The current agricultural production systems with their multiple negative impacts on socio-ecological systems have led to crises, resulting in the demand for change. The German livestock production is one exemplary sector that heavily contributes to these negative effects by amongst others producing a surplus of manure that can lead to the eutrophication of water bodies. Thus, actors are seeking for innovative solutions to this issue, which differ in terms of their underlying conceptualizations and involved imaginations of a desirable future. Based on semi-structured interviews with twelve different actors, this study explores the imaginations of the future that shape contesting ideas out of the nitrous surplus. Results show three different development trajectories, namely “preservation”, “modernization” and, “transformation”, including different and often antagonistic imaginations that need to be discussed and harmonized in society.