Integrated Crop–Livestock & Livestock Production Systems

For most of agricultural history, crops and animals were raised together, each feeding the other in a loop that wasted little — and that integrated logic is regaining ground as farmers seek resilience and efficiency. When livestock graze crop residues, manure fertilises fields, and forage rotations rest the land, the two enterprises reinforce one another in ways that specialised systems cannot match. The Integrated Crop–Livestock & Livestock Production Systems session examines how mixed farming can be designed to capture these synergies while meeting the practical demands of modern animal production. It spans the nutrition, health, welfare, and productivity of livestock alongside the agronomic side of feed, forage, and manure, exploring how the pieces fit into a coherent, profitable whole.

How can manure be managed so it becomes a fertility asset rather than a pollution liability? What stocking and rotation patterns let grazing improve rather than degrade cropland? These integrative questions shape the discussions, which draw together animal science, agronomy, and farm-systems thinking. Participants in this Agriculture Conference will explore how mixed crop and livestock farming can recycle nutrients, diversify income, and reduce external inputs while sustaining animal performance. The programme covers livestock nutrition and welfare, forage systems, manure and nutrient recycling, and the design of integrated rotations. By reconnecting crops and animals that specialisation has often separated, the session helps researchers and farmers build mixed systems that are productive, resilient, and resource-efficient.