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Abstract.

Global warming is affected by the agriculture sector and its different activities, and justifying the greenhouse gas reductions for the agricultural emissions would be a must. Animal husbandry and especially dairy farming are responsible for a substantial proportion of agricultural emissions and finding a solution for reducing the release of greenhouse gases in this production sector will be an efficient mitigation option. In this study it was investigated if greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming differ from those of stables with different construction methods. A greenhouse gas balance was calculated to determine the CO₂ equivalents per kg milk, where both barn and the entire dairy farming system were considered. A questionnaire was created to determine the farm-related data. The farm managers were asked about the number of entries and exits of cows, calves and young cattle, the feeding of the animals, the mechanization and specific data about the buildings. The collected data from the different farms were the basis of accounting the GHG emissions from the used dairy farms. This information helped to create a greenhouse gas balance by using the software GaBi 6. Data which could not be obtained from the survey were taken from the software database. The emissions from animal husbandry, feeding, stable building, milking technology & milk storage and energy inputs of dairy farming were investigated. Emissions from meat production had been deducted in from of a credit to calculate the kg CO₂ equivalents per kg milk. The results showed that the dominant emissions from the dairy system were caused by the livestock farming and feeding processes. The materials used in building construction were responsible for a very small part of around one percent of total emissions per kg milk. Consequently, the first approach was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from feeding and livestock farming, where they had the greatest potential for reducing the release of emissions. Looking at the different dairy cow sheds, the differences in emissions could be observed. Both the useful life of the buildings and the utilized materials for barn/stable constructions had an influence on the originated building-related emissions, which differed according to the various used materials types and quantities.