The Agricultural Research and Education Centre Raumberg-Gumpenstein (AREC) is the largest Austrian federal, multidisciplinary research and education centre which holds the legal status of an institution under public law. As part of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management it is driving-force for sustainable economizing in the region. The head office is situated in the municipality Irdning-Donnersbachtal in the Styrian Enns Valley, district Liezen, at an altitude of 700 m a.s.l.. The rural area is dominated by grassland and forests, embedded in a mountainous landscape. More than 330 employees work in four research institutes (Livestock Research, Plant Production and Cultural Landscape, Animal Welfare and Health, Organic Farming and Farm Animal Biodiversity) and as teachers at the technical agrarian college (branches Agrarian Marketing, Agrarian Management, Environment and Resource Management, with about 440 students). AREC has external research areas and test sites with different climate conditions all over Austria (Wels, Lambach, Winklhof, Admont). The centre is specialized in research activities for multifunctional farm and environmental systems and in developing complex landscape analysis in view of sustainable and efficient usage of natural resources, agriculture, sustainable land management, research on emission mitigating measures in agriculture, climate change, grassland management, nature protection , preservation of biodiversity, management of wetland areas, soil protection and rural development. AREC offers a high expertise in dissemination of know-how for scientists, farmers, practitioners, decision makers, stakeholders and the local population. Workshops, trainings and national as well as international conferences are organized regularly with several hundred participants each year.