Aimed at farmers and advisers, this course introduces Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) and why it matters for modern farm businesses.  Learners will explore how LCA supports market access, carbon audits, supply chain reporting and policy compliance. The course explains key concepts such as system boundaries, functional units and emission scopes, before guiding learners through a simple farm LCA exercise.  By the end, they will be better able to interpret results, avoid common pitfalls and use LCA thinking to inform practical farm decisions.

Course Description

Content:

• What is LCA and why should farmers care?  Why LCA matters
  • Market access
  • Supply chain reporting
  • Carbon audits
  • Policy compliance
  • System boundaries
  • Functional units (kg milk, kg beef etc.)
  • Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions
  • Strengths and limitations of LCA
• Understanding Farm Emissions & Environmental Hotspots 
  • Identify major emission sources in farming-systems
  • Recognise typical LCA hotspots
  • Understand variation between systems
  • Doing a simple Farm LCA (Hands-on)
  • Define a system boundary for their own farm
  • Select an appropriate functional unit
  • Identify date required for a simple footprint
  • Conduct a basic hotspot ranking
• Guided Practical Exercise work through Interpreting Results & avoiding common pitfalls
  • Interpret LCA outputs correctly
  • Avoid misleading comparisons
  • Understand uncertainty and data quality
  • Core content
  • Absolute vs intensity metrics
  • Carbon per hectare vs carbon kg product
  • Productivity vs emissions trade-offs
  • Data gaps and assumptions
  • Allocation issues
• Using LCA to inform Farm decisions 
  • Use LCA thinking to compare mitigation options
  • Identify realistic changes on their own farm
  • Develop a prioritised action plan