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Sustainable Agriculture:
Measuring what matters
Andrea L. Ludwig, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
Marty Matlock, Ph.D., P.E., C.S.E.
Professor and Area Director,
Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability
UA Division of Agriculture
Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department
University of Arkansas
mmatlock@uark.edu
Everything is Connected
2
Everything is changing
3
Sustainability 2050: The Challenge
UN Population Projections
12
10
Population (Billions)
8
6
4
2
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 4
Year
Sustainability 2050: The Challenge
UN Population Projections
12
Projected with current fertility rates
10
Population (Billions)
8
6
4
2
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 5
Year
Sustainability 2050: The Challenge
UN Population Projections
12
10
Population (Billions)
8
Median Estimate
6
4
2
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 6
Year
Sustainability 2050: The Challenge
UN Population Projections
12
What we do in
10 the next 10
Population (Billions)
years will shape
8 Earth and
Humanity for the
6 next 100 years
4 When technology and culture collide
technology prevails, culture changes
2
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 7
Year
We are all in this together
Billions
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3 Less Developed Regions
2
1
More Developed Regions
0
1950 1970 1990 2010 2030 2050
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision (medium scenario), 2005.
8
Human Activities Dominate Earth
Croplands and pastures are the largest terrestrial biome, occupying over
40% of Earth’s land surface
9
Meeting Food Needs by 2050
Jason Clay
The role of
research
10
Four Phases of a Life Cycle
Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal and Scope
Definition
Direct
Applications:
•Process
Inventory Improvement
Interpretation •Product Assessment
Analysis •Policy Analysis
•Strategic Planning
•Risk Management
Impact
Assessment
Emerging Consensus on LCA
Framework for Ag
• Metrics for sustainability should be grounded in
scientific methodologies such as Life Cycle
Assessment
• Need comparable metrics that span sectors, industries
and geographies
• LCA data (LCI) should be transparent, validated,
widely available, inexpensive
• The same LCA data and models should be used by
producers, retailers, policymakers, NGOs and
consumers
• Sustainability Metrics, Indicators and Indices must be
transparent
12
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to
Understand and Manage
Supply Chain Processes
13
LCA allows for impact
assessment from cradle to
grave
Raw
Material Product
A 1
Raw
Material
B 14
LCA allows for impact
assessment from cradle to
grave
Raw
Material Product
A 1
Raw Boundaries matter
Material
B 15
The biggest challenge for
sustainable agriculture:
• DATA
• Or more specifically, lack of specific data
• We have to work with agricultural
producers to insure we have data relevant
to the decisions we need to make
• We need to understand the decisions we
can make
• We must develop procedures for informing
decisions that meet our common criteria
16
Life Cycle Assessment Allocation
Kg CO2e per kg
By Mass? By Value?
+
= +
+
17
US Cotton Green House Gas LCA
18
US Cotton Green House Gas LCA
19
US Cotton Green House Gas LCA
20
US Cotton Green House Gas LCA
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US Cotton Green House Gas LCA
Carbon Emission (lb CE/acre) from
Cotton Production from Fuel by Practice
22
Life Cycle Assessment Case Study:
Carbon Equivalent GHG in Dairy
Production Processing
Consumption Distribution
Dairy Life Cycle Analysis to Reduce GHG Emissions
Supply chain contribution to carbon footprint of fluid milk consumed in the U.S.
24
What Cows Eat
Region 1 Dairy Feed
Supplement Alfalfa hay
Protein mix
Alfalfa silage Grain
Soybean meal
Wheat Grass silage
DDGS straw
Corn Cottonseed SoyBeans
Oat silage
Other Canola
Alfalfa haylage Hominy
meal
Corn silage Wheat silage Grass hay
Dairy Production Regions
Dairy Feed by Production Regions
Canola meal Region 5 Dairy Feed
Almond hulls Supplement Wheat silage
Region 1 Dairy Feed
Supplement Alfalfa hay
Grain Protein mix
Oat hay Alfalfa silage Grain
Soybean meal Soybean meal
Alfalfa haylage
Wheat straw Wheat Grass silage
DDGS straw
DDGS Oat silage Region 3 Dairy Feed
Corn Cottonseed SoyBeans
Citrus pulp Supplement
Corn germ Alfalfa silage
Oat silage
Alfalfa silage Wheat straw Protein mix Soybean Alfalfa hay Canola
Barley Alfalfa haylage Other Hominy
Corn Other meal meal
Hominy Corn gluten
Corn gluten Beet pulp
Alfalfa hay Cottonseed DDGS Corn silage Wheat silage Grass hay
Corn silage Alfalfa silage
Region 4
Wheat mill run Dairy Feed haylage
Alfalfa SoyBeans Pulp big mix
Alfalfa Whey Supplement Other
haylage Barley Cottonseed Soy hulls
DDGS Corn
Sorghum silage
Wheat straw Grain Grass hay
Corn silage Cotton waste Region
Cottonseed 2 Dairy Feed
Molasses Oat silage
Supplement Cottonseed
Oat hay
Protein mix Hominy
Grass hay Soybean Bermudagrass
Rye haylage
Corn meal hay Alfalfa hay
Grass hay
Other Soybean DDGS Alfalfa haylage
Fat
meal Molasses Wheat midds
Corn silage SoyBeans
Canola meal Cotton waste Triticale
Other Wheat
Alfalfa hay Corn gluten Corn silage
Grass silage straw
Corn silage Pasture Alfalfa silage
Grain Soy hulls
Sorghum silage
Citrus pulp
Schematic of energy flow
accounting for allocation
28
29
Field to Market Alliance
• Field to Market is a collaborative stakeholder group of
producers, agribusinesses, food and retail companies, and
conservation organizations that are working together to
develop a supply-chain system for agricultural sustainability.
• We are developing outcomes-based metrics
– We will measure the environmental, health, and
socioeconomic impacts of agriculture first in the United
States
– We began with national scale environmental indicators
for corn, soy, wheat, and cotton production in the U.S.
40
Definition of Sustainable
Agriculture
1. Meeting the needs of the present while enhancing the
ability of future generations to meet their needs
2. Increasing productivity to meet future food demands
3. Decreasing impacts on the environment
4. Improving human health
5. Improving the social and economic well-being of
agricultural communities
“Feeding 9.25 billion people without one hectare more of
land or one drop more of water”
31
Environmental Indicator Report
Corn: Summary of Results
Over the study period (1987-2007),
• Productivity (yield per acre) has
increased 41 percent.
• Land use increased 21 percent. Land
use per bushel decreased 37 percent.
• Soil loss above T has decreased 43
percent per acre and 69 percent per
bushel.
• Irrigation water use per acre decreased
four percent. Water use per bushel has
been variable, with an average 27
percent decrease over the study period.
• Energy use per acre increased three
percent. Energy use per bushel
decreased 37 percent.
• Total annual trends over this time period indicate
increases in total annual energy use (28 percent), water
• Greenhouse gas emissions per acre
increased eight percent. Emissions per use (17 percent), and greenhouse gas emissions (34
bushel decreased 30 percent. percent). Total annual soil loss has decreased 33
percent.
32
Environmental Indicator Report
Cotton: Summary of Results
Over the study period (1987-2007),
• Productivity (yield per acre) increased 31
percent, with most improvement occurring in
the second half of the study period.
• Land use has fluctuated over time, with an
overall increase of 19 percent. Land use per
pound produced has decreased 25 percent.
• Soil loss per acre decreased 11 percent while
soil loss per pound decreased 34 percent.
• Irrigation water use per acre decreased 32
percent, while water use per incremental
pound of cotton produced (above that expected
without irrigation) decreased by 49 percent.
• Energy use per acre decreased 47 percent • Total annual trends over the time period indicate soil
while energy use per pound decreased 66 loss and climate impact in 2007 are similar to the impact
percent. in 1987, with average trends over the study period
remaining relatively flat. Total energy use decreased 45
• Greenhouse gas emissions per acre percent and total water use decreased 26 percent.
decreased nine percent while emissions per
pound fluctuated, with more recent
improvements resulting in a 33 percent
average decrease over the study period. 33
Environmental Indicator Report
Soybeans: Summary of Results
Over the study period (1987-2007),
• Productivity (yield per acre) increased
steadily by 29 percent.
• Land use increased in absolute terms
and by 31 percent while land use
efficiency per bushel improved by 26
percent.
• Soil loss per acre decreased roughly
31 percent while soil loss per bushel
decreased 49 percent. These trends
coincide with significant changes in
farming practices in states that grow
the bulk of all soybeans.
• Irrigation water use per acre has
changed little over time and water use
per bushel improved 20 percent.
However, only four to seven percent of
the crop utilizes supplemental water.
• Energy use per acre has decreased 48 Total annual trends over this time period indicate
percent while per bushel energy use soybean production’s total energy use decreased 29
decreased 65 percent. percent, total soil loss decreased 11 percent, total
• Greenhouse gas emissions per acre irrigation water use increased 39 percent, and
declined 14 percent and emissions per climate impact increased 15 percent.
bushel decreased 38 percent.
34
34
Environmental Indicator Report
Wheat: Summary of Results
Over the study period (1987-2007),
• Productivity (yield per acre) increased by 19
percent.
• Land use decreased 24 percent. Land use per
bushel was variable, with an average overall
decrease of 17 percent.
• Soil loss per acre and per bushel improved 39
percent and 50 percent, respectively, with most
improvements over the first half of the study
period.
• Irrigation water use per acre increased 17
percent while water use per bushel produced Total annual trends over the twenty year study period
due to irrigation showed an average flat trend. showed an 18 percent decrease in total energy use
and an 11 percent decrease in total water use. Total
• Energy use per acre increased eight percent soil loss has decreased 54 percent. Total climate
and energy use per bushel decreased nine impact has increased an average of five percent over
percent. the study period, with a more significant increase over
the past decade.
• Greenhouse gas emissions per acre
increased 34 percent and emissions per bushel
increased 15 percent, with a larger increase in
the latter half of the study period. 35
Dairy Farm Water Use:
Context & Potential for Impact
• Goal: Understanding the
(geographical) hotspots for dairy
operations with regard to water
consumption and to place the dairy
sector in the larger context of water
consumption and availability
Dairy Water Use
Mississippi Basin Nutrients
Goal: Understanding the (geographical) hotspots
for dairy operations with regard to nutrient impacts
Dairy Population Density
USGS Sparrow Delivered Nitrogen
Yield
Proportion of Dairy Nitrogen to Total
Gulf Nitrogen
Corn Grain Density
Proportion of Corn Nitrogen to Total
Gulf Nitrogen
USGS Sparrow Delivered
Phosphorous Load
Proportion of Dairy Phosphorous to
Total Gulf Phosphorous
“Leave the wood pile a bit
taller than you found it.”
- Frank Shell, 1974
46
