Mixed Farming

Case Studies

In parts of Mediterranean Europe, fields may be found with a mix of tree crops, with cereals beneath and in some cases livestock turned onto fodder cereals. The first photo shows a field with sheep turned onto cereal beneath fig trees in Eastern Mallorca, Spain. Formerly, this was common, especially with almonds as the tree crop. Although such mixed fields may still be seen, greater rewards from mass tourism over the past 30 years have reduced interest in agriculture, particularly among younger people who have migrated or who commute to coastal communities with their tourist industries and “improved” lifestyles. Care of trees and cultivation of crops beneath have declined, and many fields have been left to grazing of ruderal vegetation (seminatural plants that have colonized) or have been abandoned. Changes in rewards from agriculture relative to other activities and changes in people's perceptions of lifestyles have affected mixed farming in this dry and agriculturally marginal area of Mallorca.

At the farm scale, mixed farming in the United Kingdom referred to a farm with arable fields and pasture fields for livestock—dairy or beef cows or sheep. Enterprises were seen as interrelated; for example, manures were used as fertilizer on arable fields. Rotation of fields could be practiced; after a period in grass, a field could be ploughed for arable use, whereas arable fields could be put down to grass. This rotation helped maintain soil fertility and, in an era when pesticides and herbicides were uncommon, helped reduce disease and pests. Since World War II, in response to government initiatives and those of the European Community and its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the number of mixed farms has declined continuously. Subsidies encouraged specialization, so that in much of eastern England not only are farms specializing in cereals but also the region has a landscape dominated by cereals.

A region of Northern Ireland exemplifies the impacts on mixed farming from changes in the interacting factors affecting agriculture. In 1938, the United Kingdom as a whole was in an agricultural depression, and most food was imported, so there was no demand for specialized farming. At this time of low profitability, farmers spread their risk by practicing mixed farming. Farming in [Page 1915]Northern Ireland was mostly of low mechanization with use of horse-drawn implements. There was some need for feedstuffs to be produced on the farm for livestock, including oats for horses. There was little use of inorganic fertilizers, farmyard manure was used, and fields had rotations of arable crops and grass. Labor was plentiful and met the high labor demands of mixed farming; the lifestyle of families working together on their own farm was highly prized, as families had gained the right to own their small farm only at the end of the 19th century. Figure 1 shows the mix of arable and pasture land in 1938 in part of county Armagh.

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