What if, thanks to Sanders, livestock farms could reduce their carbon footprint?
In France, livestock farming accounts for 45.5 MT of CO2 eq, or around 11% of the country’s GHG emissions. The good news is that solutions do exist to support the transition to more sustainable livestock farming, while improving profitability. Ophélie Jouve, Ruminant Market Manager, explains how the RumiverS project, developed by Sanders, is helping to meet this challenge.
What is RumiverS' purpose?
It stems from Avril’s raison d’être and Sanders’ CSR ambition, the first pillar of which is “Taking up the challenge of decarbonization” – with a target of reducing our emissions by 30% by 2030 – but also from that of our partner breeders.
What does this offer consist of?
At this stage, it is aimed at ruminant breeders. It consists of a range of 9 solutions that farmers can activate à la carte, depending on their objectives: to reduce energy consumption, improve herd management or even animal feed. In this respect, we rely on an innovative tool: the SandiFeed Carbonometer, which compares the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions of different feeding programs and identifies, on a case-by-case basis, the solutions to be implemented. It takes into account several parameters, such as the carbon footprint of foods, now displayed on bulk food labels.
RumiverS was launched in May. What were the main stages of the project?
First we had to acculturate ourselves to the complex subject of decarbonization through an in-depth study to understand the different types of emissions and the levers for decarbonization. This enabled us to identify what, in the Sanders offer, was capable of reducing emissions. Once the levers had been identified, we trained around a hundred Sanders ruminant sales representatives to help farmers effectively decarbonize their operations. But the project doesn’t stop there. Thanks to our partnership with Mixscience, other nutritional innovations are set to appear in the years to come.
Given the current crisis facing livestock farmers, how can we get them interested in decarbonizing their operations?
By providing concrete evidence of increased profitability, following the implementation of decarbonization solutions. This is also what SandiFeed’s Carbonometer provides through its indicators.
Case study: GAEC de la rivière
On this farm with 80 dairy cows, the partners wanted to reduce their carbon footprint while improving their farm’s productivity. After drawing up their environmental balance sheet, their technical sales representative helped them identify the action levers best suited to their operation, from among the 10 proposed by Sanders. The result: a 12% reduction in emissions, but also a financial investment ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 euros, thanks to concrete solutions involving milk productivity, lipid intake and calving age. A theoretical example at this stage, which should arouse the interest of breeders!