Research projects
  • Home
  • Research projects
  • Comparison and analysis of the synergies of environmental and sustainability assessments on dairy farms in Austria

Comparison and analysis of the synergies of environmental and sustainability assessments on dairy farms in Austria

Herndl Markus, Dr.

Dr. Markus Herndl

Soil Science and Lysimetry Department, Head of the Eco-Efficiency Research Group

In the context of future European agricultural policy, the competitiveness of the Austrian dairy industry depends on its ability to excel in maintaining high environmental standards and sustainability performance. In order to be able to evaluate and further develop environmentally friendly and sustainable milk production, there are analysis methods at farm level.

The farm management tool developed as part of the “FarmLife” research project (project number 100800) based on a life cycle assessment approach is suitable for measuring the (increase in) efficiency of agricultural material flows on a farm.
The SMART method for assessing the sustainability performance of companies and farms, developed at the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL), comprehensively analyzes (with up to 330 indicators) the most important aspects/criteria of the sustainability of agricultural production systems and their contribution to society. The assessment is carried out qualitatively and semi-quantitatively on the ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainability as well as in the area of ​​sustainability in corporate management.

Goals of the research project:

  • Using concrete operational data on dairy farms, which is used from ongoing projects, the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods are examined and the synergies of a joint application are demonstrated
  • Creation of technical interfaces for data sharing
  • Building a common method for advisory recommendations for agricultural businesses

further links

Left

Institute 2 - Crop Production