Living pig ex farm (Levende svin ab landbrug)

The market regulates Danish pork production and processes related to the production of pigs in agriculture are influenced by the market demand. Pigs are produced at various types of farms all over the country, but some farms react more than others to changes in demand (Jensen and Andersen, 2003). Grower pig production at farms with livestock unit less than 1.4 (Farm type 20) is the most sensitive farm to increased market prices (Jensen and Andersen, 2003) and data on pig production have been derived from this farm type. Farm type 20-2 (grower pig) produce grower pigs and sell the grower pigs to Farm type 20-1 at a weight of about 30 kg. Farm type 20-1 fattens the pigs up to slaughtering weight.

The main processes influenced by living pig demand ex farm are shown in the figure below.

    Node cut-off: 5.0%

Figure 1: Market based product chain diagram for pig production covering the most important processes in terms of contribution to global warming. Boxes refer to production processes. Names of grey boxes refer to the main product of the processes. Red arrows represent material or energy transfer between two processes; green arrows represent saved material or energy transfer as a result of displacements; green lines represent displacements and red lines represent avoided displacements. Further details can be found in the LCA model.

Bread wheat, rapeseed and a number of other crops are produced at Farm type 20. Environmental impacts associated with theses crops have been eliminated by system expansion, explaining the green lines and arrows.

Feed is produced from soy meal and a number of other ingredients. Soy oil is co-produced with soy meal, which is assumed to displace rapeseed oil, see Weidema (2003). Rapeseed meal is co-produced with rapeseed oil, explaining the "loop" of displacements (red lines). 

Farm type 20 has low livestock density and the farm type substitutes artificial fertilizer by purchasing excess manure from more intensive farm types. All environmental exchanges associated with manure import (transport, distribution and avoided artificial fertilizer usage etc.) are allocated to the farms where the manure is produced. The manure exchange is not very important in terms of contributions to global warming and hence not visible in the figure above.

The table below shows the potential environmental impacts associated with living pig demand ex farm. All data are provided per kg of living pig.

Impact category

Unit

 Pork, Farmtype 20-1

Global warming

g CO2-eq.

2250

Acidification

g SO2-eq.

40

Nutrient enrichment g NO3-eq. 214
Smog formation g ethene eq. 0.60
Land use m2 year 6.8

Location in database: Material/ Food from Primary Sectors/agriculture/Pork, from farm

References:

Jensen JD and Andersen M (2003). Marginale producenter af udvalgte landbrugsprodukter. FØI Working paper no. 08/2003 (in Danish). FOI.

Weidema B (2003). Market information in life cycle assessments. Technical report, Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Environmental Project no. 863).