Paper short abstract:

Operation of extensive land use including grassland-management systems are impacted by a variety of ecological, socio-cultural, economic and political drivers increasing vulnerability and impacting function of informal social institutions that previously optimized the workforces of family-run farms.

Paper long abstract:

Operation of extensive land-use systems is impacted by a variety of direct and indirect drivers. Grassland management is especially influenced. Mowing, especially the time of mowing, as an important element, and a top-down regulated leverage point of grassland management can be a good indicator of the effects of a set of ecological, social, cultural, economic, and political drivers.

We studied the local understanding of the interrelationship between time of haymaking and set of drivers using participatory observation, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to reveal the relevant context of time of haymaking and trade-offs made by local farmers.

According to local farmers, direct drivers influenced the phenological stage of vegetation and thus the time of haymaking, while indirect social, cultural, and political drivers only impacted the time of mowing. Taking the 16 identified factors into consideration required compromises between trade-offs. Local farmers evaluated numerous factors when deciding on the optimal time of haymaking. The most important were: 1.) the proper quality of the hay; 2.) long-term yield stability, and 3.) qualifying for financial support. The difficulty of adaptation has also caused the disappearance of a social “barter” institution that previously optimized the workforces of family-run farms.

Vulnerability of extensive land-use systems increased as new drivers have appeared and others have intensified, while unfavourable impact of Common Agricultural Policy’s subsidy system, that is culturally insufficiently adapted to the local socio-economic and cultural contexts, has been exacerbated. These effects could have been compensated for with culturally sustainable agri-environmental schemes.

Co-authored by Béla Jánó