Dairy cattle in particular were shown to impact the environment through their potential negative contributions to air, water, and land . Dairy manure has the potential to negatively impact the environment. Nitrogen not retained by the animal or secreted in milk will be excreted in the urine and feces of the animal . Urine is more susceptible to losses of N to the environment from the animal waste as compared with fecal N .Dairy waste is a significant source of N and P that when land applied in excess of crop requirements can cause contamination of surface water . This excess N and P in water causes a rapid bloom in the growth of algal populations that consume dissolved oxygen in water, termed eutrophication, which reduces the available dissolved oxygen required for growth of aquatic animal life . Excess N can also contaminate ground water through leaching. This poses a problem for human and animal health as consumed nitrate from drinking water is converted to nitrite in the digestive tract, which replaces oxygen in hemoglobin and leads to cyanosis (oxygen starvation)Air quality also affects human and animal health as well as the environment, and dairy cattle have been known to contribute to poor air quality. One such compound that affects air quality produced by dairy cattle is NH3.Ammonia is produced when N in urea from the animal's urine reacts with urease present in feces .Another substantial GHG produced by dairy cattle waste is methane (CH4).The amount of CH4 emitted by dairy waste is dependent on the amount of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen present in the waste, making manure storage, diet, and bedding major contributors to total CH4 production.Dairy waste can also produce volatile organic compounds (VOC). Volatile organic compounds are a class of chemicals that when reacted with oxides of N and sunlight contribute to ozone formation.Dairy cattle enteric emissions have been shown to contain a variety of gases. For example dairy cattle emit CO2 as a byproduct of aerobic cellular respiration, which is the GHG with the greatest contribution to climate change.
Dairy cows and their manure produce greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. Poor handling of manure and fertilizers can degrade local water resources. And unsustainable dairy farming and feed production can lead to the loss of ecologically important areas, such as prairies, wetlands, and forests.
With the growth of the demand for milk powder, the production capacity of milk powder is increased, and the impact on the environment is also increased. The research on the environmental impact of the equipment for milk powder production is essential for the sustainable development of the milk powder industry
If the manure is used as a substrate in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and an organic fertiliser several climate positive effects are achieved.
If the the biogas is used to substitute fossil fuels, the GHG emissons are reduced and the methane emissions from traditional manure management are avoided. The air quality is improved if biogas replaces diesel (less NOx and soot particles). Locally produced organic fertiliser replacing synthetic fertilisers results in less GHG emissions since synthetic fertilisers normally are produced using fossil fuels. Local production implies less transport and hence less GHG emissions.
Gaurav H Tandon i have read the link shared by you which clearly shows the impact assessment of the dairy sector and thankyou for sharing such a great conference paper and it is of useful to me and my further research work.
Prem Baboo perfect picture and illustration about the emissions and these days when we talk about the climate change yes this is the biggest contributor to the emissions and we have to try to reduce this for sure
Suraj Kapoor and Jalal E Alkass yes even i do feel the same and yes the comments of Jörgen Held about the manure part and the emissions related to manure is perfect and the overall picture shown in the emissions pictoral I liked it and yes thankyou for your contribution.
Faraed Salman THankyou for sharing both the links and I personally read the shared articles and publications and the second one is quite interesting which shows the environmental impact of the dairy industry which is yes connected to the question raised by me and this is in the circular economy and the part of the question, thank you for your time and the publications you had shared.