On 11 July 2025, the association "Zentrum für zukunftsfähige Tierhaltung" was founded at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF). Under the leadership of Freiberg University, researchers, private individuals and members of industry have joined forces to drive forward an innovation pool for the animal-friendly and sustainable barn of the future. The alliance will initially be launched as a registered association.
This summer, heatwaves are once again rolling across Europe and are not sparing farm animals. Temperatures in barns are rising to unbearable levels, with cows suffering from heat stress even at temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius. In times of climate change, researchers and farmers are realising that stables will have to change in the future in order to offer cattle in particular better climatic conditions. The barn of the future - this is where the Zentrum für zukunftsfähige Tierhaltung comes in.
Expertise for climate and animal-friendly barn construction
A poor barn climate has an enormous impact, and not just on the milk yield of cows: "We know from our research that most of the animal health problems and animal losses currently occurring in dairy farming, as well as the restrictions on the well-being of our cattle, are due to a sub-optimal housing environment," says Professor Alexander Starke, Chairman of the association.
With its expertise in fluid mechanics and ventilation, TUBAF is a source of engineering ideas within the association. Professor Rüdiger Schwarze explains: "We measure the air flows and the cows' breath at a dairy farm near Leipzig, the Kitzen agricultural cooperative, and have used the data to create a digital twin of the barn. This provides initial indications of which measures can lead to a better barn climate in the future."
Freiberger Rector Professor Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht initiated the association together with Starke and Schwarze. "With the Freiberg Zentrum für zukunftsfähige Tierhaltung, we have put one of the most pressing climate factors on our agenda: Agriculture. As a resource university that researches sustainable solutions to the challenges of the present, such as climate change, we can effectively apply our expertise from engineering and geosciences and energy technology here," says Professor Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht.
Facilitating joint research
The team has already begun preparing joint research initiatives. A thematically linked research project at TU Bergakademie Freiberg on the precise balancing of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle barns was launched at the beginning of 2025. The project, led by Professor Schwarze, is funded by the ¶Ù°ù.-·¡°ù¾±³¦³ó-°°ùü²µ±ð°ù-³§³Ù¾±´Ú³Ù³Ü²Ô²µ. "The project is a kind of initial impetus to conduct more research in networks again. In the Zentrum für zukunftsfähige Tierhaltung, we bring together the knowledge of researchers from different disciplines and experienced practitioners from the fields of stable construction and agriculture. In this way, we want to provide impetus for climate- and animal-friendly barn construction at both national and international level."
A video presenting the project for the precise balancing of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle barns also shows what research on the barn of the future looks like.
The Zentrum für zukunftsfähige Tierhaltung
The board of the association is made up of the following people:
- Prof. Dr Alexander Starke, Clinic for Cloven-hoofed Animals at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Leipzig University (Chairman)
- Prof. Dr Rüdiger Schwarze, Institute of Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics, TUBAF (Deputy Chairman)
- Dr Uwe Bergfeld (Treasurer)
- Prof. Dr Michael Mertig (TU Dresden)
- Prof. Dr Alexander Stahr (HTWK Leipzig)
Founding members also include:
The founding members also include:
- Prof. Dr Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht (Rector of TUBAF)
- Dr. Steffen Pache
- Thomas Seidel (Managing Director of HERMES GmbH Stalleinrichtungen)
- the TU Bergakademie Freiberg becomes a founding member as a legal entity