Abstract：
Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) techniques include sensors and tools to install on livestock farms and/or animals to monitor them and support the decision making process of farmers, finally early detecting alerting conditions and improving the livestock efficiency. Direct consequences of this monitoring include enhanced animal welfare, health and productivity, improved farmer lifestyle, knowledge, and traceability of livestock products. The indirect consequences, instead, include improved Carbon Footprint and socio-economic indicators of livestock products. In this context, the aim of this paper is to develop an indicator applicable to dairy cattle farming that takes into account concurrently these indirect consequences. The indicator was developed combining the three sustainability pillars (with specific criteria): environmental (carbon footprint), social (5 freedoms of animal welfare and antimicrobial use) and economic (cost of technology and manpower use). The indicator was then tested on 3 dairy cattle farms located in Italy, where a baseline traditional scenario (BS) was compared with an alternative scenario (AS) where PLF techniques and improved management solutions were adopted. The results highlighted that the carbon footprint reduced in all AS by 6-9 %, and the socio-economic indicators entailed improvements in animals and workers welfare with some differences based on the tested technique. Investing in PLF techniques determines positive effects on all/almost all the criteria adopted for the sustainability indicator, with case-specific aspects to consider. Being a user-friendly tool that supports the testing of different scenarios, this indicator could be used by stakeholders (policy makers and farmers in particular) to identify the best direction towards investments and incentive policies.
摘要：
精准畜牧业（PLF）技术包括传感器和工具，用于安装在畜牧业和/或动物上，以监控它们并支持农民的决策过程。最终及早发现警报条件，提高牲畜效率。这种监测的直接后果包括提高动物福利，健康和生产力，改善农民的生活方式，知识,和畜产品的可追溯性。间接后果,相反，包括改善的碳足迹和畜产品的社会经济指标。在这种情况下，本文的目的是开发一个适用于奶牛养殖的指标，同时考虑到这些间接后果。该指标是结合三个可持续性支柱（具有特定标准）制定的：环境（碳足迹），社会(动物福利和抗菌药物使用的5个自由)和经济(技术和人力使用的成本)。然后在意大利的3个奶牛养殖场测试了该指标，将基准传统方案（BS）与采用PLF技术和改进的管理解决方案的替代方案（AS）进行比较。结果表明，所有AS的碳足迹减少了6-9%，和社会经济指标需要改善动物和工人的福利与一些基于测试技术的差异。对PLF技术的投资决定了对可持续性指标采用的所有/几乎所有标准的积极影响，需要考虑具体案例的方面。作为一个用户友好的工具，支持不同场景的测试，利益攸关方(特别是决策者和农民)可以使用这一指标来确定投资和激励政策的最佳方向。
