Which of the following is the chief characteristic of 'mixed farming'

The correct answer is C. Mixed farming means raising livestock and growing crops on the same farm, with each supporting the other. Crop residues and fodder feed the animals, and dung manure returns nutrients to the fields. It spreads income risk across several enterprises, which is why it is common in parts of Western Europe and the American Corn Belt, and in mixed agricultural regions of India.

Why the others are wrong:

• A describes a classification by market orientation, cash crops versus food crops. It says nothing about livestock, so it is not the defining feature of mixed farming.
• B describes mixed cropping or intercropping, which is a cropping practice within a single field. Mixed farming is a whole farming system.
• D fails because C is correct.

The concept links to the Mains theme of agricultural diversification, dairy and allied sectors, and farmers' income. Discussions of the Green Revolution's monoculture effects often use mixed farming as the contrasting model.

Trap: candidates confuse mixed farming with mixed cropping (option B). Mixed farming is about combining animals and crops at the farm level.