Industry 4.0 is currently considered the structural implementation of networked and cooperative digitalisation and the next step in technological and social development. The aim of this paper is to examine how these structures are also suitable for agriculture and whether there are already approaches to this. Therefore, the main aspects of Industry 4.0 will be analysed and compared with agricultural examples from arable farming and livestock farming. The study shows that the approaches of Industry 4.0 are also useful for agriculture. However, they must be adapted to agriculture, as it has a different basic structure. As in industry, it is also evident in agriculture that there is still a need for action in the organisational and technical networking of systems.

The term “Agriculture 4.0” emerged from the term “Industry 4.0” like amany other “4.0” terms. However, are Industry 4.0 technologies and concepts really applicable to agriculture? Are the benefits that Industry 4.0 brings to industrial use cases transferable to livestock farming? This paper tries to answer this question for the three dominant sectors of livestock farming in Central Europe and Germany: Poultry, pig fattening, and dairy farming. These sectors are analyzed along with the eight most relevant Industry 4.0 benefits. The results show that only part of the Industry 4.0 benefits are relevant for livestock farming in a similar manner as in industrial production. Due to basic differences between industrial and livestock farming use cases, some of the benefits must be adapted. The presence of individual living animals and the strong environmental impact of livestock farming affect the role of digital individualization and demand orientation. The position of livestock farming within the value chain minimizes the need for flexibilization. The introduction and adoption of Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies may contribute significantly to transforming agriculture into something that may be called Agriculture 4.0. Technologies are indispensable for this development step, but vocational education and open-mindedness of farmers towards Industry 4.0 is essential as well.

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