Establishing structural collective action

The farm dairy sector in Jämtland started to emerge when in the late 1970’s the industry announced that they would stop processing goat milk in 1984. By then, the County Board Administration initiated a program to support goat farms. This was a controversial project at the beginning, as many people employed in the CBA did not conceive the importance of developing the goat sector; instead they tried to hang on to the productivist paradigm. The responsible public official claims that: “as long as I kept out of the way of projects with ‘real animals’ (e. g. cows or pigs) I was allowed to conduct my projects” (Cormell interview, 2010).

At the time there where around 50 goat farms left in the county. A project called “Swedish Goat Cheese” investigated the possibility of investing in joint marketing and product development for the Jämtlandic cheese. An important conclusion of the project was that there was an over production of traditional cheese and the market was rapidly shrinking. This project laid the foundation for the following events. This process was supported and initiated by regional authorities:

1. The support for the foundation of a commercialization cooperative to launch and sell goat cheese in 1983.
2. The CBA fully equipped two mobile dairies in 1987. These dairies are rented for a period of two years at a very low cost, which offers the farmer a smoother introduction to the business and the possibility of building up a business before making the commitment in building a dairy. These dairies are still in use.
3. The establishment of a training center to support artisan food. At first this was a series of courses on curdling, business knowledge, marketing, etc. financed by the CBA; in 1995 a formal organization, Matora, was established; and in 2006 this organization received government support and became a national center for artisan food. An important method used since the beginning has been to organize inspirational trips to other countries, where the farmers can get knowledge and find inspiration from what people do elsewhere.
4. The start of national food artisan contests (SM I Mathantverk), where contestants can challenge each other and can win a gold, silver or bronze medal. Winners get stickers to stick on the winning products during the following year.

All actions mentioned above facilitated the expansion of the food artisan sector. Actions and events also paved the way for the articulation of a new institutional frame that made the emergence of a small scale food industry possible. The new regional infrastructure provided by Matora (from 1995) and later on Eldrimner (from 2006) was quite important to help breaking the institutional barriers caused by the path-dependent, main stream agro-food development (Rytkönen et al., 2013).

At the micro, firm level, the president of the goat breeding association, initiated together with six other goat farmers a cheese cooperative in 1983, Jämtspira. The initiative received the financial support of authorities.[6] Their business model entailed having a common warehouse and joint distribution, while production was to be made on the farms. They were inspired by examples from France, where small scale dairy cooperatives are common. (Rytkönen et al., 2013; Rytkönen et al., 2014; Stryjan et al., 1991).

In Swedish cooperatives it is tradition that raw materials, such as milk, are sent to the cooperative industrial plant for elaboration, thus Jämtspira was breaking new ground when they decided that elaboration of cheese was to be made on the farm. The consequence for farmers was that curdling traditions and know-how could be kept and also developed on the farm. An additional feature was that decisions were kept locally, or as one of the informants expressed: “We were only six families at the beginning and we made decisions around the kitchen table.”[7]

Jämtspira was an important milestone in the articulation of the farm dairy sector because it provided a platform for newly started farm dairies for marketing their products, exchanging knowledge and to break the isolation that otherwise can affect rural firm owners. Several of the informants highlighted the importance of the creation of a peer spirit, just having somebody to call when something was going wrong in the dairy or when advice was needed and the nearest colleague lives 100 kilometers away was mentioned time and again during the interviews as the most positive feature of Jämtspira. When Jämtspira grew, the organization gradually crumbled apart as some of the dairies became much larger than others and it was finally terminated in 2010, but by then public authorities had taken over the role creating a meeting point, not only for farm dairy owners, but to all food artisans through the creation of Eldrimner in 2006.

Over the course of 17 years a total of 20 goat farmers had been members of Jämtspira and when it closed down in 2010 the smallest of them produced an annual output of 4-5 tons of cheese, while the largest member produces 120 tons annually and employs 10 people in the dairy alone. Herd size varies greatly but the smaller farms have herds of 30-60 goats, while the largest farm has between 400 and 500 goats, without counting kids (Bonow and Rytkönen, 2013).

It is important to end this section by highlighting economic outcomes, as they shed light on some of the difficulties met, or generated during this process. Most producers have benefited from the creation of Jämtspira and the collegiate spirit created by their precursors. But not all managed to make a good living. Producers have two sources of income. One is generated by sales of products, services and tourism activities, and the other is generated by subsidies from the rural development program. Most informants claimed that they don’t apply for subsidies although a have a right to do so. But, reality shows that especially the smallest production units are dependent on them. One of the informants claimed that the year before the interview, the public officer that handles the subsidy applications at the CBA managed to make a mistake that led that she did not get the subsidy that year. For her this meant that, as she has not managed to get a profit from the dairy yet, she did not have any salary that year.

A similar story was presented by another farmer. She is one of the oldest ones in the sample and she claimed that she stopped applying for funding because she felt that she was poorly treated by authorities. She expressed her frustration by sending the following poem to the CBA:

Bästa herr eller fru kontrollant,
jag är en medelålders gammal tant,
rätta mina fel och brister
så jag inte bidraget mister
Dear mr and mrs inspector
I am a middle age, old aunt
correct my mistakes
so I do not lose the grant

The farmers that managed to generate an income that allows them to live of their business have been forced to invest and increase the size of their operations. Some of the informants had the means to invest and could therefore generate a full salary more rapidly. But for the farmers that were forced to borrow to build their dairy plant financial conditions are more difficult.

Finally, did collective action save the 50 goat farms that were active in the early 1980’s? The answer is just a few. Five of the goat farms had merged into the largest farm dairy in the county (Skärvångens village dairy), six had secured survival as new generations had recently taken over and three had just started their businesses. All other farms were gradually closed down as old age or illness forced the owners to close down and there was nobody to take over. Most current dairies are relatively new. A new generation of both locals and city dwellers started new farms and new farm dairies with varying success.

What kind of institutional frame was created around the farm dairies? Since Matora was founded in 1995, authorities have had a proactive attitude, contacting and supporting newcomers and new potential food artisans. In addition, in 1980 all public structures were organized to support and control large scale, or at least industrial operations. The farm dairy sector was forced to break new ground when they pushed for a more flexible legislation and implementation of current legislation. They were the first artisan food trade that gained recognition when the National Board of Food accepted the elaboration of industry guidelines for farm dairies in 2009. The industry guidelines for farm dairies were the first to be adopted in Sweden. Now there are industry guidelines for several food artisan trades, including summer farms. The latter finally got recognition in 2014 with an own industry guideline (Eldrimner, 2014).

Establishing functional collective action and product innovation

To address the problem of over production of goat cheese in 1983, a process to develop new products was initiated. One of the founding members of Jämtspira explains this in the following way:

Only the older generations bought the traditional red chesses, that by then looked like small rabbits (dark in colour and hairy from the cheese molds). Modern consumers were suspicious and had been educated with modern practices. The cheeses they bought were bright in color and packaged in airtight plastic. Our response was to develop a modern product that could appeal to younger people.[8]

The first new cheese was Vit Caprin, which was a more modern version of the traditional white goat cheese. This cheese was developed based on local knowledge and local experience. The initial members of Jämtspira took turns in promoting the new cheese. One of the informants claimed that:

Each family took turns to demonstrate the cheese in fairs and other public places we virtually sliced cheese into people’s mouth for a period of two years. And that is how we managed to find the consumers that were willing to buy our products.[9]

But a short while after Jämtspira was founded, foreign influences became visible. The first two cheeses that followed were a blue cheese called Getbleu (a blue cheese) and Estragon, both developed from French models (Styrjan et al., 1991). These cheeses not only had foreign names, but their production also followed foreign recipes, thus the only local component was the milk. In fact, during the late 1980’s cooperation with the French curdling specialist, Michel Lepage, was initiated. He has since spread a large number of foreign, mainly French cheese recipes and also taught the art of producing them. The production of foreign cheeses has also been promoted through the many inspirational trips that the CBA and later on Eldrimner organize every year. Cheeses like “Rocka fett” (rock hard from Roquefort recipe), Granbarksost (pine bark cheese from a foreign recipe), Kozzarella (cowzzarella from mozzarella recipe with cow’s milk) are some examples of the many cheeses now produced by the trade.

Although the initial reconstruction or modernization of the trade was facilitated by copying foreign products, which helped the market for new goat cheese and artisan cheese market become more mature. In addition, a demand for genuine and traditional products begun to sprout.

In 2006 a cream cheese that no longer was in production —Vålåloffen— was recreated. The Vålåloffen cheese was invented by a Norwegian curdler that was active in the valley of Vålådalen during the middle of the 20^th Century. The name of the cheese translates Vålå (from the valley) and loaf (loffen is Norwegian for loaf of bread). Many of the producers had eaten the cheese in their childhood and they had fond memories of it. In 2006, the regional dairy, Milko, transferred the right to use the trademark of Vålåloffen to an association of farm dairies, Jämtländska ostsyndikatet (Jämtlandic Cheese Syndicate). The association was composed by some of the members of Jämtspira and a qualification process was initiated to apply for Protected Designation of Origin for the cheese. When the application was completed the leading partner in the association decided not to submit it. The other producers claimed during the interviews that they did not understand this decision.[10] And the leading partner justifies it in the following way: “we were already charging 450 scr[11] for a kilo of cheese. Applying for a PDO means that we need to raise the price even more and as I see it there is no room for higher prices”.[12]

Although we did not get a straight answer to why they had embarked in such a costly process to just through all efforts away, a reasonable explanation is that the process was expected to generate a lot of publicity and of additional support to re-launch the Vålåloffen cheese, as well as to obtain the right to use the trademark. Moreover, the knowledge on what geographical indications are and how they work is still scarce in Sweden (Rytkönen and Gratzer, 2012), it is thereby reasonable to assume that the producers could not see the value that they could obtain by actually getting a PDO.

In 2004, an Interreg project called “Search for Old, Create the New” (Söka gammalt skapa nytt) with stakeholders in Tröndelag, Norway and stakeholders from Jämtland, initiated an inventory of traditional local artisan food knowledge and local food culture in Tröndelag and Jämtland. The project led to the restoration of old cheese cellars and the rebirth of cellar stored goat cheese (Källarlagrad getost) (Berglund, 2006). Nine farm dairies participated, sharing the traditional knowledge about cellar stored cheese. In 2005 the producers initiated a process to certify this cheese with Slow Food Presidia, which was successfully achieved a short while after.[13]

Photo 3. Cellar stored goat cheese. Photo by Anna Berglund Eldrimner.

In spite of the foreign influences, during the last 10-15 years, traditional cheeses have become popular again. One example is the “moving cheese” (flyttost). This cheese was traditionally made with a blend of all the milk that was left in the summer farm when it was time to leave to the main farm. It is now made in larger quantities as its intense taste with mild smell has made it a popular choice amongst consumers of all ages. There are also a number of nameless cheeses that go under various names, for example “Christmas cheese” (made in a summer farm and sold in advance and delivered for Christmas). Another that is made by one of the younger dairy maids’ calls her most traditional cheese for “stinky.” It is a stored cheese with a light colour and quite strong taste and fragrance.

Departing from the above mentioned examples it becomes possible to question if the foreign influence on farm dairies is harmful. The foreign influence and recipes have meant that young consumers who were previously suspicious of the artisanal products have dared to try the traditional products after trying the more modern “foreign model” cheeses. The “foreign” cheeses helped creating a new demand for the traditional products. Informants confirm this as they argue that the foreign knowledge filled an important knowledge gap and that the “foreign” cheese opened up the interest for artisan cheese production and generated the necessary income for their firms to survive and prosper. When the interest for locally produced artisan cheese once was established, the demand for traditional cheese was “a natural step for consumers.”

There has also been a process of appropriation, as producers put their own touch on products, making slight changes in recipe that create noteworthy variations in the sensory qualities of products, through taste, smell and texture. Also the names of the products are local and many times with a touch of local humor.

The dairy traditions of Jämtland also included several other products and dishes. Most farm dairies run cafés or farm stores at the farm. In most cafés it is possible to consume a cheese buffet, drink coffee, or other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Some offer modern varieties of coffee with a traditional touch, for example a cappuccino with a spoon of whey cheese, others serve ice cream based on whey cheese or goat milk. Of the traditional dairy dishes in Jämtland the only one served is waffles, which only became a tradition in recent times. Charcuteries can hardly be found, but recently one of the dairies started to make sausages and hamburgers, that visitors can grill over an open fire. Other dishes like vassledricka (whey drink), grain cheese (grynost), sweet cheese (sötost), or floated porridge (flötgröt) are no longer produced nor served.

In a few of the summer farms, shores that used to be part of the work to secure enough food for the winter have become commercialized through tourism activities. Amongst these are hunting and fishings. Tourism offerings include meals that are composed by modern dishes but that are prepared with local ingredients. The only dairy products served to tourists are cheese, whey cheese and thick milk. Thus commercializing the traditional dairy trade in Jämtland and opening up for tourism has meant that a few compromises have been made. While some new practices have been adopted, others have been lost. Some traditional products have found a new place in the modernized trade, while other dishes and products did not. According to Muchnick (2009), this is quite natural, as products that once were localized might disappear, while new ones become adapted and adopted by the people and introduced to traditions and local culture. The functional collective action process described above, not only led to the identification and qualification of territorial assets, when old products were re-created and re-launched. It also generated a process in which qualification has been re-produced creating the virtuous circle necessary to sustain a territorial development process (Vandecandelaere et al., 2009).

Landscape elements and reproduction of values

An important factor influencing the sensory quality of milk is pastures. There is a variation concerning what the animals eat at the homestead. The sensory qualities of milk properties at the farm dairies with mountain flats and on summer farms is highly influenced by what the animals find in the outfields. The hike from the homestead to the summer farm takes place around the third week of June and the return to the homestead takes place in August or early September, depending on the weather. At the beginning of the summer there are herbs and flowers and in the autumn the animals eat various types of mushroom. Thus, the products, especially the cheese get a milder taste at the beginning of the summer while they get a stronger and nutty taste at the end of the summer. One informant expressed this in the following way:

You see the animals grazing like militaries on a row —when they come home you can smell what they have eaten. In the autumn you can almost see that the milk has a touch of yellow from al the mushrooms.[14]

This variation in taste and character distinction of the products is of course not possible for the farm dairies that use conventionally produced cow milk, but the permanent goat farms, the summer farms and the mountain flats all enjoy the marks that seasonal variation in vegetation make on the products.

Grazing produces additional values that are highly demanded by authorities, but also by tourists. One such value is the promotion of biodiversity. Biological diversity is driven by competition between species, which means that competition leads to species-poor habitats with a few strong species. The hay meadows in Jämtland reproduce a habitat that is beneficial for weak species. In Annex 1 in the Habitat directive the habitat type 6520 Mountain hay meadows are described as; “Species-rich mesophile hay meadows of the montane and sub-alpine levels.” Some of the species that exist just thanks to grazing and mowing are Mountain Everlasting (Antenaria dioica), Marsh Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), Bluebell bellflower (Campanulla rotundifolia), several species of Eyebright (Euphrasia), Black Gymnadenia (Gymnadenia nigra), White Mountain Orchid (Pseudorchis albida) and Field Gentian (Gentianella campestris) (Rytkönen et al., 2014; Tunón et al., 2013). One important practice in the summer farms is the spring burning (vårbränningen), a slash and burn practice that has guaranteed that the forest does not take over hayfields.[15] The extent to which all farms depending on the in-field, out-field system still practice spring burning is not known, but without this practice it would be difficult to have enough grazing today.

There is also a rich variety of wild animals. Some of them are predators, for example bears, wolves, lynx, wolverine and golden eagle (Länsstyrelsen, 2014). During the 19^th Century, the Governors used to account for the number of predators that were killed and hunting predators was encouraged. Today the hunting of predators is strictly regulated because of the risk of extinction, especially of wolves and bears. All informants with summer farms see this as a problem since their animals sometimes get eaten. But in spite of the problems caused by predators, their very presence leads to the reproduction of another key value, namely maintaining the traditional knowledge carried by the landraces that are used in traditional livestock farming.

Many Informants claim that the older animals teach the younger ones what to eat and where and how to avoid predators. Informants’ observations are confirmed by research that claims that the ability to avoid predation is a property that traditional breeds developed and maintained to a greater extent than other breeds. Studies in sheep in Norway have shown that traditional breeds have a behavior with higher vigilance and better escape and flock characteristics than what other breeds have (Hansen et al., 2001).

Finally, farm dairies have meant that two land races, the Nordic goat and the Alpine cow have acquired a financial value. Creating a financial value for landraces has been proven to be an efficient method to avoid extinction, for example in the autonomous Spanish region, Cantabria, several landraces were saved from extinction as their milk was inscribed in the product specification of two protected designations of origin, Picón Bejes Tresviso and Quesucos de Liébana (Rytkönen and Gratzer, 2012: 38). The same luck is not shared by the local breeds of sheep, which in the past also used to be part of the herds in Jämtland. But they disappeared before our time, exactly when is unknown.[16]

Produced values and consumers

In the previous sections, the reproduction of cultural and natural values has been discussed along with parts of the innovation process. But although substantial values are created, it is essential that these values are transmitted to the consumers that are supposed to purchase the products and services. In fact, all firms use territorial values as parts of their trademark or image in order to achieve consumer loyalty and establish a relation with the market. This is in turn achieved by awakening consumers’ feelings, which is an important part of the purchasing process. And most important, this is also something that firms can influence through the design of their products, the package, marketing and story-telling (Van Ittersum et al., 2003). In the rural context origin and the social and geographical history of products is often used to create competitive advantage (Bonow and Rytkönen, 2013; Morgan et al., 2006: 3; Ilbery and Kneafsey, 1999: 2208). Territorial anchorage can thus strengthen the trademark of a firm or a product.

In Jämtland, this is a dominating strategy. Goats, alpine cows and the mountains adorn most of the firm and product logos, showing the specific anchorage to the territory. The products have been given traditional names and some have depicted dairy maids on the products by giving the names of some of the dairy maids that worked at the farms. Also nature values as biodiversity, and maintaining the traditional mountain life-style are transmitted (Bonow and Rytkönen, 2013). Territorial attributes are used by all the farm dairies except for two, in which the owners have decided to sell their products in unbranded packages, refraining from advertising. In both cases, owners passed their retirement age and they lack successors to the business. All other informants say that the names, logos, ways of selling and story-telling help the consumers to remember the products. In theory this is denominated as giving consumers a “sense of place” (lbery and Kneafsey, 1999; Van Ittersum et al., 2003; Von Friedrichs and Skoglund, 2011).

In the consumer survey conducted in 2012, the statements and actions were put to a test as consumers were asked to offer their perspective on what they are willing to pay for. The survey covered questions related to the importance of trademarks, brands, logos and quality distinctions, the role of the territory, and the role of demographics and income on the purchase decisions. The results show that income and age, as well as trademarks had not influence over the buying decision. Consumers were of all ages and had all types of occupations and income. But the consumers’ origins did play a role for buying the products. Many of the consumers had their origins in Jämtland as either their grandparents or parents were born in the area. Many of them live in other parts of the country, but there were also a substantial number of local tourists.

Photo 4. Example of a typical product logo.

Why do people buy the products? The majority, 70% answered that it is because the products taste great, but people also appreciate the staff and owners at the farm dairies and the landscape. Surprisingly, comments about the contribution that farm dairies make to the creation of employment, of attracting tourists and bringing life to small communities were also rated as quite important. Younger consumers appreciated the possibility of getting a culinary experience to satisfy their growing interest for “food with history” and “high culinary value.” These consumers also expected a high level of service and standard to be kept; therefore not all farm dairies were appreciated. Other, older consumers were more nostalgic and referred to childhood summers and their grandmothers’ cheese and butter. A few consumers mentioned nature and the animals.