Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses: preliminar results towards an environmental ecolabel with Life DOP project

Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano are two of the most important Italian PDO cheeses. To improve the environmental impact performances of their production, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method has been used. In the Life DOP Project, LCA of milk production at farm will be completed on about 120 dairy farms of the province of Mantova (Northern Italy). Mitigation strategies to improve both environmental and economic production sides will be suggested, focusing on forage crop production (yield increase), milk production (dairy efficiency increase), herd management (animals’ health and welfare) and off-farm purchased feed. From the preliminary results, shown on 4 farms, there is evidence that improvements are needed. In particular, the most efficient farm (farm C) has the best environmental sustainability, while the others have worse outcomes, mainly due to poor dairy efficiency and related issues.