The impact of the livestock industry on the ecological development of rural areas

The relevance of the sustainable development agenda of the Russian Federation and its territories remains at the present time, even taking into account the difficult external economic and geopolitical situation in the world. The relatively recent changes in Russian legislation are characterized by the fact that now not only the country as a whole is considered in the sustainable development paradigm, but also rural areas, which should also follow the path of the sustainable development. In this regard, the article defines the constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to a certain range of indicators, where the trends of the sustainable rural development are manifested. Our method of two-stage analysis allows first assessing the development of one of the agricultural branches – regional animal husbandry, and then determining its impact on the sustainable development of rural areas. To do this, we introduce several special coefficients that make it possible to summarize the data set in a regional context and identify current trends. As a result, the paper concludes that the sustainable development of rural areas is influenced by a number of factors, among which are: the composition and quantity of feed consumed by cattle, the number of heads in the herd, state support for agricultural producers from budgets of different levels. Theoretically, the article has elements of scientific novelty and is distinguished by the fact that, along with the economic and social components, it allows taking into account the equally important environmental component of the triad of the sustainable development. In practical terms, the article may be useful to the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation responsible for achieving the targets for sustainable rural development, as it identifies current trends and identifies factors affecting the development of both the industry and the territory, which contributes to the adoption of scientifically sound management decisions