The European Commission published a Staff Working Document on 7 July 2026 analysing the EU livestock sector, providing data and analysis for policymakers, Member States, and stakeholders. The document accompanies the EU strategy on livestock and paints a picture of a sector facing declining herds, increasing specialisation, and rising feed costs, with significant regional diversity and environmental challenges requiring tailored policy pathways.
The analysis, prepared by DG AGRI, covers the period 2005-2025 and includes projections to 2035. It shows that between 2005 and 2025, numbers declined for most species: bovines -10%, pigs -15%, sheep -26%, goats -26%, while poultry increased +14%. In 2025, the EU had 132 million pigs, 72 million bovines, 54 million sheep, 10 million goats, and 1.6 billion poultry. The sector comprises 4.1 million farms with livestock (41% of all EU farms), but 6% of farms hold over 70% of total livestock units, indicating high concentration. Average EU livestock density is 0.75 LSU/ha, ranging from 0.01 in Wien (AT13) to 7.41 in Noord-Brabant (NL14).
Feed costs represent 25-28% of total costs, and own-produced feed dropped from 26% in 2010 to 21% in 2023, increasing reliance on purchased feed. Organic livestock is growing but remains a small share: bovines 7% of total (2024), sheep 9.3%, goats 10.2%, pigs only 1.1%. In 2025, production reached 42.7 million tonnes of meat and 161.8 million tonnes of milk, with meat consumption at about 47 kg per capita. Projections for 2025-2035 indicate meat production -3%, milk +1%, poultry meat +5%, beef -10%, pig meat -7%.
The document is non-legislative and serves as a technical annex to the Commission's communication on the EU livestock strategy. It does not propose new measures but provides evidence for future policy discussions. Key trade-offs identified include balancing environmental sustainability (e.g., reducing emissions from livestock) with economic viability for farmers, especially smallholders facing cost pressures. The decline in herds and increasing specialisation may improve efficiency but risk marginalising smaller farms and reducing rural employment.
Stakeholders impacted include EU livestock farmers (particularly small and medium-sized operations facing cost pressures), feed suppliers (affected by declining own-produced feed), meat and dairy processors (facing changing supply volumes), and environmental NGOs (concerned about emissions and land use). The analysis highlights the need for tailored policy pathways due to regional diversity, suggesting that one-size-fits-all approaches may be ineffective.
Institutional follow-up is expected as the European Parliament and Council will examine the strategy and accompanying analysis, potentially leading to legislative proposals or adjustments to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to address the sector's challenges.