Researchers from FiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) recently organised a series of three online workshops within the Re‑Livestock project, bringing together 45 participants from different disciplines and countries to discuss the environmental performance of livestock systems and the effects of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The workshops were designed to promote knowledge exchange across disciplines and support a broader interpretation of results generated within Re‑Livestock. Participants were invited to discuss preliminary findings from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies and explore their environmental, economic and animal welfare implications.
Each workshop focused on a different livestock production system and a specific challenge related to climate resilience and environmental performance:
- Spanish indoor fattening pigs: the effects of heat stress and changing yields on the environmental performance of indoor pig fattening systems under future climate conditions, including potential environmental, economic and animal welfare trade‑offs of adaptation measures.
- Swiss dairy cattle: the potential of methane inhibitors to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy production in grass‑based systems, and how this compares with increasing the productive lifespan of dairy cows.
- Danish organic fattening pigs: the environmental and economic trade‑offs and synergies of integrating willow–grass agroforestry outdoor runs into organic pig fattening systems, including opportunities to further improve system performance through adapted crop rotations.
The workshops generated lively discussions and valuable exchanges across perspectives, contributing to a broader and more robust interpretation of the results.
By bringing together experts from different fields and countries, the workshops strengthened collaboration within the Re‑Livestock consortium and contributed to a deeper understanding of how different mitigation and adaptation strategies can support more sustainable and resilient livestock systems.