1.
FeedPrint
Carbon Footprint Animal Nutrition
Theun Vellinga, Wageningen UR Livestock Research
Hans Blonk, Blonk Milieu Advies
A database and calculation tool of the feed production chain
to calculate GHG emissions by using LCA

2.
Scope of the FeedPrint project
Strategic goals:
 awareness of and insight in GHG emissions
 production chain of animal feed and from feed utilization;
 identify potential mitigation options
 not meant for use in carbon labelling !!
Operational goals:
 Elaborate methodology: scientific sound, international alignment
 Develop robust database
 Develop calculation tool including animal nutrition
 Methodology, database and tool are public available

3.
Use of the CFP calculation tool “Feedprint”
 Main users:
 Compound feed industry and their suppliers
 Main applications:
 Strategic management
 Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
 International alignment and application
 FAO, FEFAC, IDF, JRC, SCP-RT,...

4.
Relationship FeedPrint and FAO/FEFAC
projectFeedPrint NL
Database
Cultivation
Processing
Feed mill
Calculation CFP
Till Feed Intake
Calculation CFP
Feed Intake/
Nutrition/farm
FPUpstreamDown
stream
FeedPrint FAO/FEFAC
Database
Cultivation
(Processing)
(Feed mill)
Calculation CFP
Till Feed Intake
FPUpstream

5.
Life Cycle Assessment in agricultural
systems ISO and others define basic LCA principles:
 System Borders/Functional Units/Allocation rules
 Agricultural systems are complex:
 biological processes
 diffuse sources, many (small) holdings
 simulation models and calculation rules required
 Data requirement and collection issues:
 Process data, not (only) statistic outputs
 Variation between farmers, locations and time

6.
Modelling biological processes
 2006 IPCC Guidelines
 Emission factors N2O, CH4
 N from crop residues
• Volume 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use
– Chapter 10: livestock and manure management
– Chapter 11: nitrous oxide emissions from managed soils
– Enteric fermentation cattle: based on accepted Tier 3 (NIR)

7.
LUC factor (All sectors and countries are
linked)
 Total CO2e emission by LUC
 5.8 Gt per year
• (Ramankutty et al., 2007; Houghton, 2010)
 Total agricultural land use from FAOstat (2008):
 4.9 * 106 hectare
 Emissions per ha :
 1180 kg CO2-equivalents per ha per year
 Emissions per kg:
 1 000 kg/ha: 1.18 kg CO2e per kg
 10 000 kg/ha: 0.118 kg CO2e per kg

8.
Data in all kinds
Background processes:
• Energy production/ transport means/
capital goods/ chemicals
Foreground processes:
• Cultivation
• Industrial processing
• Compund feed production
• Transport
• Feed utilization
Default data
Ecoinvent, International Energy
Agency
Default data
Specific data

9.
Required data
Crops Transp Processing Transp Feed mill
Emission kg CO2eq Data (average and distribution)
CO2fossil 1 fossil MJ and kg CO2e-MJ
CO2biogene 0 not calculated (+1 en -1)
CH4 25 measurement or according IPCC & NIR
N2O 298 calculated according IPCC based on N fluxes
Land use change:
m2*year 0.118
FramTransp

10.
Data analysis and interpretation
Multiple values, expert judgement:
• Pedigree matrix (Ecoinvent) used in decisions on average
values
• Confidentiality interval, uncertainty for all data
• Uniform, normal , lognormal or triangular distribution
• Monte Carlo simulation for limited set of data
Lack of data:
• standard procedure for defaults, e.g. MEXALCA

11.
Allocation in processing and livestock production
 Preferred approach in feed: economic allocation
 Other options available: mass, gross energy
 Show embedded (allocated) emissions
 What enters “your” link in the chain
 What is the contribution of your link
 Allocation is only shifting emissions, it does not
change emissions.

12.
Primary products
Primary product
NL
Germany
France
Belgium
UK
Poland
Finland
Ukraine
Denmark
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Hungary
SAmerica
Australia
N
America
Asia
Barley X X X X X
Oats X X X X X X X X X
Corn X X X X X
Rye X X X X X X X X X
Wheat X X X X X
Triticale X X X X
Legumes X X X X X
Sugar beet X X X X X X
Sugar cane X X
Potatoes X X
Cassava X

13.
Primary products
Primary product
NL
Germany
France
Belgium
UK
Poland
Finland
Ukraine
Denmark
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Hungary
SAmerica
Australia
N
America
Asia
Rapeseed X X X X X X
Linseed X X X X X X
Oil palm X
Soy X X
Sunflower X X X X X
Grass fresh X
Grass silage X
Maize silage X
Lucerne X
Milk powder X X X X X X
Whey X X X X X X
Animal products X X X X X
Fish products X X X

14.
Data collection plant raw materials
 Yield (kg/ha) and dry matter content
 Nutrients: N, P, K, energy (GE, ME, NE)
 Crop residues
 Inputs:
 Synthetic fertilizer (N, P, K)
 Manure
 Pesticides
 Seeds
 Energy for cultivation (direct/indirect) and storage
 Land Use and Land Use Change (LULUC)

15.
Industrial processing
 Milling, wet and dry: grains, potatoes
 Crushing: pressing, extraction: oil seeds
 Sugar refinery: beet and cane
 Biofuel production: maize, wheat
 Rendering: animal products
 Artificial drying: whey, milk powder, roughages
 Energy inputs, use of auxiliaries

16.
Processing plant and animal products
Product in:
Mass
Dry matter
C, N, P
= 100
Co product 1 out:
Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €
Co products total out:
Mass, DM, C, N, P
= 100
€total
Co product 2 out:
Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €
Co product n out:
Mass, DM, C, N, P, GE, €
Processing
(split up in
1 – 4 sub
processes)

17.
Mitigation options, a protocol at sector level
 FeedPrint contains secondary, default, data,
 A protocol describes:
 when to use secondary data
 when to collect additional primary activity data
 how to account for them
 Basic principle:
 communication on improved performance
must be based on primary activity data

18.
Thank you for listening