Agricultural History Review, Volume 60 Part 1 (2012), p. 146

The Royal Academy of Forestry and Agriculture in Sweden has arranged the production of two excellent books on twentieth-century history, the first an atlas and the second an anthology of articles. The atlas contains hundreds of wonderfully detailed maps and diagrams with 50 chapters covering subjects such as technology, politics, landscaping and industry. These topics are explored in more detail in the 30 articles that make up the anthology. The project was a follow-up of a similar study conducted a hundred years ago that resulted in the publication of an atlas of Swedish agriculture. The original study was funded entirely by a wealthy donor called Moritz Fraenckel. He also set up a fund to cover the costs of a similar project to be conducted one hundred years later. The fund has remained untouched – until now. The new atlas also forms part of the National Atlas of Sweden (SNA) series published in 24 volumes since the late 1990s.

The books reveal that there is a great deal of continuity in Sweden. Large parts of the plains have been farmed for hundreds of years. Woodland continues to dominate the landscape and in many respects areas north of Scania actually make up the western part of the Taiga eco-region. Forests mature slowly and although futurology is normally risky business, it is quite possible to estimate tree species proportions for the next hundred years. Nevertheless, caution prevails with the estimates given on pages 148–149. Indeed these are subsequently revised on page 167 on the basis of climate scenarios.

Reindeer husbandry is another enduring feature. For the last hundred years there have been around a quarter of a million reindeer in Sweden at any given time. Interestingly the number of predator-gated animals is approximately 30,000 according to the atlas (p. 189), whilst the anthology estimates this figure to be between 40,000 and 50,000 (p. 462). This indicates that reindeer herding must be assessed in a cultural and political context.

There has also been a great deal of change during the last century. By shifting our perspective to the ‘knees of the curves’ when the pace of change alters drastically (either faster or slower), we can identify at least two major transformations. Firstly, the developments in technology after World War Two had a major effect on farming, particularly with respect to the rapid decline of farm units. The smaller farms were the first to go. They were generally located in the forested areas of Sweden, many of them having been reclaimed during the nineteenth century. The technological transformation meant that farming underwent systemic change, primarily due to the new energy sources and more scientific agricultural techniques being introduced. Key innovations included tractors, milking machines, artificial fertilizers and pesticides, and they all had a major impact on productivity.

A slightly different picture emerges when we look at forestry. There were similar technological advances during the 1950s and 1960s that resulted in the introduction of tractors and chainsaws. Nevertheless, work remained difficult and very manual. There was a second technological leap forward in the 1980s with the arrival of the harvester (a machine used in cut-to-length logging operations) and more efficient planting techniques. Whilst this resulted in increased productivity, it also led to a dramatic decrease in the workforce. Another important consequence was the decline in the number of accidents, which had until then been a big problem in forestry.

The second major transformation had a different content. It came when society at large started placing greater demands on production with respect to the environment. The text and map on page 152 states rather proudly how much dead wood per hectare there is in each forest. This is certainly not something that old-school foresters would have applauded. The use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides has been declining since the 1980s and organic farming has been increasing since the 1990s. Simultaneously there have been efforts to protect nature with a ten-fold expansion of nature reserves.

Other demands concern the use of the countryside as a place for leisure and entertainment. There was a rapid increase in the ownership of summer cottages or ‘second homes’ from the late 1950s, and the trend is still on the up. With a population of nine million, there are now 700,000 second homes in Sweden. Many of these properties are used by more than one family and in southern Sweden a significant proportion of them are owned by Danes and Germans. Hunting is an important pursuit in Sweden and the annual elk hunt has become almost sacrosanct. Yet it was not until the 1970s that elk hunting became so popular. Since then around 100,000 or 150,000 elks are shot every year. Mass tourism is quite a modern phenomenon and it has a huge impact on the countryside. Moreover, the rapid increase in the number of golf courses across the country should not be forgotten, and horses for leisure riding have become a key feature on the landscape.

The books also provide information about food production, gardening and much more. Whilst it could be argued that greater comparisons could have been drawn between Sweden and Europe and the rest of the world, these books should perhaps be regarded as a good basis on which such comparisons can be made.