Farmers in semi-arable semi-pastoral regions of Inner Mongolia, who traditionally practiced mixed crop-livestock farming, are increasingly specializing in either the crop or livestock sector. This study examines the relationship between specialization and agricultural income, using data from 207 households collected through a farm management survey conducted in a village in Tongliao City. Our regression analyses showed a U-shaped relationship between the weight of the livestock sector in mixed crop-livestock management and agricultural income. A similar relationship was observed between the weight of the livestock sector and agricultural income per working hour. These findings suggest that the agricultural structure in the study area depends not just on farm size but also on the specialization of mixed crop-livestock farming.
