Umweltwirkungen unterschiedlich intensiv wirtschaftender Milchviehbetriebe im Ökologischen Landbau in NRW

Summary

Organic dairy farms with different feeding intensity and production structure differ significantly in their environmental impacts; low input organic farms achieve a higher product quality and animal welfare and cause less environmental risk for sensitive ecosystems and water quality due to lower nitrogen emissions. Intensive organic farms achieve lower greenhouse gas emissions because of lower CH4 emissions per litre milk. However, the contribution of animal husbandry to global warming potential is relatively low and the aim of low CH4 emission runs contrary to ruminant welfare. Concerning the impact categories of biodiversity, product quality and energy con-sumption, the average ecological benefit of the farms is relatively low compared to the best single farm, indicating a high management influence.