Crops and animal together

Usually, the term mixed farming system(MFS) is assumed to refer to a farm that combines livestock and crop productions. Integrative crop livestock systems (ICLS) introduce the concept of integration. It is not sufficient to produce both animals and crops to be an ICLS, but there must also exist some interactions between crops and animals. These interactions can be flows of matter (homegrown feed, straw, manure) but also some productions and management techniques which are specifically induced by the coexistence of crops and animals (e.g. silage, rotations of annual crops and grasslands, organic fertilization...).

Note

The coexistence of crops and animals and its consequences can be analyzed at the farm level (one farm with interacting crops and animals) but also at the territorial level (one territory with interacting crop-farms and animal-farms).