Agriculture is most dominantly shaping the German environment, providing our basic food resources as well as the sources for bioenergy. This implies an intense societal exposure to the influences brought about by agricultural practices. Hence, a well functioning system of R&D is urgently required as prerequisite for constant and sustainable advancement of the sector. The study will present the structures and resources of the German agricultural research landscape including the most important sponsors, institutes, capacities and foci of agricultural R&D. A special focus will be laid on the field of animal production. It will be evaluated whether current research activities are suitable to provide solutions for contemporary questions and problems in the agricultural sector.