Image credit: Ioanna Poulopoulou, Livestock Farming Systems commission’s Vice-President
The 76th annual meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) took place in Innsbruck from August 25th to 29th, 2025. The theme was ‘Future-proof livestock farming’, emphasising the urgent need for sustainability in livestock systems across environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This was highlighted by the joint session organised by the EAAP’s Livestock Farming Systems (LFS) study commission and the Animal Task Force (ATF): ‘Livestock farming systems for the next generation: can we imagine the future?’
The livestock sector is at a crossroads
Global crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and evolving societal demands create a complex challenge for farmers and stakeholders to enhance sustainability. The LFS-ATF session emphasised the need for livestock farming to balance resource efficiency, circularity, and diversity while ensuring food security and economic viability. Transforming livestock systems for a sustainable future by 2040 requires innovative, systemic approaches.
Unsustainable livestock practices have profound negative impacts. Excessive resource use and greenhouse gas emissions contribute substantially to climate change, with agriculture accounting for a large share of global emissions. Intensive systems accelerate biodiversity loss, threatening ecosystems and genetic diversity. Economically, farmers face volatile markets, rising costs, and generational renewal challenges, with only 6.5% of EU farmers under 35 in 2020. Socially, consumer demands for higher animal welfare and reduced environmental footprints add pressure, while rural communities risk decline without sustainable farming systems. These challenges threaten food security and the sector’s long-term resilience, potentially costing economies billions in lost productivity and environmental damage.
Opportunities through innovation and collaboration
Despite these challenges, the livestock sector can drive sustainable progress through innovation and collaboration. By embracing circularity, diversity, and efficiency, stakeholders can transform livestock systems to meet environmental, economic, and social goals. Promar International is positioned to guide this transformation, offering expertise and practical solutions to empower farmers, processors, and the entire supply chain.
Promar International provides tailored, evidence-based solutions to address these complexities. Our expertise spans the livestock supply chain, working with farmers, processors, and policymakers. We conduct sustainability assessments to integrate biophysical limits with socio-economic needs. By identifying KPIs specific to each operation, such as feed efficiency, waste management, water and energy efficiency, or biodiversity status and soil health, we develop customised roadmaps to drive progress.
Our services include soil health and carbon sequestration advice, carbon footprinting and emissions mitigation, climate resilience, biodiversity advice (BNG), net-zero agriculture strategies, farmer and supply chain engagement, and land management advice. We also offer ongoing monitoring to ensure measurable improvements, aligning with UK and EU goals to reduce reliance on imported feed proteins and promote circular feed solutions.
With Promar’s support, stakeholders can navigate sustainability trade-offs, optimise resource use, and enhance economic viability while meeting societal expectations. Building future-proof livestock systems can be achieved with Promar’s expertise. By leveraging our assessments, tailored roadmaps, and progress monitoring, you can reduce environmental impacts, strengthen resilience, and ensure a thriving livestock sector for future generations.
Ready to future-proof your livestock operations? Contact Promar International today to explore how our evidence-based solutions can drive sustainable progress across your supply chain.
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