Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/63671

In recent years, environmental problems in a Hokkaido dairy farming area have been receiving significant attention. The rate of increase in the number of cows has been greater than that of cultivated acreage in this area. Therefore, environmental problems resulting from dairy farming might degrade this area. This paper quantitatively evaluated environmental problems from dairy farming in this area, using LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), which can analyze environmental impacts throughout a product's life cycle. The subject of this paper was dairy farming in Hokkaido Nemuro subprefecture from 1975 to 1994. In this LCA, the functional unit is 1 ha of cultivated area, and the environmental impact categories are global warming, acidification, and eutrophication. The results of this paper showed that the growth in the number of cows has increased the environmental problems associated with dairy farming in this area. The increase in environmental impact categories from 1975 to 1994 were as follows; global warming potential; 53.6%, acidification potential; 75.7%, eutrophication potential; 243.2%.