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This article outlines the methodological guidelines that will be applied in the framework of the program Agri-BALYSE in order to compile life cycle inventories for about 110 French agricultural products. Special emphasis will be given on the treatment and the capture of the four main sources of variability for agricultural production systems: Variability due to differing natural production conditions, variability due to different production methods, variability due to different agricultural practices within a given production method and variability due to uncertainty of measurements. The guidelines are compiled in the Agri- BALYSE data collection guide which will be available end of summer 2011. Given the strategic importance of the Agri-BALYSE database, the data collection guide may become a national standard for LCA of agricultural products in France. (Résumé d'auteur)

This article outlines the methodological guidelines that will be applied in the framework of the program Agri-BALYSE in order to compile life cycle inventories for about 110 French agricultural products. Special emphasis will be given on the treatment and the capture of the four main sources of variability for agricultural production systems: Variability due to differing natural production conditions, variability due to different production methods, variability due to different agricultural practices within a given production method and variability due to uncertainty of measurements. The guidelines are compiled in the Agri- BALYSE data collection guide which will be available end of summer 2011. Given the strategic importance of the Agri-BALYSE database, the data collection guide may become a national standard for LCA of agricultural products in France.

Four farms integrating aquaculture and agriculture in the western highlands of Cameroun were analysed from 2005-2007 using Life Cycle Assessment (I.CA) to better understand the contribution of fish-pond systems to regional sustainable development. LCA was conducted according to previous studies on aquaculture production using economic allocation and one tonne of fish production as the functional unit. The system boundary included on-farm processes, production of feed and fertiliser, fingerlings, and transportation at all stages. Dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorus were evaluated using a nutrient mass-balance modelling approach. Fertilisation of ponds with manure and crop by-products increased nutrient cycling; nevertheless, low quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus were assimilated by the fish. The main processes contributing to impacts were pig-manure fertilisation followed by feeding of wheat bran. Potential Eutrophication impact per tonne of fish produced was higher for these farms than that of other aquatic production systems due to the low efficiency of the system and the origin of nutritive inputs.

ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, sees Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an essential tool to guide the evolution of agricultural production chains towards environmental sustainability. ADEME implements a recent French law aiming to introduce environmental labelling of consumer products, including food, by end of 2012. Labelling should indicate the product's carbon-footprint, but also other impacts. In this context it was decided to create a public life cycle inventory (LCI) database of French agricultural raw products. The database, named agriBALYSE, will be developed by a consortium consisting of ten institutes for applied agricultural research and three agricultural research institutes specialised in the environmental analysis of farming systems. The database will apply a consistent methodology for the establishment of LCIs of plant and animal products at the farm gate. The methods used and the data format will be in accordance with ISO norms, the ILCD handbook and the general methodology adopted for the environmental labelling of consumer products in France. The methods will be developed in the project, and will be based, as much as possible, on the involvement and the consensus of the concerned stakeholders. The LCI data should allow the calculation of the indicators identified for environmental labelling, but also of other frequently used LCA indicators. By the end of June 2011 the 3-year project should deliver LCIs for the most representative production systems of the main French crop and animal products, using existing methods and data. By the end of 2012, more LCIs, based on methods developed in the project, will be available for a wider range of production systems and production modes per product, and the range of products covered will be larger. (Réumé d'auteur)

Four farms integrating aquaculture and agriculture in the western highlands of Cameroun were analysed from 2005-2007 using Life Cycle Assessment (I.CA) to better understand the contribution of fish-pond systems to regional sustainable development. LCA was conducted according to previous studies on aquaculture production using economic allocation and one tonne of fish production as the functional unit. The system boundary included on-farm processes, production of feed and fertiliser, fingerlings, and transportation at all stages. Dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorus were evaluated using a nutrient mass-balance modelling approach. Fertilisation of ponds with manure and crop by-products increased nutrient cycling; nevertheless, low quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus were assimilated by the fish. The main processes contributing to impacts were pig-manure fertilisation followed by feeding of wheat bran. Potential Eutrophication impact per tonne of fish produced was higher for these farms than that of other aquatic production systems due to the low efficiency of the system and the origin of nutritive inputs.

ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, sees Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an essential tool to guide the evolution of agricultural production chains towards environmental sustainability. ADEME implements a recent French law aiming to introduce environmental labelling of consumer products, including food, by end of 2012. Labelling should indicate the product's carbon-footprint, but also other impacts. In this context it was decided to create a public life cycle inventory (LCI) database of French agricultural raw products. The database, named agriBALYSE, will be developed by a consortium consisting of ten institutes for applied agricultural research and three agricultural research institutes specialised in the environmental analysis of farming systems. The database will apply a consistent methodology for the establishment of LCIs of plant and animal products at the farm gate. The methods used and the data format will be in accordance with ISO norms, the ILCD handbook and the general methodology adopted for the environmental labelling of consumer products in France. The methods will be developed in the project, and will be based, as much as possible, on the involvement and the consensus of the concerned stakeholders. The LCI data should allow the calculation of the indicators identified for environmental labelling, but also of other frequently used LCA indicators. By the end of June 2011 the 3-year project should deliver LCIs for the most representative production systems of the main French crop and animal products, using existing methods and data. By the end of 2012, more LCIs, based on methods developed in the project, will be available for a wider range of production systems and production modes per product, and the range of products covered will be larger. (Réumé d'auteur)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is usually carried out using fixed coefficients for resource use and emissions as the basis for the calculation of the environmental impact of a product or a service. However, in agriculture, where the systems' functioning largely depends on the dynamic organisation of agricultural practices and on variable climatic conditions, coupling dynamic simulation models with LCA seems necessary. This paper presents the combination of a dynamic simulation model and LCA to assess the environmental impact of a collective pig slurry management system. The model simulates the production of slurry, its stock level in storage facilities, its transport and application to crop fields, as well as the gaseous emissions occurring in these stages, under different management strategies and climatic conditions. Results from the combination of these approaches show the great variability of the agronomic and environmental performance of the collective slurry management system in relation to different organisational schemes, agronomic decisions and climatic conditions.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is usually carried out using fixed coefficients for resource use and emissions as the basis for the calculation of the environmental impact of a product or a service. However, in agriculture, where the systems' functioning largely depends on the dynamic organisation of agricultural practices and on variable climatic conditions, coupling dynamic simulation models with LCA seems necessary. This paper presents the combination of a dynamic simulation model and LCA to assess the environmental impact of a collective pig slurry management system. The model simulates the production of slurry, its stock level in storage facilities, its transport and application to crop fields, as well as the gaseous emissions occurring in these stages, under different management strategies and climatic conditions. Results from the combination of these approaches show the great variability of the agronomic and environmental performance of the collective slurry management system in relation to different organisational schemes, agronomic decisions and climatic conditions.