By Bertrand Dumont, Lucie Allart, Frédéric Joly, Claire Mosnier
Climate change increases the vulnerability of grassland-based production systems given that it affects the annual distribution of forage production and enhances its inter-annual variability.
We carried out 15 semi-structured interviews with dairy cattle farmers in the French Massif Central in order to understand how farmers’ adaptation strategies can be explained by their climate risk appraisal, and by their perception of the values and disvalues of multi-species permanent grasslands.
These 15 farms were located at different altitudes along a 150-km-long latitudinal gradient, which resulted in contrasting previous exposures to high temperatures and summer droughts.
Farmers’ adaptations reflect previous exposures to climatic hazards
Nine of the 15 farmers felt that they were already adapted to climate change or that they had a plan in place to implement new adaptations in the future. We showed a high level of consistency between these farmers’ climate risk appraisals and perceptions of the instrumental values and disvalues of permanent grasslands, and their adaptation strategies.
Those strategies, however, varied with the geographical context of each farm. Farmers in the northern Massif Central and southern uplands highlighted the values of permanent grasslands and considered permanent grasslands to be central to their adaptation strategies.
Conversely, farmers in the southern, hilly areas mostly referred to the disvalues of permanent grasslands, and based their adaptation strategies on temporary grasslands and forage crops.


Intergenerational farm transfer can either boost or block the transition
The six other farmers believed either that climate change posed a significant risk to their farm but foresaw little room to manoeuvre, or did not intend to adapt. Their reasoning either stemmed from a fatalistic mindset or their acknowledged desire to retire soon. Inter-generational farm transmission could indeed either block or facilitate the transition.
In two farms, the new manager made radical changes in land use, for example setting up crop rotations with temporary grasslands. In other farms, both the soon-to-be-retired farmers and their successors clearly stated that the forthcoming retirement was a reason for inaction, passing the responsibility to adapt on to the new generation.
Extreme events and access to knowledge as additional enablers
Extreme events also facilitated climate-change-related adaptation. For example, two farmers in the southern, hilly area, who are basing their adaptation strategy on crop rotations and fodder trees, changed their land use after the extreme drought event that happened in most parts of Europe in summer 2003. The direct experience of natural hazards increased their risk perception and consequently led them to adapt.
Access to knowledge was another key enabler of transition. For example, one farmer relying on sown temporary grasslands for adaptation also reported that he had benefited from more training opportunities related to temporary grasslands compared with permanent grasslands.
Barriers and levers to boosting sustainability at landscape scale
In conclusion, contrasting strategies observed in a given grassland-based landscape can represent a threat to permanent grasslands or an opportunity to provide various ecosystem services and boost overall sustainability at landscape scale.
High biomass production in temporary grasslands and forage crops enables farmers to attain higher level of milk yield per unit area or to build up fodder stocks that can reduce productive pressure on species-rich permanent grasslands. These permanent grasslands can be used more extensively, for example for grazing heifers, which in turn benefits their biodiversity.
The multi-criteria assessment tool we are currently developing in Agroecology-TRANSECT will be used in dairy upland farms, which will provide a deeper understanding of the consequences of farm adaptation strategies on milk yield, soil health and biodiversity.
Reference
Allart, L., Joly, F., Oostvogels, V., Mosnier, C., Gross, N., Ripoll-Bosch, R., Dumont, B., 2024. Farmers’ perceptions of permanent grasslands and their intentions to adapt to climate change influence their resilience strategy. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, Vol 39, Cambridge University Press.
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