Reducing methane (CH₄) is a key objective to address climate change quickly. Manure management and storage play a significant role. In this context, a real-scale trial was performed to measure the ability of the commercial additive SOP LAGOON to reduce carbon-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from liquid manure over approximately 4 months. Gas emissions were measured at a commercial dairy farm from two slurry tanks, one treated with the abovementioned product (SL) and the other used as the untreated control (UNT). After 3 and 4 months from the first additive applications, the SL storage tank showed lower and statistically significantly different emissions concerning the UNT (up to −80% for CH₄ and −75% for CO₂, p < 0.001), confirming and showing improved results from those reported in the previous small-scale works. The pH of the UNT tank was lower than that of the SL on two dates, while the other chemical characteristics of the slurry were not affected. In this work, SOP LAGOON proved to be an effective additive to help the farmers mitigate the contribution of stored liquid manure to global CH₄ emissions, potentially improving the overall sustainability of the dairy industry.

To evaluate the nutrient load due to the grazing of laying hens in outdoor runs, monitoring of soil characteristics was conducted in three Italian organic farms. For each farm, soil samples were taken from three increasing distances from the hen house and two depths, and different chemical parameters were evaluated. The comparison among the results from the different distances shows that N-NO₃ and Olsen P are the most affected parameters by hen feces: both present high values with a statistically significant difference in the area close to the poultry house and for the most superficial layer. Even TKN and TOC show significant differences between the concentrations of the first layer (more concentrated) and those of the second layer (less concentrated). In general, the surface soil layer closest to the chicken house is the portion of the outdoor run most affected by chicken droppings and represents the most critical point in terms of potential environmental impact. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify the management of the outdoor run with tools that can facilitate the grazing of animals and with vegetation that can absorb nutrients by limiting leaching and runoff.

Maize is a key crop for the livestock sector being able to produce different fodder. Among these, ear maize silage is widely used as an energy source in the diets of pigs, dairy cows and fattening cattle. Given the variability of rainfall, irrigation plays a relevant role to achieve both satisfactory productivity and product quality. In this context, it is essential to explore the sustainability of different irrigation methods for maize cultivation.In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to evaluate the environmental impact of maize farms using different irrigation systems: pivot, drip, flood, and hose irrigation. One ton of ear maize silage at 48% moisture content was selected as functional unit and a “from cradle to farm gate” was considered as system boundary . Primary inventory data were collected mainly by surveys and interviews with the farmers. The Environmental Footprint 3.1 method was used to assess 14 impact categories. The results do not allow to clearly identify the best irrigation method across all environmental impact categories, therefore highlighting the need of trade-offs. While yield is the primary driver of environmental impacts, the influence of irrigation remains significant. Climate change was found to range from 116.66 kg CO2 eq./t of ear maize for flood irrigation to 207.42 kg CO2 eq./t for hose irrigation. Water use varied from 2178.29 m³ depriv./t for pivot irrigation to 10380.65 m³ depriv./t for flood irrigation. Regarding the contribution analysis, changing the considered environmental impact the main contribution varies, for example nitrous oxide is the main responsible to climate change, ammonia to particulate matter and acidification while nitrate and ammonia emissions to marine eutrophication. In conclusion, this study provides a basis for evaluating different irrigation methods, emphasising that irrigation plays a significant role in the overall environmental impact of maize cultivation, regardless of the end product.

Ammonia (NH₃) is a major anthropogenic pollutant originating from agricultural activity, particularly livestock operations. NH₃ emissions from livestock slurry storage pose risks to environmental quality and human health. Reducing NH₃ emissions aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 14, and SDG 15. This study evaluates the performance of the commercially available SOP^® LAGOON additive under real-scale farm conditions for mitigating NH₃ emissions. Two adjacent slurry storage tanks of a dairy farm in Northern Italy were monitored from 27 May to 7 September: one treated with SOP^® LAGOON and one left untreated (serving as a control). In the first month, the treated tank showed a 77% reduction in NH₃ emissions. Emissions from the treated tank remained consistently lower than those from the control throughout the monitoring period, reaching an 87% reduction relative to the baseline levels by the end of the period. The results suggest that SOP^® LAGOON is an effective and scalable strategy for reducing NH₃ emissions from liquid manure storage, with practical implications for farmers and policy makers in regard to designing sustainable manure management practices.

Italy is the most important European country in terms of rice production. Nevertheless, rice farming in Italy is one of the crop systems with the highest impact on the environment. The main peculiarity of the rice cultivation practice is field water management: in fact, rice is cultivated keeping the soil submerged and in an anaerobic state. Under these conditions, organic matter degradation causes large methane emissions into the atmosphere. Previous studies show that methane emissions causes about 50% of climate change of rice production. This study reports the biennial results of the BESTsomRICE project in which the environmental performance of an alternative water management, characterized by an aeration period of the field during the cultivation, was evaluated. For this purpose, field trials were carried out for two consecutive years in northern Italy, a life cycle assessment approach was applied with a from-cradle-to-gate perspective, and 1 ton of rice grain at commercial moisture was chosen as the functional unit. The results confirm that methane emissions are responsible for 50% of global warming. Furthermore, alternative water management reduced global warming by 12% and 11% without affecting yield or the other impact categories analyzed.