Glossary:Livestock unit (LSU)

From Statistics Explained

The livestock unit, abbreviated as LSU (or sometimes as LU), is a reference unit which facilitates the aggregation of livestock from various species and age as per convention, via the use of specific coefficients established initially on the basis of the nutritional or feed requirement of each type of animal (see table below for an overview of the most commonly used coefficients).

The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock units (=1 LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult dairy cow producing 3 000 kg of milk annually, without additional concentrated foodstuffs.

Livestock unit coefficients

Bovine animals	Under 1 year old	0,400
	1 but less than 2 years old	0,700
	Male, 2 years old and over	1,000
	Heifers, 2 years old and over	0,800
	Dairy cows	1,000
	Other cows, 2 years old and over	0,800
Sheep and goats		0,100
Equidae		0,800
Pigs	Piglets having a live weight of under 20 kg	0,027
	Breeding sows weighing 50 kg and over	0,500
	Other pigs	0,300
Poultry	Broilers	0,007
	Laying hens	0,014
	Ostriches	0,350
	Other poultry	0,030
Rabbits, breeding females		0,020

Further information

• EU agricultural, environmental and rural development acronyms and definitions

Related indicators

• Livestock density index
• Livestock pattern

Statistical data

• Livestock statistics at regional level