ABSTRACT
Mixed farming systems occur in several forms (Schiere and Kater, 2001). While some consist of different components that function rather independently, others consist of components that function together by exchanging resources. These are called integrated mixed farming sys tems, the main topic of this paper. In it, the production of crops and live stock is integrated on the same farm or between farms at a regional level. Mixed farming systems cover world-wide about 2.5 billion ha of land, of which 1.1 billion ha are arable rain-fed crop land, 0.2 billion ha are irrigated cropland and 1.2 billion ha are grassland (FAO, 1996). Mixed farming systems produce 92% of the world’s milk supply, all buffalo meat and approximately 70% of the sheep and goat meat. About half of the meat and milk produced in this system is produced in the OECD, Eastern Europe and the CIS, and the remainder comes from the developing world.
