Paper short abstract:

The entry into the EU represents a historical milestone in the milk-producing farms of Galicia: the intensification of specialization in milk production but also the almost disappearance of traditional practices and the appearance of bureaucratic burdens. In this context, different strategies arise

Paper long abstract:

The entry of Spain into the EU is an important milestone in the small dairy family farms in Galicia (Northwest of Spain) that deeply transformed their livelihoods. The application of the CAP entails an intensification of specialization in milk production, but also the disappearance of traditional practices and bureaucratic burdens with which it is difficult to deal with and practically terminates with the self-sufficiency of these farms. All this together with the enormous indebtedness that the application of one of the mains meassures of the CAP - the milk quota- implies for these families (because the assigned quota was lower than the actual production). In the midst of this situation, claims such as that of the just price (versus the subsidies of the CAP) along with other strategies that allow them to maintain their livelihoods their identity and social cohesion -in danger precisely because of the application of these policies- arise.