Livestock farming and sustainability: toward technological innovation

Population and income growth in developing countries will increase demand for products of animal origin; conversely, in countries with advanced economies, acceptance of these products is decreasing among certain groups of citizens and consumers. The transition toward more sustainable livestock production will require investment in efficiency, diversification and mitigation of environmental risks.

This is what emerged during the presentation of the 56th edition of Agriumbria at Eima International, currently taking place in Bologna. In this exhibition context, so strongly oriented toward innovation, the importance of technology in both agriculture and livestock farming was discussed through "Livestock farming and sustainability: toward technological innovation", a seminar that took stock of the innovative contribution of technology applied to improving the sustainability, not only environmental, of livestock farming, presented by the Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Prevention Service of the Umbria Region. "In a context such as Eima, an event of international importance, it is important to reiterate how mechanization, together with technological innovation, is an important element of improvement for livestock farming and agriculture in general," explained Umbriafiere President Stefano Ansideri. "After all, one of Agriumbria's strengths, which today we presented at Eima International as we now traditionally do, is its ability to create dialogue between the business world and the world of science and research."

Applied to livestock farming, technology translates in detail into automated milking, or robots: localization and attachment systems; color sensors; electrical conductivity sensors; flow meters. It also applies to the housing environment, with sensors to detect microclimate, lighting, gases and dust. Other sensors monitor animal feeding: field sensors, including satellite-based systems, support decisions on timing and methods for harvesting and storing feed, such as silage and haymaking. Then there is the animal welfare component: localization, movement, respiration, body temperature, ingestion and rumination. All this represents the future of livestock production, which will be characterized by a delicate balance between rising demand in developing countries and increasing demand for sustainability in advanced countries. Political choices, commercial strategies and investment in innovation will play a crucial role in determining how the sector adapts to these changes and how it contributes to a sustainable and accessible food future for all.

During the seminar, Dr Salvatore Macri, Director of the Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety Prevention Service of the Umbria Region, presented a report entitled "Technology and Sustainability in Agriculture".

The relationship between animal welfare and environmental performance is very complex, sometimes antagonistic but often synergistic, in the sense that good welfare conditions often also produce good environmental performance. The reason is simple: good farming practices that take animal welfare into account help reduce the onset of clinical or subclinical diseases, benefiting production efficiency, which is the main tool for reducing environmental impact. Technology can help with several sustainability parameters, starting with quantification: a system that tells the user what has happened, such as number of steps per animal, kilograms of milk per animal, or time spent lying down, without drawing conclusions from it. Then comes the interpretation of measurements, which analyzes data collected using algorithms to inform the user about the current state of the cow, such as heat or disease, and enables informed decisions. Finally, there is the integration of interpretation, which combines information from one system with information from other systems, such as herd data, climate data, additional measurements on animals and economic data, to provide a recommendation to the user or formulate a decision based on that recommendation.

Applied to livestock farming, technology translates in detail into automated milking, or robots: localization and attachment systems; color sensors; electrical conductivity sensors; flow meters. It also applies to the housing environment, with sensors to detect microclimate, lighting, gases and dust. Other sensors monitor animal feeding: field sensors, including satellite-based systems, support decisions on timing and methods for harvesting and storing feed, such as silage and haymaking. Then there is the animal welfare component: localization, movement, respiration, body temperature, ingestion and rumination. All this represents the future of livestock production, which will be characterized by a delicate balance between rising demand in developing countries and increasing demand for sustainability in advanced countries. Political choices, commercial strategies and investment in innovation will play a crucial role in determining how the sector adapts to these changes and how it contributes to a sustainable and accessible food future for all. At the meeting, Stefano Ansideri, President of Umbriafiere SpA, presented the 56th edition of Agriumbria, scheduled from 28 to 30 March 2025. "The winning supply chain" will be the common thread of what has now become the reference event in the exhibition landscape of central and southern Italy.

The 2025 edition will confirm the new features introduced in the previous edition, which proved to be a major successful bet: a new exhibition space, a demo area dedicated to the forestry sector, and a food service area curated together with the Italian Breeders Association. The edition will be increasingly rich in content, but also in exhibition requests, with an increase in applications that are already significant and above historical levels.

In 2025, the national exhibitions and shows linked to livestock breeds will be confirmed, at a time when the sector is going through a difficult structural phase. The strong link with partner institutions is also confirmed, such as the Umbria Region, present at the presentation press conference, and the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Perugia. At the same time, the two souls of Agriumbria are increasingly represented by the connection with FederUnacoma (mechanization) and AIA (livestock farming), testifying to the fundamental value of both sectors within the exhibition project and to the strategic choice of a "supply-chain fair".