IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i13p10234-d1181409.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Ecological Reading of Crop–Livestock Interactions—Gers, Southwestern France, 1950 to the Present

Author

Listed:
  • Rémi Pédèches

    (SELMET, Institut Agro Montpellier, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, 34060 Montpellier, France)

  • Claire Aubron

    (SELMET, Institut Agro Montpellier, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, 34060 Montpellier, France)

  • Olivier Philippon

    (SELMET, Institut Agro Montpellier, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, 34060 Montpellier, France)

  • Sébastien Bainville

    (MOISA, Institut Agro, University of Montpellier, CIHEAM-IAM, CIRAD, INRAE, 34060 Montpellier, France)

Abstract

Mixed crop–livestock farming is usually considered to be beneficial for the environment, but the comprehensive characterisation of functional interactions between crops and livestock, and thus the assessment of their ecological relevance, remain problematic. In this article, we design a systemic reading grid focusing on the agricultural practices of crop–livestock interactions, which we organised in four groups according to the agronomic functions they fulfil and the ecological processes involved: (i) animals are used as a source of mechanical energy; (ii) rangelands and permanent grasslands, serving as a source of biomass to manage fertility, are spatially interwoven into the cultivated fields; (iii) on those cultivated fields, non-fodder crops are rotated/associated with fodder crops; (iv) the livestock consume locally produced fodder, grain and straw, and their excreta are spread on cultivated plots. Based on 86 interviews with retired and active farmers, we applied this grid to study the dynamics of crop–livestock integration in a small French agricultural region since 1950. We show that even though the number of mixed crop–livestock farms remains quite high, there has been a massive impoverishment of crop–livestock interactions within these farms. We discuss this trend and the contributions made by the reading grid.

Suggested Citation

  • Rémi Pédèches & Claire Aubron & Olivier Philippon & Sébastien Bainville, 2023. "An Ecological Reading of Crop–Livestock Interactions—Gers, Southwestern France, 1950 to the Present," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10234-:d:1181409
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10234/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10234/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean Joseph Minviel & Patrick Veysset, 2021. "Are there economies of inputs in mixed crop-livestock farming systems? A cross-frontier approach applied to French dairy-grain farms," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(20), pages 2275-2291, April.
    2. Marie Lucia Fanjaniaina & Fabien Stark & Noelly Phostin Ramarovahoaka & Jeanny Fiononana Rakotoharinaivo & Tovonarivo Rafolisy & Paulo Salgado & Thierry Becquer, 2022. "Nutrient Flows and Balances in Mixed Farming Systems in Madagascar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-19, January.
    3. van der Werf, Hayo M. G. & Petit, Jean & Sanders, Joost, 2005. "The environmental impacts of the production of concentrated feed: the case of pig feed in Bretagne," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 153-177, February.
    4. Sun, Liquan & Zhang, Biao & Yin, Ziming & Guo, Huili & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Wu, Shufang & Yang, Jiangtao, 2022. "Assessing the performance of conservation measures for controlling slope runoff and erosion using field scouring experiments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    5. Gregory F. McIsaac & Mark B. David & George Z. Gertner & Donald A. Goolsby, 2001. "Nitrate flux in the Mississippi River," Nature, Nature, vol. 414(6860), pages 166-167, November.
    6. Hendrickson, B. H. & Barnett, A. P. & Beale, O. W., 1963. "Conservation Methods for Soils of the Southern Piedmont," Agricultural Information Bulletins 309159, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Rachael D. Garrett & Meredith Niles & Juliana Gil & Philip Dy & Julio Reis & Judson Valentim, 2017. "Policies for Reintegrating Crop and Livestock Systems: A Comparative Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    8. Powell, J. M. & Fernandez-Rivera, S. & Hiernaux, P. & Turner, M. D., 1996. "Nutrient cycling in integrated rangeland/cropland systems of the Sahel," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 52(2-3), pages 143-170.
    9. Garnier, Josette & Anglade, Juliette & Benoit, Marie & Billen, Gilles & Puech, Thomas & Ramarson, Antsiva & Passy, Paul & Silvestre, Marie & Lassaletta, Luis & Trommenschlager, Jean-Marie & Schott, Cé, 2016. "Reconnecting crop and cattle farming to reduce nitrogen losses to river water of an intensive agricultural catchment (Seine basin, France): past, present and future," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 76-90.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ryschawy, Julie & Tiffany, Sara & Gaudin, Amélie & Niles, Meredith T. & Garrett, Rachael D., 2021. "Moving niche agroecological initiatives to the mainstream: A case-study of sheep-vineyard integration in California," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. de Ridder, Nico & Breman, Henk & van Keulen, Herman & Stomph, Tjeerd Jan, 2004. "Revisiting a `cure against land hunger': soil fertility management and farming systems dynamics in the West African Sahel," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 109-131, May.
    3. Yang, Jia & Ren, Wei & Ouyang, Ying & Feng, Gary & Tao, Bo & Granger, Joshua J. & Poudel, Krishna P., 2019. "Projection of 21st century irrigation water requirement across the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 60-72.
    4. Gori Maia, Alexandre & Eusebio, Gabriela dos Santos & Fasiaben, Maria do Carmo Ramos & Moraes, Andre Steffens & Assad, Eduardo Delgado & Pugliero, Vanessa Silva, 2021. "The economic impacts of the diffusion of agroforestry in Brazil," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Jun Luo & Xueyang Ma & Lei Wang & Bin Zhang & Xiao Yang & Tianxiang Yue, 2022. "The Influence of Short-Term Heavy Rainfall on Hydraulic Characteristics and Rill Formation in the Yuanmou Dry-Hot Valley," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Lan Song & Yunfei Bi & Qingsong Bo & Tianyang Li & Yonghao Li & Binghui He & Xinmei Zhao, 2024. "Characteristics of Runoff and Sediment Yield in a Simulated Hedgerow–Grass Ditch System in Sloping Lands with Regosols," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, August.
    7. Rufino, M.C. & Dury, J. & Tittonell, P. & van Wijk, M.T. & Herrero, M. & Zingore, S. & Mapfumo, P. & Giller, K.E., 2011. "Competing use of organic resources, village-level interactions between farm types and climate variability in a communal area of NE Zimbabwe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 175-190, February.
    8. Bosshardt, Sara & Sabatier, Rodolphe & Dufils, Arnaud & Navarrete, Mireille, 2022. "Changing perspectives on chicken-pastured orchards for action: A review based on a heuristic model," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    9. Hoang, Viet-Ngu & Rao, D.S. Prasada, 2010. "Measuring and decomposing sustainable efficiency in agricultural production: A cumulative exergy balance approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1765-1776, July.
    10. Turner, Matthew D. & Eggen, Michael & Teague, Molly S. & Ayantunde, Augustine A., 2021. "Variation in land endowments among villages in West Africa: Implications for land management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    11. Leinonen, Ilkka & Williams, Adrian G. & Waller, Anthony H. & Kyriazakis, Ilias, 2013. "Comparing the environmental impacts of alternative protein crops in poultry diets: The consequences of uncertainty," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 33-42.
    12. Lindikaya W. Myeki & Omphile Temoso & Bonani Nyhodo, 2024. "The evaluation of productivity in South African deciduous fruit industry: evidence from stone and pome fruits," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 321-332, June.
    13. Turner, Matthew D. & Moumouni, Oumarou, 2018. "The dividing of fields in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa: The roles of soil fertility variation and legal doctrine," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 362-374.
    14. Alvarez-Rodriguez, Javier & Ryschawy, Julie & Grillot, Myriam & Martin, Guillaume, 2024. "Circularity and livestock diversity: Pathways to sustainability in intensive pig farming regions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    15. Hoekstra, Arjen, 2010. "The relation between international trade and freshwater scarcity," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2010-05, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    16. Javier García-Gudiño & Alessandra N. T. R. Monteiro & Sandrine Espagnol & Isabel Blanco-Penedo & Florence Garcia-Launay, 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Iberian Traditional Pig Production System in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    17. Oishi, Kazato & Kato, Yohei & Ogino, Akifumi & Hirooka, Hiroyuki, 2013. "Economic and environmental impacts of changes in culling parity of cows and diet composition in Japanese beef cow–calf production systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 95-103.
    18. Esteve Nadal-Roig & Adela Pagès-Bernaus & Lluís M. Plà-Aragonès, 2018. "Bi-Objective Optimization Model Based on Profit and CO 2 Emissions for Pig Deliveries to the Abattoir," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, May.
    19. Jean Joseph Minviel & Timo Sipiläinen, 2021. "A dynamic stochastic frontier approach with persistent and transient inefficiency and unobserved heterogeneity," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 575-589, July.
    20. Perosa, Bruno & Newton, Peter & Carrer, Marcelo José, 2021. "Access to information affects the adoption of integrated systems by farmers in Brazil," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10234-:d:1181409. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.