Investigating dairy farmers’ resilience under a transforming policy and a market regime: The case of North Karelia, Finland
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Date
2017
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Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza
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Abstract
The European dairy sector is currently facing unprecedented challenges under a transforming policy and a
market regime. The expected changes will have relevant consequences for land use, the landscape, and the environment
in rural areas dominated by dairy farming. Within this context, the aim of this paper is twofold. First, key characteristics
of milk production in the region of North Karelia will be illustrated. Secondly, some light will be shed on dairy
farmers’ challenges and adaptations to the dairy sector’s structural changes, and to what extent they contribute to the
resilience of agricultural systems. In the light of an evident milk crisis, the findings suggest that farmers’ key challenge
is the profitability of running a dairy enterprise. One of the consequences of the poor economic situation is the pressure
to make investments in the conditions of a constantly changing policy. Flexibility and the ability to understand future
trends are fundamental in adapting to socio-economic changes and unpredictability. Adaptation to unpredictability
would not be possible without a key characteristic of farming activity: agriculture is not only a source of an income, but
also a way of life, a sense of belonging to the land that significantly affects farmers’ decision-making.
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Keywords
milk production, resilience, farmers’ adaptations, farmers’ challenges
Citation
Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 36 (2), 2017, pp. 85-93
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0137-477X