1 December 2026

Evidence-based decisions in livestock systems

Organised by:

SCI, London, UK

Synopsis

Livestock systems play a vital role in food production, nutrition, rural economies, and land management. As expectations around sustainability, productivity, environmental performance, and resilience continue to grow, there is increasing interest in how livestock systems can be assessed in more integrated and meaningful ways. This event will explore how data, modelling, and assessment frameworks are being used to support decision-making across livestock systems. Discussions will examine developments in life cycle assessment, systems modelling, carbon foot printing, digital tools, and scenario analysis, alongside the practical challenges of interpreting complex evidence and translating it into real-world action.

It will explore how environmental, nutritional, economic, and social factors can be considered together across multiple scales, from individual farms to wider food systems. Speakers and delegates will examine the opportunities and limitations of current assessment approaches, the communication of uncertainty and trade-offs, and the role of evidence-based tools in supporting future livestock system innovation, sustainability, and policy development.

Attendees

Researchers, livestock industry professionals, policymakers, consultants, and sustainability practitioners involved in agriculture, food systems and environmental assessment.
Those working in livestock production, sustainability reporting, carbon foot printing, life cycle assessment, agricultural modelling and digital agriculture.
Farmers, supply chain organisations, food businesses, retailers, advisory organisations and those involved in the development and application of sustainability metrics, standards, and decision-support tools for livestock systems

Programme

Tuesday 1 December 2026

10.00: Registration and refreshments
10.30: Keynote - From data to decisions: transforming the assessment of livestock systems
Tara Garnett, University of Oxford

Session 1: Towards integrated assessment of livestock systems

10.45: Developing multi-criteria and multi-level assessments of livestock systems
May Wheeler, Sustainable Food Trust
11.00: Improved indicators and assessments for integrated evaluation of livestock systems
11.15: From assessments to action: making complex livestock system assessment usable
11.30: Panel discussion: What makes livestock system assessment effective?
11.50: Refreshment break

Session 2: System-level modelling and integrated life cycle assessment

12.15: System-level modelling of livestock: beyond the farm boundary
Taro Takahashi, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
12.30: Expanding life cycle assessment: integrating nutrition and socio-economic dimensions
Laurence Smith, University of Reading
12.45: Scenario-based LCA for future livestock systems
13.00: From model outputs to decision-making
13.15: Panel discussion: Are current models fit for real-world decision-making?
13.35: Lunch, posters and exhibition

Session 3: From tools to impact: enabling real-world decision-making

14.45: Using carbon footprint data to support livestock policy
15.00: Data and models for outcome-based environmental assessment in agriculture
15.15: Digital twins for livestock systems: from simulation to decision support
15.30: Scenario modelling and decision support for livestock system transitions
15.45: Panel discussion: What is needed to move from innovation to implementation?
16.10: Networking reception
17.00: Event close

Sponsorship information

Please see the sponsorship pack and email conferences@soci.org to let us know which package you are interested in.

Call for posters

Contributions are invited from early-stage researchers, PhD students, and professionals working across livestock production, environmental science, agricultural modelling, sustainability, food systems, and related fields. Abstracts should showcase research, tools, case studies or practical approaches that improve understanding of livestock systems and support more informed decision-making across policy and industry.

Topics may include, but are not limited to, life cycle assessment, carbon foot printing, systems modelling, scenario analysis, digital agriculture, sustainability metrics, benchmarking, data integration, and decision-support tools. Contributions exploring the practical application of assessment frameworks, the communication of uncertainty and trade-offs, or approaches that support innovation and implementation across the livestock sector are particularly encouraged.

There will be voucher prizes of £100 (first place) and £50 (second place). The best posters will clearly communicate their research and its practical value. Abstracts (maximum 250 words, excluding names, affiliations, references, or figure captions) should be sent to conferences@soci.org by Monday 26 October 2026, using the subject line “From data to decisions - poster submission”. Please download an SCI_Abstract_Template.

Accessibility Grants

SCI accessibility grants are available to support SCI members with disabilities, long term health conditions, those who require a carer, and members who are nursing parents to attend SCI events. Download an application form to apply for a grant.

Venue and Contact

SCI

14/15 Belgrave Square
London
SW1X 8PS

Conference Team

Tel: +44 (0)20 7598 1561

Email: conferences@soci.org

Booking Process/Deadlines

Booking terms and conditions

CPD Info

All delegates attending this meeting are able to claim CPD points.

Organising committee

Richard Hopkins, University of Greenwich
Peter Reineck, Consultant
Sokratis Stergiadis, University of Reading
Laurence Smith, University of Reading
Taro Takahashi, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute