Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

EN LANDBRUGSGEOGRAFISK ANALYSE AF GADBJERG OG GIVSKUD SOGNE

1977; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 76; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00167223.1977.10649072

1903-2471

Kr. M. Jensen, Ruth Jensen,

Historical and Archaeological Studies

Abstract Jensen, Kr. M. and Jensen R. Helkiær: En landbrugsgeografisk analyse af Gadbjerg og Givskud sogne. Geografisk Tidsskrift 76: 34—51. København juni 1. 1977. The agricultural development in two parishes in a former heath region in Central Jylland has been investigated. The expansion of farmland up to the turn of the century was especially in Givskud replaced by a regression period with afforestation of marginal areas. The farmers are now increasing the size of their holdings and the specialization on few crops involves a more uniform land-use. Summary By field work and analyses of the different issues of existing maps, supplemented by official statistics, the development and present status of agriculture have been investigated for two parishes in Central Jutland. The Land Registers from 1688 and 1844 show the number of farms and the cultivated area, and possible changes can be followed in later assessment registers. The distribution of the general area classes and the agricultural land-use up to 1960 have mainly been extracted from published statistics. By surveys and interviews, the land-use and the total number of agricultural holdings were registered in 1973. The cultivation development has taken different courses in the two parishes. As early as about 1860 all resources were exploited in Gadbjerg except for a few, now reclaimed bog areas. The larger heath areas of Givskud were all cultivated at the turn of the century, but many of the last reclaimed plots have been afforested with coniferous trees. The agricultural holdings were classified according to size, fig. 14, and the percentage share of each class in these two parishes was then compared with larger administrative units and also with the country as a whole, table 2. As joint operation is frequently used, the number of worked holdings is lower than the number of those registered, fig. 15. This implies a complicated distributional pattern of adjoining land as it appears from fig. 18. The class 20–50 hectares is leading as to supplementary tenancy land and has also the largest total tenancy area. This concentration of land on fewer farms will undoubtedly continue, but the government has put certain limits on the sizes and distances allowed (200 hectares and 15 km respectively) when making joint operation of farms. The still worked farms have been investigated for type of management and crops. On the map fig. 19 the agricultural holdings have been classified according to the time the owners devote to the running of them, i.e. full time, part time, spare time, or only weekend and holidays. Thus a spare-time farmer lives on his farm, but has his principal occupation elsewhere which enables him to invest in his farm and make it efficient. A "holidayfarmer" has his permanent residence elsewhere, cultivates the land by means of machine pools and has, most often, only crop production. The three other types of farmers mentioned involve the labour of the whole family. The parish infrastructure is adjusted to the mixed, many-sided farming whose traditional products are milk and porker of own breading. The fields are exploited for forage crops—barley, root crops and grass. From this type the more specialized ones emerge, namely those at a high efficiency level as well as the extensive farming with its lower inputs and outputs. The preferred production type is specialized cattle breeding, especially dairy cattle, but proper beef cattle are also seen. This is partly due to the fact that many areas are well suited for grass, but also that there is a great interest for cattle breeding. Mixed farming is very labour-consuming and necessitates full-time Work by the owner. Most part-time farmers prefer pig breeding, whereas many spare-time farmers specialize in cattle breeding. Also many full-time farmers intend to go over to or have already specialized agriculture. The two investigated parishes constitute an established agricultural region, so far dominated by mixed, manysided farming which acts on the appearance of the landscape. As—especially in Givskud—much of the land is marginal seen from an agricultural viewpoint, the farmers will concentrate on cultivating the best soil. The average size of the farm units will continue to increase, and a specialization will gradually show in a more uniform land-use. The big differences in the levels of production and invested labour and capital put the question whether our agricultural resources are managed in a reasonable way.