Crop-Livestock Farming Systems Assessment in Europe

If the goal is to compare the performances of different types of systems, for example specialized vs mixed systems, we simply need to be able to distinguish specialized and mixed systems using data available in public databases. We will see an example in a few minutes.

If the goal is more ambitious, e.g. to understand how a system runs or to forecast environmental impacts, we will have to follow a more comprehensive approach which will lead to a functional definition. It will include the diversity of productions and management practices as well as the flows of matter between the different compartments of the farm. Very often, this information is not available in public databases and must be collected by specific surveys.