Allard, Guy

Angers, D.

Bélanger, Gilles

Bélanger, V.

Vanasse, A.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Forage‐Based Indicators of Environmental Sustainability of Dairy Farms in Eastern Canada V. Bélanger Université Laval, Canada A. Vanasse Université Laval, Canada Gilles Bélanger Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada D. Angers Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada Guy Allard Université Laval, Canada Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-1/20 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 瞯 ]36　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsForage‐based indicators of environmental sustainability of dairy farms in eastern CanadaV .Bélanger 1 ,A .V anasse1 ,G .Bélanger 2 ,D .A ngers 2 and G .A llard11 FSA A , Pav . Paul‐Comtois , Université L aval , Québec , QC , G1K 7P4 , Canada , Email : guy . allard ＠ f saa . ulaval .ca ,2 A griculture and A gri‐Food Canada ,2560 ,Hochelaga Blv d . ,Québec ,QC ,G1V 2J3 Canada .Key words : sustainability ,forages ,dairy farms ,indicatorsIntroduction On‐farm self sufficiency of forage production has been the norm for dairy producers in eastern Canada .Thisgenerally meant a relative equilibrium between herd size and land area ,and a rotation of perennial forages with grain crops usedfor feed or off‐farm sales .Both conditions are generally recognized as sustainable agricultural practices .As farm size increases ,either by adding animal units or by cultivating larger land areas ,the initial balance is changed ; either the land area is insufficientto absorb the surplus of manure or the proportion of perennial forages in crop rotations is substantially reduced .Tools arenecessary to evaluate whether such changes affect the environmental sustainability of dairy farms .Although several methods exist to evaluate the environmental impact of agricultural production ,the use of indicators that can bemeasured on farms to quantify their environmental sustainability is the most appropriate tool to use with producers ( van derWerf and Petit ,２００２) .Our objective was to develop indicators to evaluate the environmental sustainability of dairy farms .Materials and methods This study is a part of a larger project on the environmental ,economic and social sustainability of dairyfarms in eastern Canada .We used an approach based on the IDEA Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles(　 )method developed by Vilain (２００１ ) in France .Indicators were developed through a series of consecutive steps .First ,a panel of２５ experts was asked to list all the possible indicators that could be measured on farms to evaluate their environmentalsustainability .The potential indicators were compiled and submitted to the same ２５ experts who rated them according to theirrelevance and easiness of on‐farm acquisition .The top‐rated indicators were brought for discussion in a focus group ( １２ of the２５ experts) to determine : １) which indicators should be kept ,２ ) their minimum ( threshold) or target values for a farm to beconsidered sustainable and ３ ) their relative weight on a scale of １００ points .Once determined ,the indicators were used to assessthe environmental sustainability of ４０ farms ,split between two contrasting agricultural regions of eastern Canada .Results and Discussion Thirteen indicators were determined and grouped within four components : cropping practices ( ３０points) ,fertilizer and manure management ( ３０ points ) ,soil quality ( ２０ points ) ,and farmland management ( ２０ points ) .Themain indicator of cropping practices was perennial forage crops (１６ points) ; the other １４ points were linked to annual crops andcomprised four indicators ( soil tillage ,green manure ,crop rotations ,integrated pest management ) .The inclusion of perenniallegume and grass species in crop rotations has been known to improve soil structure .The score for forage crops is awarded as aproportion of the total cultivated area in perennial forages ; the target value is such that a farm with ８０％ of its cultivated landin perennial forages gets the full score of ３０ points for the cropping practices component .The indicators of the three othercomponents are :‐Fertilizer and manure management : manure storage and manure ,nitrogen and phosphorus management ;‐Soil quality : soil organic matter ,soil phosphorous saturation ;‐Farmland management : water course protection ,land drainage ,windbreaks ,field slope ,on‐farm woodlot .Some of these indicators are completely independent of forage production but others like soil organic matter or nitrogenmanagement ( forage legumes) are often a consequence of the proportion of perennial forage crops in the rotations .Conclusions In eastern Canada ,a panel of ２５ experts determined that the environmental sustainability score of dairy farms waslargely dependent on the inclusion of perennial forages in their crop rotation .Dairy farms that expanded their cultivated landwithout increasing their herd size usually opted for more grain crops ,decreasing the proportion of perennial forage crops in theirrotation .While such a decision could be positive for the economic sustainability of these farms ,they may face a bigger challengein terms of environmental sustainability .Referencesvan der Werf ,H .M .G .and Petit ,J . ,２００２ .Evaluation of the environmental impact of agriculture at the farm level : a comparisonand analysis of １２ indicators‐based methods .A griculture ,Ecosystems and Env ironment １９２２ ,１‐１５ .Vilain ,L . ,２００１ .La méthode IDEA ,indicateurs de durabilité des exploitations agricoles . Guide d摧utilisation .Educagri Editions .Dijon ,France . １５１ p .

Forage‐Based Indicators of Environmental Sustainability of Dairy Farms in Eastern Canada

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Forage‐Based Indicators of Environmental Sustainability of Dairy Farms in Eastern Canada

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