Integrated Farming

Integrated farming or integrated production is a commonly and broadly used word to explain a more integrated approach to farming as compared to existing monoculture approaches. It refers to agricultural systems that integrate livestock and crop production and may sometimes be known as Integrated Biosystems.

While not often considered as part of the permaculture movement Integrated Farming is a similar "whole systems approach" to agriculture. There have been efforts to link the two together such as at the 2007 International Permaculture Conference in Brazil. Agro-ecology (which was developed at University of California Santa Cruz) and Bio-dynamic farming also describe similar integrated approaches. The most impressive aspect of Chinese aquaculture that the study group observed was the integration of fish farming with livestock production and farming of agricultural crops, including vegetable farming. Integrated farming is a traditional. Chinese practice and, as mentioned earlier, has in recent years been further supported by the concept of an all-round 'development of agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and other sideline occupations. Although integrated farming is economically and environmentally sound, the motivation for integration would appear to be the national policy of diversification of production.

Examples include:

• "pig tractor" systems where the animals are confined in crop fields well prior to planting and "plow" the field by digging for roots
• poultry used in orchards or vineyards after harvest to clear rotten fruit and weeds while fertilizing the soil
• cattle or other livestock allowed to graze cover crops between crops on farms that contain both cropland and pasture (or where transhumance is employed)
• Water based agricultural systems that provide way for effective and efficient recycling of farm nutrients producing fuel, fertilizer and a compost tea/mineralized irrigation water in the process.