estate in the late 19th century. are the most common
dairy cattle in Sweden.
Origins Agriculture and
animal husbandry took place in the area of modern Sweden during the
Stone Age. Barley was the most important crop, but wheat,
millet and
flax were also cultivated. The
christianization of Sweden, around the year 1000, led to improvements in agriculture due to the influx of knowledge of more advanced cultivation methods from southern countries. During the entire medieval period, monastic gardens spread knowledge of foreign plants suitable for cultivation, and of agricultural methods.
16th to 19th centuries In the 16th century
Gustaf Vasa took a personal interest in improvement of the royal estate, and his reign saw agriculture flourish. In particular, Sweden regularly exported
cereals. This continued until the reign of
Charles XII in the early 18th century, by which time wars had taken a heavy toll on the population and the cereal-producing Baltic provinces were lost. By the mid-18th century
land reforms were initiated (
storskiftet) by means of which scattered land plots around villages were progressively redistributed into coherent holdings. This offered the possibility for a more rational approach to farming. Swedish scientists also gave attention to the improvement of agriculture, with botanist
Carl Linnaeus and agricultural chemist
Johan Gottschalk Wallerius as the foremost representatives of this trend. However,
mercantilist views of the era guided most government activities. Animal husbandry came increasingly into focus later in the century. Selected foreign breeds were purchased and made available in breeding stations (1702–1864). All farms in Sweden were taxed based on their productive capacity, which caused a rise in
manorial organisation. This was a social and economic system that allowed the nobility to control labourers whilst providing for their needs. In the early 18th century, according to mantel records, approximately one third of the land was owned in this way by the aristocracy. Due to two different enclosure movements, manorialism rapidly disappeared.
Changes in the 19th century General In the wake of the
Finnish War of 1808–1809, agricultural improvements received significant interest from the Swedish government and from private actors. An important role was played by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture (founded in 1811) as well as by the Rural Economy and Agricultural Societies. Such associations were founded in most Swedish counties at around this time. The production of distilled beverages,
brännvin, was regulated and the land reforms were continued. New areas, especially
wetlands, were used for cultivation, and cultivation methods were improved. This was especially true for the production of
fodder, which benefited from the cultivation of nitrogen-fixing plants such as
clover and
alfalfa. Many meadows were converted to fodder crops, thereby increasing the amount of fodder available. Improved crop cultivation received attention in the first half of the 19th century. Grain quickly became Sweden's primary export (instead of being an import).
Southern Sweden Jordmobilisering (soil mobilization) is the term given collectively to the changes during the 19th century in
Skåne (or in English
Scania) in southern Sweden whereby land use became increasingly rationalised and intensive. This included changes to the use of land, its drainage and exploitation of the greater areas that became available through whole lakes being drained. Several of these major projects took place, notably that in the 1860s of draining the vast lake Näsbyholmssjön west of
Skurup. New agricultural techniques raised productivity, and new plant products became available. These changes resulted in increased production of potatoes, wheat and sugar beet. Land became more readily purchasable, and banks and savings societies grew up accordingly. Agriculture became more market-oriented and commercialised. This new prosperity changed the look of the countryside, where many new impressive residences were constructed for farmers and landowners. By contrast, labourers residing in clusters of modest cottages or scattered in the many small coastal villages provided a labour resource. The higher numbers of landless labourers amounted to more than all classes of landed households, meaning that poverty caused many to move away from the countryside whether to emigrate abroad or to take employment in the towns and cities.
Growth of the dairy sector and industrialization (1860–1960) 1934) ) or
Halland (period 1910–1919). From the late 1860s, dairy production, and in particular production of butter, became central to the Swedish agricultural economy. A progressively larger portion of farmland was devoted to fodder production, and the farmed area increased through to the 1920s. Milk- and dairy-related income was the most important source of income for Swedish agricultural businesses around the turn of the 20th century. Swedish cereal exports largely ceased, to be replaced by import of cereals for bread. Conversely, significant exports of butter commenced, followed later by exports of pork and live pigs. In the first years of the 20th century, Sweden exported 16,000-20,000 tons of butter a year. In 1995, on Sweden joining the European Union, Swedish agriculture became subject to regulation by means of the
Common Agricultural Policy.
2000 onwards By 1998 Sweden had achieved full self-sufficiency for most animal products, though around 80% of artificial feedstuffs depended on imports. Soybean cake, mainly from Brazil, was a significant component in supply. The focus on environmental issues raised by farming practices dates from the beginning of the 21st century (see below). At that time, organic farming represented approximately 10% of Sweden's arable land in use for organic farming. Swedish agricultural cooperatives, in particular in the dairy, meat and grain sectors, during the period 1990 to 2020 experienced a need for major change by establishing mergers or alliances to form larger businesses. Very large cooperatives in Sweden have been found to reflect high levels of satisfaction with the structure and functioning of the institution. == Agricultural production statistics ==