From farmer to dairy farmer: Swedish dairy farming from the late 1920s to 1990

Swedish dairy farming became increasingly commercialized up until the midtwentieth century, when nine out of ten farmers supplied milk to dairy plants. They adopted the view that milk sales were the path to progress for agriculture and the countryside in times of urbanization. Dairy farming was obviously embedded in functions that went beyond food production, which complicated the situation when the surplus of dairy farmers led to overproduction. At the same time, domestic demand became saturated and the international butter market proved more challenging than expected. This article focuses on collective outcomes of farmers’ actions in terms of commercialization, intensification, specialization and geographic concentration from the late 1920s to 1990. The timeframe includes an expansive phase until the late 1940s, which was followed by decades of declining demand for milk and a more restrictive political policy toward agricultural surpluses. It is argued that the vision of dairy farming as a safe way to make a living in agriculture underestimated the potential for increased production and limited demand. Contrary to initial hopes of using milk as a way to save the countryside, increasingly intensive and specialized dairy farming served to drive many out of farming.La ganadería sueca de leche experimentó una comercialización creciente en el periodo previo a mediados del siglo xx, cuando nueve de cada diez ganaderos proporcionaba leche a industrias lácteas, siguiendo ideas sobre la venta de leche como vía de progreso para la agricultura y el medio rural en tiempos de urbanización. De manera obvia, la ganadería de leche estaba incorporada dentro de funciones que iban más allá de la producción de comida. Esto complicó las cosas cuando pronto demasiados ganaderos estaban produciendo demasiado, dado que la demanda doméstica estaba saturada y el mercado internacional de la mantequilla se ponía más difícil de lo esperado. El artículo se centra en los resultados colectivos de las actuaciones de los ganaderos en términos de comercialización, intensificación, especialización y concentración geográfica entre finales de la década de 1920 y 1990. El periodo incluye una etapa expansiva hasta finales de la década de 1940, que fue seguida por décadas marcadas por una demanda de leche declinante y una actitud política menos generosa en lo que se refería a aceptar excedentes agrarios como modo de preservar la ganadería de leche. Se argumenta que la visión de la ganadería de leche como forma segura de ganarse la vida dentro del sector agrario parece haber subestimado, tanto el potencial para aumentar la producción como las limitaciones de la demanda, y que la ganadería de leche intensiva y especializada terminó siendo un factor de expulsión del sector agrario, en buena medida lo contrario de lo que planteaba la visión inicial de la leche como forma de salvar al medio rural

What can we learn from the past? Tracking sustainability indicators for the Swedish dairy sector over 30 years

CONTEXT: The dairy sector has undergone profound transformation over recent decades, resulting in considerably fewer but larger and more specialised farms, with unclear implications across sustainability dimensions.OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop and employ a framework for assessing sustainability in the Swedish dairy sector to shed light on how recent historical developments (1990-2020) have influenced sustainability outcomes.METHODS: Using a data-driven, multidisciplinary approach, main areas of concern for sustainability in the primary production stages of the dairy sector were identified. These were then populated with indicators to track developments over time and highlight synergies and trade-offs.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Four areas of concern were identified and populated with eight indicators (listed in brackets): 'supporting ecosystems' (semi-natural grassland area, ley area, mean field size), 'climate impact' (methane from enteric fermentation), 'animal welfare' (veterinary treatments, percentage of culled cows due to diseases) and 'farm viability' (competitive wages, farmer age structure). The results showed that area of seminatural grassland per dairy cow decreased by 27% from 2003 to 2020. Area of ley per cow decreased slightly but the proportion of arable land on dairy farms devoted to ley cultivation increased, due to improved roughage quality enabling an increase in proportion of roughage in feed rations. In terms of climate impact, enteric methane emissions per kg milk decreased by 21%. Regarding animal welfare, veterinary treatments of diseases decreased from 45% to 21% over the 30 years, with declining trends for most recorded diseases except hoof disease. The indicators for farm viability showed that the average dairy farm was unable to pay a wage com-parable to the national average throughout most of the period 2004-2020, but a slightly positive trend was observed, although with large year-on-year variability. A rapid change in age structure was seen between 2003 and 2020, with the proportion of land managed by older farmers (+60 years) increasing from 12% to 22%, indicating challenges with demographic viability.SIGNIFICANCE: Tracking changes over time across sustainability dimensions gives important insights into improvements made and challenges that remain to be solved. Overall, developments in the Swedish dairy sector have diminished its capacity to support ecosystems, particularly related to semi-natural grasslands, while reducing its climate impacts and improving animal welfare. An increased specialisation has also resulted in spillover effects where services and impacts have shifted from dairy herds to specialised beef herds. These findings are important in navigating policy processes targeting developments in the dairy sector

What can we learn from the past? Tracking sustainability indicators for the Swedish dairy sector over 30 years

CONTEXT: The dairy sector has undergone profound transformation over recent decades, resulting in considerably fewer but larger and more specialised farms, with unclear implications across sustainability dimensions. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop and employ a framework for assessing sustainability in the Swedish dairy sector to shed light on how recent historical developments (1990–2020) have influenced sustainability outcomes. METHODS: Using a data-driven, multidisciplinary approach, main areas of concern for sustainability in the primary production stages of the dairy sector were identified. These were then populated with indicators to track developments over time and highlight synergies and trade-offs. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Four areas of concern were identified and populated with eight indicators (listed in brackets): ‘supporting ecosystems’ (semi-natural grassland area, ley area, mean field size), ‘climate impact’ (methane from enteric fermentation), ‘animal welfare’ (veterinary treatments, percentage of culled cows due to diseases) and ‘farm viability’ (competitive wages, farmer age structure). The results showed that area of semi-natural grassland per dairy cow decreased by 27% from 2003 to 2020. Area of ley per cow decreased slightly but the proportion of arable land on dairy farms devoted to ley cultivation increased, due to improved roughage quality enabling an increase in proportion of roughage in feed rations. In terms of climate impact, enteric methane emissions per kg milk decreased by 21%. Regarding animal welfare, veterinary treatments of diseases decreased from 45% to 21% over the 30 years, with declining trends for most recorded diseases except hoof disease. The indicators for farm viability showed that the average dairy farm was unable to pay a wage comparable to the national average throughout most of the period 2004–2020, but a slightly positive trend was observed, although with large year-on-year variability. A rapid change in age structure was seen between 2003 and 2020, with the proportion of land managed by older farmers (+60 years) increasing from 12% to 22%, indicating challenges with demographic viability. SIGNIFICANCE: Tracking changes over time across sustainability dimensions gives important insights into improvements made and challenges that remain to be solved. Overall, developments in the Swedish dairy sector have diminished its capacity to support ecosystems, particularly related to semi-natural grasslands, while reducing its climate impacts and improving animal welfare. An increased specialisation has also resulted in spillover effects where services and impacts have shifted from dairy herds to specialised beef herds. These findings are important in navigating policy processes targeting developments in the dairy sector