Global Livestock Production

Classification of Production Schemes

Livestock production systems are classified into three broad categories: grazing, industrial and mixed systems. These categories were defined by the work of Carlos Sere and Henning Steinfeld of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. While intended to divide livestock production systems into distinct categories based on the amount of feed produced on the farm compared to feed purchased, the percentage of production value that comes directly from livestock, as well as the density of livestock units per hectare, the line between these categories is frequently blurred by increasing demands on production levels.

Grazing Systems

Grazing systems are defined as production systems in which "more than 90% of dry matter fed to animals comes from rangelands, pastures, annual forages and purchased feeds and less than 10% of the total value of production comes from non-livestock farming activities. Annual stocking rates are less than 10 livestock units per hectare of agricultural land."

Grazing systems represent a relatively small proportion of global livestock production (<10%), predominantly cattle, sheep and goats. Poultry and swine production have negligible grazing production numbers.

Extensive vs. Intensive Grazing Systems

Grazing systems can be further subdivided into extensive vs intensive grazing systems.

Extensive grazing requires small inputs of labor, fertilizers and capital and is usually very small-scale agriculture with low productivity; ranges are large and often nomadic. Examples of this would be grazing of uncultivated lands such as the Scottish Highlands, or nomadic herding seen in rural Africa.

Intensive grazing is more confined grazing where fertilizers, labor and other inputs are increased to maximize the productivity on a piece of land. This often involves subdividing a plot of pasture into subunits and rotating the livestock through the different units to prevent overgrazing in each.

Industrial Systems

Industrial systems are defined as production systems in which "<10% of the dry matter fed to livestock is produced on the farm and have stocking rates greater than 10 livestock units per hectare of agricultural land." They require heavily on inputs of feed and energy and can be run in areas where the environment is not conducive for production as they are frequently in enclosed spaces.

The vast majority of poultry production (>60%), both broilers and layers, as well as swine production (>50%) occurs in enclosed industrial production systems. Large-scale dairy production and feedlot production of sheep and cattle are also examples of industrial production systems and contribute approximately 10% of global production.

Mixed Systems

Mixed systems are defined as production systems in which "more than 10% of the dry matter fed to livestock comes from crop by-products and/or stubble or more than 10% of the value of production comes from non-livestock farming activities." Crops are produced both as feed for livestock as well as for sale.

Mixed production systems produce the largest share of total meat, the majority of cattle and sheep and a minority of poultry and swine production. The vast majority of dairy production also occurs on mixed farming systems. Environmentally, mixed systems have the potential to be the most benign to the environment as nutrients are recycled between crops and livestock by returning animal waste products for crop production.

Mixed systems can also be further subdivided based on the presence or lack of irrigation. Rainfed systems are naturally watered and are therefore subject to environmental conditions. Irrigated systems on the other hand can have water input tightly controlled by by the farmer and thus are less dependent on local weather patterns.

Global Livestock Distribution

It is useful to breakdown each of the different livestock animals when examining distribution as these patterns vary considerably from species to species.

Major cattle producers worldwide include the United States, Brazil, China, Argentina, India, in addition to many countries in the UK and EU.

The major swine and poultry producer in the world is China, with the United States, Canada and certain EU and UK countries as well.

Sheep production is concentrated to the UK and New Zealand.

A map of general livestock density produced by the International Livestock Research Institute is shown below:

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