General (all livestock)
Can I add a new feed additive to the cattle methods?
Yes, you can add a new feed additive to our system. However, please be aware that we currently have a minimum lead time of 18 months for the addition of any new feed additives. This timeframe is essential for us to ensure that any new additive ...
Why is machinery use not considered for the beef and dairy module, unlike the crop module?
The fuel use estimates in the crop module consider machinery, but also soil texture and fuel. In the beef and dairy modules, we do no collect soil information, but only consider the total amount of fuel used. As machinery operations are very ...
When I import a crop assessment as feed item into a livestock footprint, does the tool consider the crop in terms of yield per hectare?
Yes, hectare is considered as base unit. However, more importantly, the feed assessment is taken into account by taking the emissions per weight. So, if you feed your animals x amount, the emissions for that x amount are calculated.
Enteric fermentation has such a high impact on my beef/dairy carbon footprint. How is the YM determined?
There are two feed approaches in the Cool Farm Tool: The first one allows to specify the dry matter intake for each feed item for each animal category, while the second requests the percentage of fresh matter intake for each feed item for the entire ...
How is the feed intake for feed approach 2 determined, as the tool only asks for percentages?
The model estimates feed intake based on gross energy requirements. This includes energy for growth, grazing, and lactation among others. The second feed approach uses the gross energy requirements to determine total feed intake based on feed items. ...
What should I do if I/the user does not know the exact feed quantities or shares?
The feed is quite a big leaver for the beef and dairy modules and thus the values should be as close to reality as possible, by indicating the DMI per animal category. If the exact DM quantities for each category are not available, please use feed ...
If there is only a single collection point for all manure, do I still need to enter management for each animal category?
Yes, if you do not specify manure for each category, the tool will default to an emission factor that is equivalent to manure applied during grazing.
How to enter manure that is processed through a mechanical separator?
Manure is often processed through a mechanical separator before the liquid portion is sent e.g. to a lagoon and the large solids are managed differently, e.g. composted. However, we do not have the option for separators in our tool. Adding separator ...
Can I account for the time the manure is stored in different systems?
We do not consider timing currently in manure emission calculations. The values used in the Cool Farm Tool are average annual IPCC emission factors. While there is a link between emissions and duration of storage, it is a lot more complex to estimate ...
Why is there no option to create a new feed item type?
In theory, this can be done e.g. for compound feed by providing all the ingredients separately via the current user interface. If you produce the ingredients on farm, you would need to make a separate assessment for each, or combine them in one ...
Can I contribute to GFLI's transport database initiative?
When adding data about purchased feed in your GHG assessments, it's important to include the transportation of this feed to the farm. This aspect is essential for a complete cradle to farm gate approach, as transport emissions will contribute to the ...
Does the beef/dairy pathway include carbon sequestration of feed items?
There is the option to include sequestration in the feed items when using the crop pathway of the CFT to generate a carbon footprint for your own produced feed item for which you apply practices that sequester carbon. However, the default feed values ...
Grazing quality clarification: What impact does this metric have on overall GHG output? What is its purpose?
Grazing quality information is required for the digestibility of grass. High quality refers to grass from good pastures (generally fertilized), low quality refers to grass from rangelands (mostly unfertilized). Both grassland quality levels have the ...
Grazing type clarification: What impact does this metric have on overall GHG output? What is its purpose?
Grazing type information is needed for the energy requirement calculation. Only two grazing options are available in the CFT. Confined pasture refers to grazing where animals are confined in areas with sufficient forage requiring modest energy ...
Should I include dead animals in the number of “sold” animals in the herd section?
No, dead animals should not be included under sold animals, as otherwise the GHG footprint would be underestimated. Dead animals did consume feed and emit GHG emissions during their live, but are not producing meat, because dead animals are not used ...
How do I consider animals that are sold within the same year?
Cool Farm Tool determines feed demand, enteric fermentation, manure, etc. for 365 days for each animal entered in the herd section tab. Therefore, it is important to consider the time animals spend on the farm when calculating the average number of ...
The herd section asks me for average numbers for animals on farm, but actual numbers for purchased/sold animals. Why is that?
For the animals on farm, the Cool Farm Tool works on a whole year basis and so we are trying to calculate on average how much manure and methane is produced by these animals in a year. If the animals are only present for half the year, you only want ...
How were the animal categories defined in the Cool Farm Tool?
The categories reflect the different stages and use cases on a beef or dairy farm. Some users perceive them as too few categories others as too many categories. The current grouping was for us the best compromise of accuracy and data availability. ...
Can you account for carbon changes and sequestration in livestock farms e.g. if you have trees near the barn?
Carbon change due to management interventions (e.g. carbon sequestration) or additional tree biomass is not yet available for livestock pathways. You can only account for management interventions in the crop module for biomass added or management ...
Grassland fertilisation: I only apply manure fertiliser on hayfields, not on the full acreage that is used for both hay and grazing. Does it make sense to select “grazing, grass silage, and hay area combined” and then enter in only the acreage on which fertiliser is being applied?
Correct. Select “grazing, grass silage, and hay area combined”, and please only enter the area that is fertilised and the respective fertiliser amounts, not the full area. This won’t impact any other modules (e.g. grazing, feed). Please keep in mind ...
If I use manure from my livestock for fertilisation, is it sufficient to enter the management type "daily spread" or should I enter the manure as a fertiliser?
In the beef and dairy module, the “manure” tab accounts for the emissions from management and storage of manure collected from animals in-house (emissions from manure left on field during grazing is already calculated by the tool). Select the ...
How do I insert a crop assessment as a feed input for my dairy/beef assessment?
To do this please click the "More" button in your completed crop assessment and follow the instructions under "Cattle feed" at the bottom and hit "save". Once you've done that you will see this crop in the "Feed component" dropdown under "Feed" in ...