Accounting for the systemic effects of anaerobic digestion on the practices of farmers

Producing biogas on farms can influence much more than energy supply. Interviews with 23 farmers in northeast France revealed changes in fertiliser use, grassland management, animal feed production and crop cultivation after adopting biogas production. These changes ranged from small adjustments to major shifts, depending on each farm’s characteristics and farmers’ choices. The findings highlight why assessing the environmental sustainability of agricultural biogas requires looking at the whole farm, including how farming practices evolve over time.