S E NECESITA A ALGUIEN PARA QUE CONOZCA , ENSEÑE Y DESARROLLE A OTRO

Dairy farming uses two methods of feeding: on grazing land or in stalls. Grazing requires suffi- ciently productive grassland, while stall feeding needs arable land for the production of fodder (for example fodder maize) or concentrated feed (for example cereals). These feedingstuffs may be bought, but proximity plays a part. Feedingstuffs also include cake or other supplements. Dairy farming can also be conducted on farmland that is split up or restricted in size.

These four components (grass, arable land, feed purchases, land-ownership structure) help to ex- plain the location of dairy cattle (Map 2.5) and milk production (Map 2.6).

Also, collection of cows’ milk is profitable if dairy farmers concentrate production in the same area. This last component makes analysis possible at re- gional level, even if dairy areas are not always of this size.

Methodological note:

The types indicate to what extent a crop is over-represented in the area under cereals. Say, for example, that maize accounts for 30 % and durum wheat for 20 % of the area under ce- reals in a region. The average figure for maize in Europe is 15.3 %, and for durum wheat 6.2 %. The maize figure in this region is thus 30 / 15.3 = twice the European average, and for durum wheat it is 5 / 6.2 = 0.8 times the European average. The significance of maize is thus greater than that of durum wheat. This comparison is made for all the cereals shown in the key. The most significant cereal is re- garded as typifying the region. The regions shown in blue on Map 2.4 are maize-growing regions, but this does not mean that other cereals are not grown.

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These resources also form the basis for other forms of agricultural production, with which dairy farming shares the farmland. Some more ex- tensive types of production are better suited to

open areas or lower production potential, for example on meadowland (beef cattle, sheep) or arable land (field crops). Other types of more intensive farming do not compete directly with

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AGRICUL

TURE

2

Grassland and dairy cows

1999 — NUTS 2

Grass land Dairy cows as % of total area (in 1 000 heads)

> 40 20–40 15–20 5–15 0–5

Data not available

UK: NUTS 1.

NL: 1994; EL, FIN, S, CY: 1998. FI16, FI17 and FI2 data are merged. HU: dairy cows 2000.

Statistical data: Eurostat. Database: REGIO © EuroGeographics, for the administrative boundaries Cartography: Eurostat — GISCO, 07/2002

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cattle for use of the land. This is the case of off- ground production, whether of livestock (pigs and poultry) or crops (permanent crops and horticul- ture). Dairy farming in the European Union is

thus concentrated particularly where the mix of area under grass and arable land combines with proximity to main roads or favourable land- ownership conditions. In the candidate countries,

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Dairy cows

Collected milk and share of dairy cows

1999 — NUTS 2

Dairy cows Collected cows milk as % of total cows (in 1 000 t)

> 80 50–80 20–50 <= 20

Data not available

B, UK: NUTS 1. E: 1998.

FI16, FI17 and FI2; BE1, BE2 data are merged.

Statistical data: Eurostat. Database: REGIO © EuroGeographics, for the administrative boundaries Cartography: Eurostat — GISCO, 07/2002

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location has not depended on profitability and competition. Geographical distribution is more even as not all large dairy production concerns have managed to cope with the change to the mar- ket economy.

This technical clarification explains why dairy herds are concentrated in the wetter areas of west- ern Europe, especially in Denmark and in Schleswig-Holstein, Lüneburg, Weser-Ems, Dren- the, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, Basse-Normandie and Bretagne. Dairy farming occurs in a more random pattern in mountain areas, where it has to share grassland with other types of cattle farming, as in Principa- do de Asturias, Northern Ireland, Wallonie, Au- vergne, Border, Midland and Western. When the size of holdings prevents extensive farming, dairy farming is nevertheless still predominant. The fact is that the production of cows’ milk is marginal only in the Mediterranean area (where sheep and goat milk production to some extent make up for this absence), in areas solely used for major crops and in northern European areas (where the land is little used for any kind of agriculture).

Milk production is similar in distribution, but the discrepancies are greater. Economies of scale in milk-producing areas boost productivity via fac- tors such as know-how, land-ownership structure, advances in genetic techniques, local presence of suppliers (feed) and customers (dairy industry) for

dairy farming. This applies more to rationalised dairy farming (Brittany and the Netherlands) than to mountain farming (Schwaben, Bayern).

Pig farming very