Using LCA to estimate the potential reduction of the environmental impact by PLF technology

Every year over seventy billion animals are slaughtered to fulfil the worldwide demand for animal products (meat, eggs, milk) and a further increase is expected by 2050. The livestock sector, like other sectors, has a high environmental impact and we must find solutions to reduce it. Normally an evaluation by experimental work in field conditions becomes very expensive in monitoring techniques and in labour. This paper shows a method to evaluate the effect of PLF technology on the environmental impact by using simulations of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We use an example on dairy cows by evaluating the use of pedometers for the detection of oestrus events. The results show that the application of LCA can work as a feasible approach to get insight in the significance of the environmental benefit of applying PLF tools on farms.