Farmers’ motivations for landrace cereal cultivation in Sweden

Figures & data

Figure 1. Approximate positions of the 32 farms in Sweden, where most of the interviews took place.

Table 1. Description of the informants and the farms in the study.

Alias	Gender	Age	Years with landrace cereals	Total farm size (ha)	Area arable land (ha)	Livestock	Main production	Channels for selling and processing of landrace cereal products
A	Woman & man	61 & 63	15	110	70	No	Cereals, apples	Farm shop, REKO (informal sale organised through social media), farmers’ markets, local mill
B	Man	53	18	100	85	40 suckler cows	Cereals, beef cattle	Farm shop, REKO, Farmers’ cooperative
C	Man	73	10	89	60	40–50 dairy cows	Cereals, dairy cows.	Farm shop, REKO, local grocery stores, directly to bakers. Own mill and bakery
D	Man	58	25	90	80	20 suckler cows, 4 sows	Cereals, beef cattle, pigs, potatoes, honey, rapeseed oil	Farm shop, REKO, directly to local bakers. Own mill.
E	Man & woman	40 & 40	5	150	70	50–60 dairy cows	Dairy cows, cereals	Local mill
F	Man	45	16	110	30	35 ewes	Sheep, cereals, eggs, honey	Farm shop, REKO, local mill, directly to bakers
G	Man	74	10	1,6	1,6	No	Hobby farmer, bakery	Own bakery
H	Man	61	4	80	50	130 ewes	Sheep, cereals	Local mill
I	Man	55	3	110	101	22 suckler cows, 200 ewes	Sheep, beef cattle, cereals	Farm shop and local mill.
J	Man	61	10	210	210	No	Cereals	Selling through farmers’ cooperative
K	Father & daughter	67 & 40	30	80	60	No	Cereals	Farm shop, directly to bakers. Own mill.
L	Father & son	65 & 30	6	110	100	95 ewes, 20 beef cattle	Sheep, beef cattle, cereals, peas, lentils	Farm shop, local mills directly to retailers.
M	Man	42	10	1000	630	180 suckler cows	Cereals, beef cattle	Farmers’ cooperative. Own mill.
N	Man	71	10	600	100	500 beef cattle	Beef cattle, cereals, cray fishing.	REKO, farm shop. Own mill and bakery.
O	Man	55	3	140	140	No	Cereals and herbs	Farm shop, local mill
P	Man & woman	43 and 43	3	140	110	35 dairy cows	Dairy, cereals	Local mill
Q	Man	39	10	260	260	Organic broiler production	Cereals, rapeseed, vegetables, off-farm work.	Local mill
R	Man	55	8	39	32	40 oxen	Beef cattle, cereals	Farm shop, directly to local bakers
S	Man	60	10	140	100	No	Cereals, vegetables, herbs, tourism, sheep	Farm shop, REKO
T	Woman	59	4	27	27	No	Cereals, vegetables, field mustard	Farm shop, REKO, directly to bakers
U	Man	70	5	8	8	No	Hobby farm	Local mill
V	Man	58	5	32	32	No	Cereals	Local mill
W	Man	58	20	370	270	No	Cereals, clover seed, peas, beans	Farm shop, REKO, farmers’ cooperative. Own mill
X	Man & woman	65	30	106	70	120 ewes	Sheep, cereals	Farm shop, mills in other counties, directly to local bakers
Y	Man	59	20	95	10	35 ewes	Sheep, vegetables, cereals	Farm shop, local mill, directly to local bakers
Z	Father & son	67 & 27	10	100	100	No	Potatoes, cereals, white clover seeds	Local mills.
AB	Father & son	59 & 30	3	180	120	15 suckler cows	Beef cattle, cereals	Local mill.
BB	Man	52	4	580	380	400 beef cattle	Beef cattle, cereals, off-farm work	Local mill
CB	Man	63	2	80	80	No	Cereals, off-farm work	Local mill
DB	Man	62	5	228	228	No	Cereals	Local mill
EB	Man	49	3	130	130	No	Cereals	Local mill
FB	Man	70	7	25	25	No	Cereals	Local crisp bread bakery

Table 2. Three major themes for motivation and experiences of landrace cereal cultivation, with sub-categories (see text for motivations).

Ideals of sustainable farming
Vision of more sustainable farming systems
Networking
Upholding farming in marginal areas
Varieties adapted to organic practices
Conservation and development of landraces
Agronomic properties of the landraces
Low demands on nutrient availability
Prone to lodging
Low harvest index and straw production
Weed competition
Diverse crop rotations and intercropping
Tolerance to pests and diseases
Tolerance to extreme weather events
Ability to adapt to local conditions
Economic incentives and markets for landrace cereals
An increasing market for landrace products
Short value chains
A nutritious product
Exploitation of niche markets

Figure 2. An example of an intercropping system with the ‘Svedjeråg’ rye landrace (described further in text).