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Glossary termPublished inIED 2.0

Livestock unit

Also known as LSU, veestapeleenheid

What does "Livestock unit" mean under the IED?

A standard measurement unit that allows for the aggregation of the various categories of livestock in order for them to be compared, and is calculated by using the coefficients for individual livestock categories listed in Annex Ia

Defined in / by

  • IED (32010L0075), Article 3, point (23b), as inserted by Directive (EU) 2024/1785

Last updated: 14 October 2026.

The unit that decides farm scope

Livestock units decide which pig and poultry farms fall under the IED. Annex Ia sets the thresholds in LSU: rearing of pigs representing 350 LSU or more, rearing of only laying hens representing 300 LSU or more, rearing of only other poultry categories representing 280 LSU or more, and any mix of pigs or poultry representing 380 LSU or more. Organic pig rearing is excluded. In installations rearing a mix of poultry including laying hens, the threshold is 280 LSU and laying hens count with a weighting factor of 0.93.

The coefficients in Annex Ia convert animals into LSU. A breeding sow of 50 kg or more counts 0.500, a piglet of up to 20 kg 0.027, other pigs 0.300 and a broiler 0.007.

LSU also set the timetable. Under Article 3(5) of Directive (EU) 2024/1785, the national rules apply within four years of the uniform conditions for operating rules entering into force for farms of 600 LSU or more, five years for 400 LSU or more, and six years for the rest. An application for a permit or a registration includes the stocking density in LSU per hectare (Article 70c(2)).

Questions and answers

How many pigs reach the 350 LSU threshold?

Our arithmetic from the Annex Ia coefficients: 350 LSU is 700 breeding sows of 50 kg or more at 0.500 each, or about 1,167 other pigs at 0.300 each. A mixed herd adds up the LSU of each category.

Are organic farms excluded?

Organic pig rearing is excluded from the pig and mixed thresholds. Organic poultry is not excluded in the adopted text. Omnibus VIII, COM(2025) 986 would remove organic poultry farms from scope.

Regulations

  • Industrial Emissions Directive (IED 2.0)

    The revised Industrial Emissions Directive is Directive (EU) 2024/1785. Member States had to transpose it by 1 July 2026, and none had notified full transposition by 25 September 2026. Operators need an environmental management system by 1 July 2027, and large pig and poultry farms follow from 2030. The Dutch bill is before the Eerste Kamer.

    Next
    Parliament plenary, first reading of Omnibus VIII