Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of European beef production systems based on a farm-level optimization model

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is among the largest beef producers in the world. Besides the economic turnover, beef production causes adverse environmental impacts such as climate change. The sector is known for high heterogeneity in production systems, partly explained by different natural and economic conditions. This study assesses the environmental, social, and economic performances of three typical beef production systems in the EU at the farm level. The farm optimization model FarmDyn is used in this study to carry out a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) from cradle to farm gate; combined with a sensitivity analysis on prices, yields and animal traits. The assessed systems are a Belgian suckler cow farm that fattens its own offspring (BE); a system where calves raised in a French suckler cow farm are fattened on a farm in Italy (FR-IT); and a system where dairy bred calves from one farm are fattened on another farm, both located in Germany (GE-GE). The functional unit is 1 kg of carcass weight from young bulls. In addition to several environmental impact categories, the gross margin is estimated as an economic indicator. The social performance is measured with on-farm workload differentiated by tasks, and human calorie and protein conversion used for production. GE-GE performs better than the other systems in the environmental indicators because emissions are partially allocated towards dairy production. FR-IT shows the highest gross margin due to a higher beef price. BE and FR-IT use less human-consumable feed, as both systems employ grasslands and by-products for animal feeding. The sensitivity analysis identifies the price of beef and calves, the yield of roughage crops, and the weight and age of animals as major factors influencing the results. FarmDyn proves useful to perform LCSA of beef production on a farm-level as it integrates environmental, economic, and social indicators in a consistent framework; while considering price effects and farmers' behaviour in the context of farm heterogeneity and variability in management practices. Results thus provide valuable information to inform not only farmers’ decision but the debate of sustainable beef production in the EU.