Crop-Livestock Farming Systems Assessment in Europe

In conclusion, whilst it is clear that many of the innovative mixed farming system case studies presented are not directly transferable or acceptable in other pedo-climatic regions in Europe due to the technical, biophysical, economic, social and policy reasons, their discussion and analysis by stakeholders in other regions shows that there is potential to adapt these systems or extract certain aspects that may improve the sustainability of farming systems in those regions.

So a crucial asset of an innovation is its adaptability and the possibility to implement it step by step in the farm. Indeed, discussions show that step change options are more acceptable than an overall one which would modify deeply in "one shot" the functioning of the farm. This late case is generally thought to be too risky.

Another general conclusion appears: the main challenges for adoption of innovations related to integration between crops and livestock are socioeconomic. Across the majority of innovations discussed, the groups felt that they would increased workload and complexity of the farming system. Other common negative scores for the innovations were decreased yield and poorer economic performance (due to decreased income or increased costs).

Moreover, in some cases, some restrictions to the development of innovations may exist due to policy regulations.