle Assessment," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Kaplan, M. & Kara, K. & Unlukara, A. & Kale, H. & Buyukkilic Beyzi, S. & Varol, I.S. & Kizilsimsek, M. & Kamalak, A., 2019. "Water deficit and nitrogen affects yield and feed value of sorghum sudangrass silage," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 30-36.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. O'Brien, D. & Bohan, A. & McHugh, N. & Shalloo, L., 2016. "A life cycle assessment of the effect of intensification on the environmental impacts and resource use of grass-based sheep farming," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 95-104.
    2. Rotz, C. Alan & Holly, Michael & de Long, Aaron & Egan, Franklin & Kleinman, Peter J.A., 2020. "An environmental assessment of grass-based dairy production in the northeastern United States," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    3. Kiefer, L. & Bahrs, E. & Over, R., 2014. "Die Vorzüglichkeit der Grünlandnutzung in der Milchproduktion – Potenzielle Vorteile der Vollweisehaltung," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 49, March.
    4. Luca Esposito & Chiara Vecchio & Giancarlo Cattaneo & Zhouyi Gu & Ester Scotto di Perta, 2023. "Addressing Challenges and Outcomes in the Biogas Sector: An Analysis of Efficiency, Economic Savings, and Environmental Impacts Using an Advanced SWOT Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Franklin Egan, J. & Hafla, Aimee & Goslee, Sarah, 2015. "Tradeoffs between production and perennial vegetation in dairy farming systems vary among counties in the northeastern U.S," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 17-28.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:106-113. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.