04015naa a2200445 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400410007410000200011524501570013526000090029250007070030152019190100865300630292765300240299065300230301465300280303765300330306565300330309865300210313170000160315270000160316870000270318470000190321170000160323070000160324670000240326270000170328670000160330370000190331970000150333870000190335370000160337270000140338870000160340270000140341870000150343277301220344710647932024-08-15       2024    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a0048-96977 a10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.1752182DOI1 aLEITE, F.F.G.D.  aRelevance of farm-scale indicators and tools for farmers to assess sustainability of their mixed crop-ruminant livestock systems.h[electronic resource]  c2024  aArticle history: Received 22 May 2024, Revised 10 July 2024, Accepted 31 July 2024, Available online 2 August 2024, Version of Record 8 August 2024. -- Correspondence: Vibart, R.; AgResearch Ltd., Grasslands Research Centre, Tennent Drive, Private Bag 11008, Palmerston North, New Zealand; email:Ronaldo.vibart@agresearch.co.nz  -- Funding: Financial support through the partners of the Joint Call of the Cofund ERA-Nets SusCrop (Grant No. 771134), FACCE ERA-GAS (Grant No. 696356), ICT-AGRI-FOOD (Grant No. 862665) and SusAn (Grant No. 696231). Also funded by the New Zealand Government to support the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA). -- Contains Supplementary data. --  aABSTRACT.- Ensuring the sustainability and circularity of mixed crop-ruminant livestock systems is essential if they are to deliver on the enhancement of long-term productivity and profitability with a smaller footprint. The objectives of this study were to select indicators in the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability of crop-livestock systems, to assess if these indicators are relevant in the operational schedule of farmers, and to score the indicators in these farm systems. The scoring system was based on relevance to farmers, data availability, frequency of use, and policy. The study was successful in the assemblage of a suite of indicators comprising three dimensions of sustainability and the development of criteria to assess the usefulness of these indicators in crop-ruminant livestock systems in distinct agro-climatic regions across the globe. Except for ammonia emissions, indicators within the Emissions to air theme obtained high scores, as expected from mixed crop-ruminant systems in countries transitioning towards low emission production systems. Despite the inherent association between nutrient losses and water quality, the sum of scores was numerically greater for the former, attributed to a mix of economic and policy incentives. The sum of indicator scores within the Profitability theme (farm net income, expenditure and revenue) received the highest scores in the economic dimension. The Workforce theme (diversity, education, succession) stood out within the social dimension, reflecting the need for an engaged labor force that requires knowledge and skills in both crop and livestock husbandry. The development of surveys with farmers/stakeholders to assess the relevance of farm-scale indicators and tools is important to support direct actions and policies in support of sustainable mixed crop-ruminant livestock farm systems. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.  aÁREA DE RECURSOS NATURALES, PRODUCCIÓN Y AMBIENTE - INIA  aAssessment criteria  aEconomic dimension  aEnvironmental dimension  aIndicators of sustainability  aMixed crop-livestock systems  aSocial dimension1 aFAVERIN, C.1 aCIGANDA, V.1 aCRISTOBAL-CARBALLO, O.1 aDOS REIS, J.C.1 aEUGÈNE, M.1 aFARIÑA, S.1 aHERCHER-PASTEUR, J.1 aMONTEIRO, A.1 aPASTELL, M.1 aRECAVARREN, P.1 aROMERA, A.1 aROSANOWSKI, S.1 aTIERI, M.P.1 aAUBRY, A.1 aVEYSSET, P.1 aKENNY, D.1 aVIBART, R.  tScience of the Total Environment, November 2024, Volume 950, e175218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175218