INTERVIEW FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2023 47 What is MyMilkPrint and how does it work? MyMilkPrint is an online life cycle assessment (LCA) tool that can help feed advisors calculate the environmental footprint of milk production. With just a few clicks, feed advisors can access updated data and view how different scenarios can influence the environmental footprint of dairy farms. MyMilkPrint makes it easy to conduct a farm assessment, evaluate the impact of different interventions to address issues, generate reports and make formulation decisions influencing the nutrition and economics of the ration. Can you provide an example of how MyMilkPrint could support sustainability in milk production? MyMilkPrint can uncover emission hotspots and identify effective alternative approaches to reduce the environmental impact of milk. As an example, a feed advisor might replace a fat or protein source in a ration with a different ingredient having a lower environmental footprint. Such tailored adjustments can add up to significant reductions in the total environmental impact of the feed ration and hence milk. The benefit carries over to consumers in the form of a lower environmental footprint associated with the milk they purchase. Importantly, alternative strategies can address sustainability concerns without reducing milk production or animal performance. More sustainable milk production should not come at the expense of productivity. What data does my MyMilkPrint use to support recommendations? Both on-farm data and third-party data are used to generate MyMilkPrint reports and advice. Farm-specific inputs include milk production, on-farm energy use, and farm-grown ingredients. This data is considered in context with data on purchased feeds and nutritional data. Updated data is regularly input into MyMilkPrint and supplied by internationally accepted, widely used, and quality-assured databases. What information can MyMilkPrint yield? Feed advisors can use MyMilkPrint to establish a cradle-to-farm gate environmental footprint values for a farm’s milk production. One of these footprint calculations is the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that occur from operating the dairy farm. Additional information provided by MyMilkPrint addresses factors such as on-farm energy utilization, feed procurement and transportation. Looking at emissions that are associated with dairy production, insights can be generated for enteric methane, manure methane and nitrous oxide levels. It has been said that information is power and the MyMilkPrint tool puts the power of data at the feed advisor’s fingertips. Such capabilities allow the environmental impact of milk production to be minimized and overall sustainability to be optimized. Can you describe some decisions that MyMilkPrint can help inform? MyMilkPrint capabilities can provide informa-
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