Sommet de l'Elevage · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated June 2026

Key takeaways

• 35th edition of the Sommet de l'Elevage, running from Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 October 2026 at the Grande Halle d'Auvergne in Cournon-d'Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand metropolitan area).
• Limousine breed in the spotlight in 2026 (official artwork announced, featuring the bull Palermo from the Pôle de Lanaud). 2026 is also the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, a cross-cutting theme for the edition.
• Annual trade fair, with its first-week-of-October slot confirmed each year. Organiser: Sommet de l'Elevage SAS (SIREN 391 946 548, share capital €508,248, registered office at 17 allée Evariste Galois, 63170 Aubière). Chairman: Jacques Chazalet. Managing director and founder: Fabrice Berthon.
• The 2025 edition (7-10 October) drew 104,000 visitors (-13.4% vs 2024) and 1,770 exhibitors from 34 countries (an all-time record), including 6,000 international visitors from 104 countries. The drop in attendance is explained by the cancellation of the entire cattle sector (lumpy skin disease - LSD) (sources: 7joursaclermont.fr, alliance-elevage.com).
• 13 Sommets d'Or awarded in 2025 from 97 entries (a record): 5 permanent categories (Livestock Equipment, Machinery, Livestock Services, Digital, Livestock Supplies) plus 3 special prizes (Animal Welfare Prize, Green Prize, Ingenuity Prize).

Who exhibits

Typical profile

A leading international trade fair for sustainable animal production: beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, equines, forage crop production, genetics, machinery, livestock equipment, agri-supplies, technological innovations and agri-energy. 1,770 exhibitors in 2025 from 34 countries, with an international share that has grown steadily since 2019. The trade fair positions itself as the "world's no. 1 sustainable livestock show" (verbatim wording from the official homepage).

Notable exhibitors

The full list of exhibitors is published on the official website: sommet-elevage.fr. Structuring categories: bovine genetics (French beef and dairy breeds), agricultural machinery (Kubota, Kverneland, John Deere historically), milking and housing equipment (DeLaval, GEA, Agritubel), agri-supplies, digital solutions for livestock farming. The list of official partners and sponsors for 2026 had not yet been published on the homepage as of 1 June 2026.

Visitor quality

A strictly professional trade fair across almost its entire attendance. 6,000 international visitors in 2025 from 104 countries (vs 96 countries in 2024). Near-systematic presence of a French government minister (Minister of Agriculture). Strong representation of livestock farmers and producers, cooperatives, traders, agricultural advisers, rural vets, INRAE researchers, and students in agronomy and animal production. The international component has grown denser with the successive guest countries (Georgia 2023, Kazakhstan 2024, Morocco 2025, the first African country to be guest of honour in the trade fair's history, with a 170 m² pavilion).

Activities & community

Conference programme

Technical conferences throughout the 4 days, built around the major challenges of livestock farming: animal health, genetics, sustainability, animal welfare, environmental transitions and herd feed self-sufficiency. The 2025 edition notably featured a conference on BTV and EHD (bluetongue virus and epizootic haemorrhagic disease) led by Prof. François Schelcher (ENVT) and Dr David Ngwa-Mbot (GDS France), illustrating the health-monitoring dimension of the programme. The 2026 programme will be published on sommet-elevage.fr ahead of the edition.

Awards & honours

Sommets d'Or (official wording, verbatim): the innovation competition of the Sommet de l'Elevage. 5 permanent categories in 2025:

• Livestock Equipment
• Machinery
• Livestock Services
• Digital
• Livestock Supplies

And 3 special prizes:

• Animal Welfare Prize
• Green Prize
• Ingenuity Prize

2025 results (sources: reussir.fr, lafranceagricole.fr, entraid.com): 97 entries, 13 winners (a record). Notable winners: Kubota (tractor-implement connection TIM, Machinery), Kverneland (CurvePilot for mowers, Machinery), ID Group (Vet Vision AI, Animal Welfare Prize), DeLaval (Aliapur partnership on reusing milking liners, Green Prize), Hustler Equipment Europe (Swifthitch quick coupling, Ingenuity Prize). The ceremony takes place on the Wednesday of the trade fair week in the early evening.

Satellite events

National breed shows: the Sommet is traditionally the gathering point for the French national shows of beef breeds (Charolais, Limousin, Salers, Aubrac) and dairy breeds (Prim'Holstein, Montbéliarde, Abondance). Important note 2025 → 2026: the 2025 edition hosted no cattle due to the lumpy skin disease outbreak (a focus in the Rhône département), leading to the cancellation of the Charolais national show. As of 1 June 2026, the return of cattle in 2026 depends on the lifting of health restrictions, to be confirmed in the official communications in September.

Sheep back in 2025 after a 2024 edition heavily disrupted by BTV (80 sheep present out of 500 planned): more than 600 animals and several national shows (Southdown, Charmoise) in 2025.

Community & networks

Key trade press: Réussir (Réussir bovins viande, Réussir Pâtre, Réussir machinisme, Agriculture Massif central), La France Agricole, Pleinchamp, Auvergne Agricole, Plein Champ Magazine, filieres-avicoles.com. National media coverage (France Bleu, France 3 Auvergne, Le Figaro Agriculture) during the October week.

Guest Country pavilion: a strong diplomatic angle, with regular signing of bilateral agreements between agriculture ministers (e.g. the France-Georgia letter of cooperation intent signed by Marc Fesneau and Otar Shamugia on 3 October 2023). Morocco, guest of honour in 2025, followed on from the French President's visit to Rabat in October 2024. The guest country for the 2026 edition had not yet been officially announced as of this writing.

What's new in 2026

• Limousine breed in the spotlight on the official 2026 artwork (the bull Palermo, Pôle de Lanaud) (source: comptoir-des-eleveurs.com). The Charolaise and Simmental national shows are also being given prominence.
• UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists: the cross-cutting theme of the 2026 edition, focusing on sustainable pasture-based livestock farming.
• Guest country for 2026 not announced as of 1 June 2026.
• Return of cattle expected, subject to the lifting of LSD health restrictions (to be confirmed in pre-event official communications).
• Health-focused conference format consolidated after the 2025 edition (BTV, EHD, LSD).

On site: what you need to know

Access, parking and accommodation: the Grande Halle d'Auvergne venue page is not yet available on Agoris as of this writing (to be created in migration; target slug: /lieux/grande-halle-d-auvergne).

Trade fair specifics:

• Dates: Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 October 2026 (4 days).
• Venue: Grande Halle d'Auvergne, Cournon-d'Auvergne (Puy-de-Dôme, 63), in the immediate vicinity of Clermont-Ferrand. Organiser's address: 17 allée Evariste Galois, 63170 Aubière.
• Access: Clermont-Ferrand is served by TGV from Paris in around 3h30, by Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport (CFE), and by the A71/A75/A89 motorways. Bus link from Clermont-Ferrand city centre to Cournon-d'Auvergne.
• Visitor badge: advance registration on sommet-elevage.fr. A professional trade fair, with free entry on pre-registration for livestock and agriculture professionals.

Planning your visit

For exhibitors

• 12 months out: submit your exhibitor application via the official sommet-elevage.fr platform. Choose your sector (genetics, machinery, equipment, agri-supplies, services, digital).
• 9 months out: positioning within the relevant hall, application for the Sommets d'Or (5 categories + 3 special prizes). Submit your innovation file.
• 6 months out: stand briefing, targeting international buyers, requesting meetings via the official platform.
• 3 months out: finalising logistics, team accreditations, accommodation (Cournon and the Clermont-Ferrand conurbation are fully booked during the week).
• 1 month out: preparing demos, sales briefing, contacting the trade press (Réussir, La France Agricole, Pleinchamp).

For decision-making visitors

• Free pre-registration on sommet-elevage.fr.
• Allow at least 2 days to cover the cattle, sheep and machinery sectors. 1 day is too short given the size (1,770 exhibitors in 2025).
• National breed shows are concentrated in the afternoons: check the exact programme (published in September).
• International visitors: plan an overnight stay in Clermont-Ferrand or Cournon from the Monday evening, as flights and trains are fully booked at the start and end of the week.
• The Sommets d'Or ceremony is traditionally held on the Wednesday in the early evening.

ESG policy & initiatives

The Sommet de l'Elevage takes an explicit stance on sustainable livestock farming ("World's no. 1 sustainable livestock show" according to the official homepage, verbatim wording). The Green Prize of the Sommets d'Or rewards an innovation with environmental impact each year: in 2025, DeLaval was recognised for its partnership with Aliapur on the free collection of farmers' used milking liners and rubber tubing for a second life. The Animal Welfare Prize highlights health-related innovations (2025 winner: Vet Vision AI by ID Group, a veterinary solution for continuous monitoring of herd welfare).

The trade fair also carries a structural dimension of collective health monitoring (BTV, EHD and LSD conferences in 2025), positioning the event as a coordination point between farmers, GDS, vets, INRAE and health authorities.

As of this writing, the Sommet de l'Elevage does not publish a formal carbon assessment or a structured, publicly audited ESG policy.

How the trade fair has evolved

Trajectory analysis

Over some thirty years, the Sommet de l'Elevage has grown from a local agricultural show-and-sale event (8,000 visitors, 100 exhibitors in 1992) into the leading European trade fair for animal production, crossing a symbolic milestone in 2023 (115,000 visitors, 1,681 exhibitors) and setting a new exhibitor record in 2025 (1,770 from 34 countries). The move to the Grande Halle d'Auvergne in 2004 marked its shift to industrial scale. The succession of health shocks (BTV in 2024, LSD in 2025) demonstrated the resilience of the exhibitor model but also the fragility of farmer footfall when cattle shows are absent. The "guest country" strategy has clearly broadened beyond Europe since 2023: Georgia (2023), Kazakhstan (2024), Morocco (2025, the first African country). This opening up is part of French export-oriented livestock diplomacy. Variables to watch for 2026: the effective lifting of LSD health restrictions allowing cattle to return, the official announcement of the 2026 guest country, and the trade fair's ability to win back the 115,000-120,000 visitor mark if cattle shows are reinstated.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (sommet-elevage.fr).