Trajectories of evolution and drivers of change in European mountain cattle farming systems

Abstract

In the last few decades, significant changes in livestock farming systems and land use were observed in European mountain areas with large implications for the sustainability of grazing agro-ecosystems. System dynamic studies become essential to understand these changes, identify the drivers involved and trying to anticipate what might happen in the future. The objectives of this study were as follows: (i) to analyse the main recent changes that occurred in mountain cattle farming in the Spanish Pyrenees; (ii) to typify diverse trajectories of evolution of these systems; and (iii) to establish drivers of change that might help understand the evolution of mountain agriculture. A constant sample of mountain cattle farms was analysed for the period 1990 to 2004. In total, 30% of farms have disappeared during this time interval. For the remaining farms, the most important general changes observed were as follows: increment of size; change of productive orientation from mixed beef-dairy to pure beef production; extensification of grazing management; reduction of family labour and increase of pluriactivity; reduction of unitary variable costs; and increase of labour productivity. After the elimination of common temporal effects between dates, multivariate techniques allowed for the identification of three patterns and six specific trajectories of evolution that are profiled in the text. Relationships between the patterns of evolution and other variables referring the farm, the household and the socio-economic environment were identified as drivers of change: (i) the specific location of the farm in relation to the capital village of the municipality and the evolution other sectors of the economy, in particular tourism; (ii) the size of the family labour, presence of successors and degree of dynamism of the farmer; and (iii) the initial orientation of production.

Mixed crop–livestock farming systems: a sustainable way to produce beef? Commercial farms results, questions and perspectives

“…Over the decades, suckler cattle production systems have re-adapted to regular CAP reforms and changing market trends by constantly increasing farm size and physical labour productivity (Veysset et al, 2005b;García-Martínez et al, 2009). MC-L systems have, nevertheless, held strong on certain farms.…”

Trayectorias de crecimiento de las explotaciones agrarias en la Cornisa Cantabrica

“…A esta situación de la agricultura se añade un elevado nivel de envejecimiento y una debilidad de la economía local que traen como consecuencia el reducido nivel de ingresos de las familias y la elevada dependencia en las pensiones. Parte de estas características en la orientación y en las limitaciones existentes en la producción agraria, así como en la demografía y la economía local son en parte comunes a las citadas para otras zonas de montaña (Zervas, 1998;Gellrich et al, 2007;García Martínez et al, 2009;Santini et al, 2013). Sin embargo, en térmi-nos comparativos se manifiestan de modo más acentuado en la montaña de Ourense, donde aproximadamente la mitad de las explotaciones están incluidas dentro de la tipología marginal.…”

Paths to last in mixed crop–livestock farming: lessons from an assessment of farm trajectories of change

“…We adapted a method developed by Dolé dec and Chessel (1987) and first adapted by Gibon et al (1999a) to study agricultural changes. Like Garcia-Martinez et al (2009), we used this method to distinguish between the effects of (i) the farm structure and functioning (internal factors) and (ii) the farm environment (external factors), in relation to time. Dolé dec and Chessel (1987) proposed using a data table, Z, composed of p continuous variables, s observations and t dates (n 5 s 3 t); in our case, p 5 20 variables; s 5 50 farms; t 5 6 dates.…”

“…An understanding of the changes leading to this decline may help Europe maintain such farming systems. Analysis of cattle system dynamics have described changes in the past, and the underlying driving forces (Garcia-Martinez et al, 2009). Some paths have allowed mixed -E-mail: annick.gibon@toulouse.inra.fr crop-livestock systems to persist, whereas others have led to specialised farming systems.…”