Water footprint of in natura milk production: an analysis of the main producing regions of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

According to the economic and social importance of the production of in natura milk for the RS, it is also relevant to evaluate the point of view over the environmental sustainability, and one way to do it is through water footprint. The estimation of the water footprint for livestock production contributes to the knowledge about the water consumption, as well as helps to promote the management and conservation of this resource. Therefore, this study’s objective aims to estimate the water footprint of in natura milk production for the main regions in milk production of RS: Coredes Fronteira Noroeste, Produção and Vale do Taquari, in which are covered 77 municipalities. The methodology used is standard for studies of this nature, being the data collected in two distinct ways, concerning relative to milk production and the amount of dairy cattle were collected by municipalities from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2014); and in consolidated literature, relative to pre-established parameters. The results show that the more productive is the herd, the bigger is its capacity of the feed conversion into product, in other words, the bigger is one’s the productivity, the smaller is its water footprint.