What is the Difference Between Mixed Farming and Mixed Cropping
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Both mixed farming and mixed cropping are traditional systems widely used in the past (and today in many regions), especially by smallholder or subsistence farmers. Nowadays are adopted by farmers as sustainable strategies to make their farms more resilient and productive.
When we talk about mixed farming, we usually refer to Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems. Integrated farming systems are farming systems that include multiple enterprises/organisms that interact in space and time and have a naturally synergetic function. A simple example of such a system is the combination of crop cultivation and livestock farming or/and the use of natural enemies for crop pest control. In such a system, the farmer may plant a cover crop (for example, grazing legumes) among the lines of his/her main crop (for example, peach trees) for animal feed/grazing. The animals produce manure that can be applied in the field to cover the nutritional needs of the plants, decreasing the dependence on synthetic fertilizers. At the same time, the animals can offer products like meat, milk, or wool, serving as another source of income for the farmer.
On the other hand, mixed cropping refers to multiple cropping of more than one plant species in the field. When multiple crops are grown in the same field simultaneously, we call it intercropping. If they do not coincide in time, we call it crop rotation. Mixed cropping systems are more complex and knowledge-intensive but have multiple advantages. In mixed cropping systems, a common combination of crops is a legume (e.g., beans) with a cereal (e.g., maize) or a tuber crop (e.g., potato). The goal of this combination is to take advantage of the possible synergetic interactions between the crops growing closely together. Like crop rotation, the combined crops should not be closely related in intercropping. Additionally, for better results, it is best to choose crops with different peaks of input demand through the season to avoid intense antagonism between them. Usually, a short and a tall crop can be combined, and a crop with a short and one with a deep root system can be combined.
Further reading
What is Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS)?
What is crop rotation and why it is good?
Integrated Pest (Disease & Weed) Management (IPM): Principles, Practices and Advantages
How to use Cover Crops in Vineyards and their Advantages
What is intercropping and why is it better than monoculture?
