Carbon footprint
Co-products generally have smaller carbon footprints than other similar feeds.
Carbon footprint of co-products
Feeding co-products can enable livestock farmers to reduce the carbon footprint of their livestock diet, which in turn can lead to a reduction in the carbon footprint of the meat and dairy products for the consumer.
Adding together all the CO2e’s which are created in the process will give you the total Carbon Footprint for the final product. For example, the carbon footprint for 1 liter of milk on the shelf at a supermarket starts with the very first input, which is likely to be the harvesting of fertilizer to grow feed for the cow. It then includes every step between fertilizer production and the milk sitting on the shelf at the shop.
Carbon footprint of co-products
The carbon footprint of a product is based on the emissions of the entire production process, from crop to end product. The vast majority of the CO2e emissions are allocated to the ‘main product’ which is being produced as the primary purpose – for example the chips that a potato is made into, or the sugar cubes produced from a beet. It is because of this, that co-products have a very low carbon footprint (as they were not the main purpose of the process) and often the largest part of the carbon footprint for co-products comes from the transportation from the facility to the farm.
Meat and dairy processors
The emissions of meat and dairy processors are subdivided into three scopes. Emissions from scopes 1 and 2 are the result of direct business activities, such as production processes and transportation. Scope 3 emissions are emissions that arise within the chain, for example during the production of milk and meat on farms. In other words, the carbon footprint of a livestock farm partially determines the carbon footprint of the meat and dairy processor. Using co-products as livestock feed can reduce the carbon footprint of livestock farms without affecting productivity.
Comparing carbon footprints
Accounting for carbon footprint using LCA data
Livestock farmers are increasingly being asked to offer insight into the ecological footprint of dairy and meat products. It is therefore essential to be able to prove, with figures, that the use of co-products does indeed result in a carbon footprint reduction. Furthermore, products that are produced in environmentally friendly ways can be sold for higher prices.
Duynie helps livestock farmers in this regard by having the carbon footprints of all its co-products calculated by an independent consultancy firm. These calculations are done using the internationally recognised calculation rules, which determine the score of a product based on various criteria relating to land use, water consumption, particulate emissions, soil acidification and climate change effects.
These calculations show that co-products such as pressed pulp, brewers spent grains, potato steam peels and wheat yeast concentrate have considerably smaller footprints than alternative feeds with similar nutritional values. Which is definitely a significant step in the right direction.
