Learning from the past - opportunities for a sustainable future: indicators and scenarios for Swedish dairy

Research Project, 2021 – 2022

The Swedish milk sector has gone through a dramatic structural change over the last 30 years, with more than eight out of ten dairy farms gone out of business and a 20 percent reduction in national milk production. This project investigates social, environmental, and economic aspects of this development and analyses future scenarios with private and public stakeholders in milk production. The overall objective is to provide a knowledge base for a broad societal discussion on how Sweden´s milk production could and should develop in future.
First, the researchers look back in time and identify crucial points that drastically affected the decline in dairy farmers and cattle. To understand associated changes in environmental sustainability and animal welfare, trend indicators are quantified for 1990-2020. Thereafter workshops are held with stakeholders who present their views on scenarios for Swedish milk production and these are discussed in relation to the findings from the first part.