Innovations in Mixed Farming Practices
Four innovative regionally specific mixed management systems were tested in four different parts of Europe. These practices had positive impacts on the resilience and efficiency of the farming systems.

As part of the MIXED project an innovation study has had a central role and the results are presented in a new report. The aim was to field test four innovative strategies for increased integration. The innovation studies were situated in the North in Denmark, in the North West in the UK, in the East in Poland and in Southern Europe in Portugal. The study utilised both research station and on-farm experiments. The four studies were:
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A: United Kingdom: Sheep grazing winter cereals for winter fodder and soil quality, network theme 1. (Scotland's Rural College, SRUC)
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B: Denmark: Animal welfare and environmental impact of silvopastoral systems, network theme 2. (Aarhus University, AU)
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C: Portugal: Conservation agriculture in Mediterranean agro-forest-pastoral systems, network theme 2. (Instituto Superior de Agronomia, ISA)
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D: Poland: Impact of hedgerows on arable productivity, network theme 3. (Juchowo Farm, FSK-JUCHOW)
In the UK (a), winter grazing of cereals provided higher energy value feed than standard silage and had no significant impact on yield of the winter cereal. In Denmark (b), the willow provided a high crude protein diet to the organic pigs. Increasing the stocking density of the pigs increased both the grazing of the willow and soil nutrient loading. Regardless of the stocking rate, the willow recovered after a grazing period. In the Montado in Portugal (c), the intensification of cattle production has had a detrimental impact on both the long-term productivity and biodiversity value of ecosystem. Encouraging low input systems which include sheep is improving the sustainability of these systems. In Poland (d), the inclusion of trees along field boundaries in Poland is improving the soil biodiversity, and is increasing the soil moisture content, and reducing the soil temperature in the vicinity of the tree. This is proving to be beneficial for the productivity of the sown crop.
Read the full report here and learn much more about the four cases