Conflicts between conservation agriculture and livestock over the utilisation of crop residues

Conservation agriculture practices require a critical level of crop residues and cover crops to maintain or enhance soil chemical, physical and biological properties and prevent land degradation. In many areas of the world, crops and livestock compete for the same resources, and require proper management to meet conservation agriculture objectives. Synergistic integration of crops and livestock offers numerous advantages, but a careful site/crop-specific analysis is needed to quantify conservation and livestock needs. Analysis must consider not only biophysical concepts, but also key cultural and socio-economic issues that provide incentives or disincentives for the adoption of specific practices. Examples of the successful integration of livestock with cropping systems exist and these case studies could serve as the basis for a concentrated effort to search for possible solutions to this important problem.