Questions and answers on the Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan

Livestock Strategy

Why is livestock farming important for Europe?

Livestock farming is an essential part of European food security and strategic autonomy. It accounts for approximately 40% of the total output in European agriculture and contributes to food security by providing high-quality protein in the EU and globally with a very strong export orientation. In 2025, the European Union's livestock population included 132 million pigs, 72 million cattle, 54 million sheep, 10 million goats and around 1.6 billion poultry birds. The sector also plays an important economic role as it supports a significant share of agri-food employment with roughly 7 million people across 4 million farms in the EU. It makes up 42% of the EU's agricultural labour force and sustains many rural communities and regions across Europe which would otherwise be at risk of abandonment.

Beyond food production, livestock farming contributes to the economies of rural areas and  circular bioeconomy by providing resources for a range of non-food industries, such as fertilisers or wool, and supporting sustainable use of agricultural resources.

It also contributes to environmental and territorial objectives. Extensive livestock systems help to maintain biodiversity, while grasslands support carbon storage and the preservation of landscapes.

What are the main challenges currently facing livestock farmers?

Livestock farmers across Europe are facing a range of challenges, from economic pressure to environmental and structural changes.

A key challenge is ensuring the sector's profitability and resilience. High and volatile input costs, market uncertainty, more frequent extreme climatic events, more frequent and new disease outbreaks, and limited bargaining power can put pressure on farmers' income. Moreover, the financing gap for animal production was estimated at €18.7 billion in 2022, representing about 30% of the overall financing gap for EU agriculture (€62 billion).

While costly, meeting high EU standards on animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection is essential to ensure sustainability, consumer trust and high-quality.

The sector also faces long-term structural challenges, including an ageing farming population. The core of livestock production is managed by farmers in their mid and late-career stages. Farmers under 40 account for only a small share of the total livestock sector. Further challenges also include labour shortages and limited access to essential services, such as veterinary support in rural areas.

Climate change is adding further pressure, with more frequent droughts, floods and heatwaves, affecting animal health, feed availability and productivity. Disease outbreaks remain a recurring risk, with significant economic and trade consequences. Reducing vulnerabilities, including dependence on imported feed, will be important to strengthening the sector's resilience.

How is the livestock sector currently supported in the EU?

Livestock farmers can benefit from several types of Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) support. These include basic income support, payments linked to specific production systems, eco-schemes supporting environmental and animal welfare objectives, and rural development measures that provide funding for investments.

Direct payments under the CAP continue to play a major role in stabilising livestock farm incomes, particularly for grazing livestock and dairy farms.

In the first year of the 2023–2027 CAP, around €4 billion was allocated to livestock-related interventions paid per animal or livestock unit, representing around 10% of total CAP funding.

How will the Livestock Strategy support farmers and strengthen the future of the sector?

The Livestock Strategy sets out actions to boost the sector across five key areas: resilience, competitiveness, sustainability, territorial dimension and excellence of Europe's livestock sector.

It aims to help farmers better prepare for future challenges by improving preparedness, supporting adaptation over time and in turn ensuring profitability. This will require a combination of targeted public support, private investment and effective use of EU and national tools.

The Commission will work on a dedicated risk-management financial scheme under the next Multiannual Financial Framework, together with the European Investment Bank and financial institutions, to cover climate-related insurance and reinsurance needs. It will also provide to the Member States a specific manual with operational guidance on risk management, to complement the CAP recommendations. The Strategy also presents measures to strengthen and update animal disease prevention and response, including guidance on the use of preventive vaccination.

Research and innovation are key to adapting to climate change and mitigating its impacts. The EU will support the development and uptake of practical tools, such as more efficient feeding techniques, reducing emissions, breeding strategies, water use efficiency, or precision livestock farming. Recommendations in that sense will be made to Member States in the upcoming recommendations for the next CAP 2028-2034.  

How will the Livestock Strategy help reduce the environmental impact of livestock farming?

Investing in sustainability is investing in the long-term future of livestock farming in Europe. The EU livestock production already operates with a lower environmental footprint due to stricter regulations, improved farm management practices and advanced technologies compared with many global competitors.

The Livestock Strategy supports actions to reduce the environmental footprint of the sector, protect biodiversity and promote circular, welfare-oriented farming systems that contribute to the vitality of rural areas. It also acknowledges that the transition must be fair and balanced and that costs should be distributed along the value chain.

The Strategy will help improve sustainability measurement and monitoring tools, support investments that reduce emissions, including methane emissions, and facilitate the development of renewable energy solutions. A new Livestock Platform will help disseminate information and exchange of best practices, including on innovation.

To that end, the Commission will develop harmonised methodology to measure livestock greenhouse gas emissions at farm level to better reflect the diversity of farming systems and efforts made by farmers. A toolbox of most effective practices to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions will also be shared with Member States. A combination of policy tools, technology and innovation in genetics, breeding and feeding strategies can effectively contribute to emissions reduction (16% by 2035).

Sustainability has strong potential to bring additional income for farmers. For example, the Commission is working to further support the sustainable use of manure and bio-waste, including through the possible extension of the RENURE framework to digestates under appropriate environmental safeguards (first preliminary results in Q3 2026).

It will also encourage stakeholders to adopt practices such as precision feeding and better manure management, while strengthening communication with consumers on sustainability efforts and progress.

Farmers' efforts need to be better rewarded by the market. In that view, the Commission will promote European excellence to make higher production standards visible, such as low-carbon production, environment-friendly practices, local feed use and high animal welfare standards.

The Commission is also evaluating the EU legal framework to ensure that rules are proportionate and adapted to the realities on the ground, while pursuing the intended objectives. On the Nitrates directive, the Commission will identify best practices and simplification potential, notably on calendar farming, certain sustainable livestock practices and nutrient management at farm level.

How will the Livestock Strategy contribute to improving animal welfare?

The Strategy sets out the Commission's agenda to modernise EU animal welfare legislation and continue raising standards, in particular to follow-up on the European Citizens' Initiative ‘End the Cage Age.' At the same time, it recognises that farmers must be supported throughout the transition to ensure that higher welfare standards go hand in hand with a competitive and resilient livestock sector.

As a first step, the Commission will present by the end of 2026 a proposal to update animal welfare rules for laying hens and broilers, followed by a proposal on pig welfare in 2027.

As part of these proposals, equivalent animal welfare requirements for imported products in the EU will address EU citizens' ethical expectations, while ensuring a level playing field and protecting EU farmers from unfair competition.

The proposals will also promote the uptake of innovative technologies, supported by EU funding, to improve animal welfare and respond to societal demand.  This includes measures to phase out the systematic killing of male day-old chicks and better monitoring of animal welfare outcome indicators, with the support of innovative technical solutions.

How does the Strategy address the issue of animal health and the growing number of animal disease outbreaks?

In recent years, the livestock sector has been faced with new challenges from emerging and re-emerging animal disease outbreaks, which can have a devastating impact for farmers, their livestock, local communities and national economies.

In line with the evaluation of the EU's Animal Health Law, which was published on 6 July, the Commission is underlining the efforts made to move from a reactive to a more preventive approach in dealing with these diseases. This entails strengthening preparedness, prevention and response, including through vaccination where appropriate.

In line with the outcome of the evaluation, the Commission will, among others, assess whether the current rules on animal vaccination need to be revised, building on the scientific advice of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and in cooperation with global partners.

Flexible EU and national financing instruments, including access to a reserve fund for major incidents, should be made available to support the prevention, control and eradication of animal diseases. In addition, the Commission has put forward proposals to simplify and streamline EU rules in the area of food and feed safety, to support farmers and agri-food operators while continuing to ensure a high level of food safety in the EU.

What does the Livestock Strategy mean for consumers?

Nearly two-thirds of the protein consumed by EU citizens comes from animal sources. The gap between animal and plant-based protein consumption is widening. At the same time, consumers increasingly expect livestock products to be produced in ways that meet high standards of animal welfare, environmental sustainability and food safety.

The Livestock Strategy supports the sector in responding to these expectations by promoting excellence in livestock production and strengthening the European approach to responsible and sustainable farming. Animal welfare remains a key priority and an important concern.

The Commission will also work to improve market transparency, helping consumers make informed choices and better understand the value, quality and standards behind EU livestock products.

Protein Action Plan

Why is it important to have a more autonomous and sustainable protein system in the EU?

The EU is largely dependent on protein supply from a limited number of origins, which is mainly high protein feed used by EU livestock. Six countries (Brazil, the United States, Argentina, China, India, and Paraguay) account for 90% of global soybean production.

The EU livestock sector uses around 74 million tonnes of protein as feed annually. Imports cover 25% of the protein used to feed EU livestock. Soya bean and soya meal protein dominate EU imports of protein, at around 13.4 million tonnes of crude protein in marketing year 2024/25.

Reducing these strategic dependencies is therefore crucial for reducing the vulnerability of our agri-food system to global market fluctuations, derisking supply chains and progressing on the sustainability transition.

This is why the Vision for Agriculture and Food places a strong focus on building a competitive and resilient agricultural sector through a comprehensive Protein Plan that addresses Europe's protein supply challenges. The Protein Action Plan aims to increase the share of EU-grown oilseeds and protein crops in animal feed to 35% by 2035, from 25% currently.

What is the vision of the Commission to strengthen the protein system in Europe?

The transition towards a resilient and sustainable protein system requires action at multiple levels of governance and across stakeholders. This should aim to expand the EU's sustainable protein supply, improve the efficiency of livestock feeding, diversify imports while aligning sustainability standards, support more consumer choices for diversified diets, and strengthen circularity.

The Action Plan combines concrete measures to strengthen EU production of protein and oilseed crops while stimulating demand to ensure an outlet for the EU production, both for feed and for food.

Why are protein crops important for Europe's agricultural production systems?

Protein crops, i.e. legumes, soya and fodder legumes, play an essential role in Europe's agriculture and food security. They provide high-quality protein for human consumption and contribute to the feeding of livestock, as 64% of the cereals consumed in the EU is used to feed the EU livestock. It remains an important part of Europe's agricultural production.

Beyond their nutritional value, protein crops bring important environmental benefits. When integrated into crop rotations, they can reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers, improve soil health and strengthen the resilience of farming systems, while contributing to climate change mitigation.

What is the Commission doing to strengthen the production of protein crops in Europe?

The Commission is strengthening EU production by incentivising protein crops through CAP tools and developing resilient value chains supported by processing infrastructure, greater use of contracts, and targeted investments. To do so, the Commission already proposed to enable a distinct protein crop sector under the CAP post-2027. This would facilitate the creation of producers' organisations, for example.

Moreover, it supports more efficient and locally based livestock systems. This includes extensification based on grassland, optimised feeding strategies relying on EU-sourced feed supported by infrastructure, market incentives, and domestic production of feed inputs. Furthermore, the Commission proposes to allow laying down marketing standards for protein crops to better inform consumers about the origin of the protein crops in products they purchase.

Through these actions, the Commission is scaling up sustainable plant-based protein production in the EU and aims to ensure that the share of protein from oilseeds and protein crops originating from the EU and used as feed in the EU reaches 35% in 2035, from 25% currently.

How will the Protein Action Plan support farmers, create market opportunities and benefit rural areas?

The Protein Action Plan aims to create new opportunities for farmers and rural communities by strengthening the production, demand and value of EU-grown protein sources.

Growing demand for plant-based protein products, together with more efficient livestock systems that make greater use of locally and regionally produced feed, can open new market opportunities for farmers and rural communities.

The Action Plan points to the need of improving consumer information, promoting pulses, strengthening origin labelling and using European promotional campaigns. Public procurement, particularly in canteens, as well as the European school fruit, vegetable and milk scheme, will also help to raise awareness of these products and support their consumption. The Commission is currently working on revising the rules on public procurement.

Finally, this transition can only succeed if the entire supply chain gets involved. We will support investment in processing, storage and innovation to make proteins produced in Europe more accessible, more attractive and more competitive for consumers. The Action Plan does not promote a particular diet but rather a more diverse and informed choice for consumers of high-quality, sustainable products. The Action Plan also promotes a bioeconomy approach, helping to make better use of agricultural resources and unlock the full potential of European protein sources. For example, through synergies stemming from more integrated programming framework under the National Regional Partnership Plans, CAP support for an on-farm biogas project can be complemented by larger-scale investments in biomethane infrastructure, creating new income opportunities for farmers, supporting local energy supply and increasing the overall impact of public funding.

By increasing local protein supply, supporting diverse production systems, developing innovative protein solutions and strengthening value chains, the Plan can contribute positively to farmers' incomes, rural economies and the long-term sustainability of Europe's agri-food system.

What happens next and how will the Livestock Strategy and the Protein Action Plan be implemented?

The successful implementation of the Livestock Strategy and the Protein Action Plan will require coordinated action from the Commission, Member States and stakeholders.

For the Livestock Strategy, the Commission will continue using the EU Livestock Workstream to monitor progress, report on implementation and ensure that actions remain aligned with the strategy's key objectives: resilience, competitiveness, sustainability, territoriality and excellence.

For the Protein Action Plan, dedicated Protein Dialogues with Member States will provide a platform to exchange best practices, strengthen cooperation and track progress in delivering the plan's objectives.