BY MAUDE BLOUIN, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER OFFICER, NOVALAIT
Frédérika Nadon, an agronomist and PhD student in animal sciences at Université Laval, is studying the carbon footprint of the 20 dairy farms participating in the Carbon-Neutral Milk – Living Laboratory to support them in their innovation efforts.
When you listen to Frédérika Nadon talk about her project, you quickly realize she’s in her element and that she’s involved in research out of passion. She’s committed to helping dairy farmers improve their practices to become more resilient in the face of climate change.
“I like to joke that I absolutely love my farmers.”
Her doctoral project focuses on the carbon footprint of the 20 dairy farms participating in the Carbon-Neutral Milk – Living Laboratory (CNMLL) and on comparing four available tools for calculating this footprint. Living Labs are a major research-supported innovation initiative, launched and funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs Program. A living lab brings together farmers, scientists, and other industry partners to jointly develop, test, and evaluate new practices and technologies in a real-world production setting, with the goal of accelerating their adoption on farms. The CNMLL aims to understand, innovate, and improve practices designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Quebec dairy farms, optimize carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, and encourage a large number of dairy producers to commit to carbon neutrality.
A passion for research
Halfway through her bachelor’s degree in agronomy, Frédérika knew she wanted to pursue graduate research. She met her advisor, Édith Charbonneau, during her course on dairy production. Édith is also the scientific director of the Carbon-Neutral Milk – Living Laboratory for research activities under the lead partner, Les producteurs de lait du Québec.
Frédérika completed her master’s degree on a very fundamental project related to dairy cattle nutrition. It was during her second year of her master’s program that she spent more time working closely with her advisor and decided to begin a Ph.D. under her supervision. “I made a list of goals I wanted to achieve with my PhD. When Édith told me about the CNMLL project on carbon footprints, it checked all my boxes and aligned with my values.”
The pride of being part of change
You can immediately sense Frédérika’s passion for the great potential of her research project. “I’m very proud to be part of this major project, and I feel a strong sense of belonging. I’m lucky to meet and build relationships with the 20 committed producers in the living lab. It was really important to me during my PhD to go out and meet with dairy farmers.”
She understands that achieving carbon neutrality is a major challenge for dairy farmers. However, she is optimistic and offers her scientific support to help them in this endeavor, which could inspire many others in Quebec and Canada to innovate in their practices.
Drawing inspiration from here and elsewhere
Between two young scientists, the banter begins when we wonder what comes after graduate school. “The killer question!” we say with a laugh. Passionate about research and experienced in university teaching as a teaching assistant, Frédérika isn’t sure which direction her career path will take after her PhD.
She knows she’ll have a new list of items to check off before deciding on her career path. Frédérika has completed various research internships in Canada and Europe, which has allowed her to see different approaches, including those of First Nations communities in Western Canada. “I love Quebec, but I’m open to conducting research elsewhere in the world. Europe does better than we do in some areas, but those countries also have things to learn from our dairy farmers. I want to be involved in shaping the future of dairy farming practices here and abroad.”
The carbon footprint: a good starting point
As part of her research, Frédérika is responsible for calculating the initial carbon footprints at the start of the living lab, then repeating the process at the end of the project, once producers have implemented certain beneficial management practices on their farms. Simply put, a dairy farm’s carbon footprint is calculated by adding up the GHG emissions from various activities (cows, manure pits, field work, etc.), then subtracting the amount of carbon stored in the agricultural soil. The result, expressed in CO2 equivalents (CO2 eq.) per kilogram of milk, allows for comparisons not only between farms but also with farms elsewhere in the world.
“The initial carbon footprint should be seen as the starting point toward farm carbon neutrality. If dairy farmers wish to become carbon neutral, they must first know where they stand today to identify areas for improvement to implement.”
The average for the 20 farms in the living lab is 0.95 CO2 eq. per kilogram of milk, very close to the Quebec average of 0.93. The North American average is 1.29, while the global average stands at 2.50.
Challenges in calculating a carbon footprint
Carbon footprint results can vary depending on the practices implemented, as well as on the tool used to calculate them. That is why Frédérika’s doctoral research also focuses on comparing various calculators available in Canada and Europe. To ensure these calculators yield similar results, the research team will identify their differences to propose optimization solutions. For example, carbon sequestration by trees forming a windbreak hedge on some farms is not always taken into account.
Calculating a farm’s carbon footprint is challenging because it requires collecting a vast amount of information. The agri-environmental fertilization plan, data on all inputs purchased for farm management, and information on cow productivity are just a few examples. Frédérika commends the outstanding collaboration of the producers and their advisors, who dug into their 2022 archives, enabling her to carry out her scientific work. This work also earned her the People’s Choice Award at the Novalait poster competition during the Dairy Cattle Symposium in October 2024.
Carbon neutrality: A goal that’s not so easy to achieve — or maintain.
Finally, Frédérika raises awareness about the enormous challenge of achieving carbon neutrality, but especially of maintaining it in the long term. “The carbon footprint is heavily influenced by factors beyond dairy producers’ control, such as soil type, climate, seasons, and precipitation. It’s important to keep in mind that, despite all the producers’ efforts to implement beneficial management practices, carbon neutrality may not always be achieved from one year to the next. Droughts or heavy rainfall can influence GHG emissions from agricultural soils.”
Now that the 20 producers have received their initial carbon footprint assessment, they are collaborating with other scientists from the Living Lab to implement beneficial management practices. These practices can improve their farms’ carbon footprint while also yielding beneficial economic and social impacts.
To learn more about the Carbon-Neutral Milk – Living Laboratory:
https://lait.org/en/our-future/investments-research/carbon-neutral-milk-living-laboratory/
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2147150/lait-producteurs-pollution-gaz-effet-serre
