Mixed croppingIn New Zealand arable crops are generally grown on mixed-cropping farms. As well as producing grains, these farms may grow peas, corn, potatoes, beans and carrots, which will be sold to companies for freezing or canning.Mixed-cropping farms may also have significant areas of pasture, which are initially used to produce herbage seeds, and are then grazed by animals such as sheep, cattle or deer. Forage crops may also be grown, particularly to feed stock in the winter when pasture grows slowly.Crop rotationArable farms generally develop a crop rotation system, which:helps to control specific weeds, pests and diseases that are associated with particular cropsprovides environmental benefits, such as improving the structure of the soil by sowing pasture, or increasing soil nitrogen levels by growing legume cropsmeans that not all crops will need to be irrigated or harvested at the same time.