In Spain, the number of dairy cattle farms has decreased, while milk production per farm has increased, consolidating intensification in the sector. The objectives of this work were to identify, characterize and suggest mitigation measures for a sample of 237 dairy farms in Spain located in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Navarra, Castilla y León and Cataluña based on environmental impacts, applying a principal component analysis. This identified four components that explain 85.1 % of the variance, classifying four typologies: i) Intensive low territorial base (IntBbTe, 27 %); ii) Intensive high territorial base (IntAbTe, 55.2 %), iii) Extensive low territorial base (ExtBbTe, 3.3 %) and iv) Extensive high territorial base (ExtAbTe, 14.3 %). Intensive typologies contain higher land base than extensive typologies (44.8 vs. 32.1 ha⁻¹), annual forage crop area (29.4 % vs. 0.67 %), livestock load (3.29 vs. 2.8 LU ha⁻¹), feed purchase (50.3 % vs. 43.3 %) and milk production (14.3 vs. 7.8 t ha⁻¹). In contrast, 60 % of the environmental impacts per kilogram of milk were lower in intensive farms and 8 % were similar to those in extensive farms. The kilograms of feed per kilogram of milk, kilograms of milk per cow per year, and the efficiency of N utilization in the herd and farm as a whole explain the variability of the environmental impacts in a robust way. It is concluded that a certain degree of environmental

Salcedo G., Salcedo‑Rodríguez D. (2025). Identificación de los sistemas de vacuno leche representativos de España desde una perspectiva ambiental. ITEA‑Información Técnica Económica Agraria 121(3): 289-324. https://doi.org/10.12706/itea.2025.010

Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad y del Gobierno de Cantabria (INIA-RTA: Nº 2015-00058-C06 y 02) y Nº 12-00065; Proyecto FPI2015-0016; 05-640.02-2174; 05-640.02-2174 y 2015CPD10002