Dairy farms
Scottish milk production is concentrated in the south west of
the country (where 82% of dairy cows and 74% of dairy farm holdings are located) (1). Milk production has been on a downward trend in recent years
and contributes 12% of agricultural output by value (at basic prices) – see Figure 2. Organic production accounts for approximately
2% of annual milk production (2).
Dairy processors
Scotland is self-sufficient in liquid milk, which is mainly
processed in Scotland (Weir, 2009), (DTZ, 2007). Scottish dairy processors
utilize more than 1billion litres of milk and produce a variety of products at
nearly 70 premises. Milk intake from farms is mainly used to produce liquid
milk (45% of milk intake) and cheese (46% of milk intake) – see Figure below.
Six of Scotland’s main dairy product types were assessed in
this project:
- liquid milk(3)
- cream
- cheese
- butter
- yoghurt, and
- ice cream
These were chosen as they represent > 95% of milk
utilization, and are well-known, consumer-facing goods (the remaining products,
e.g. chocolate crumb, are mainly niche products). A summary of milk flow (volume) through the Scottish dairy supply chain is summarised in the diagrames below.
Figure: Milk utilisation in Scotland (2007)
The supply chain - cradle-to-graveThe diagram below summarises the main inputs, outputs and processes found in the Scottish dairy supply chain (click to view full size). Out-of-scope: emissions associated with co-products (e.g. beef) were excluded. The project did not estimate emissions associated with the use of primary and secondary dairy products in other foods e.g. pizza Figure: Dairy supply chain
References
1 Scottish agricultural
census summary sheets by geographic area: June 2007
2 Personal communications,
Stuart Martin (Scottish Organic Milk)
3
For simplicity milk was
treated as a single product – i.e. not separated out into whole and skimmed
sub-types. This disaggregation was considered unnecessary to meet the
objectives of the study |
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