Betesmarker i Mjölkkrisens Sverige : Mjölkbönder och betesmarken, landskapet och framtiden

Abstract

The situation for Swedish dairy farmers has been difficult since 2014. Many are choosing to close down their businesses. At the same time, Sweden has experienced a reduction of important habitats consisting of grazing lands, a trend that is still ongoing. This study explores how dairy farmers look at grasslands, their values, management, and future. Through interviews with dairy farmers it investigates how farmers look at the systems of environmental compensation awarded for the management of pastures and grassland habitats. The study concludes that is primarily an aesthetic landscape value that is the main reason behind the desire to preserve pastures amongst farmers. This can be linked to a personal relationship between the farmers and the landscape he/she grew up in and help create through with their work. Any reduction in grasslands has not been observed by a majority of the interviewed farmers, despite the fact that such a reduction is occurring in their counties as a whole. This suggests that the situation can vary widely at a local level. The opinions concerning the environmental compensations vary among the interviewees, but overall there is a wish for a less bureaucratic system that provides more flexibility for the farmer. This wish for less bureaucracy is also found concerning the system around the law demanding that all cows should be allowed to graze during a period of the year. In the end, it seems important for the future of grazinglands and the habitats they create that profitability returns to the dairy farmers, since without farmers grazing will be further reduced. Today’s difficult situation for the farmers increases the risk of it being difficult to find the workforce of future farmers who are willing and able to perform the work that is done today