Towards fossil-independent dairy farming in Sweden: Technical strategy, climate and economic effects, drivers and barriers

Transition to fossil-independent dairy farming is a significant strategy in making milk production more environmentally sustainable and to reduce its negative climate impacts.

There is limited scientific knowledge about farm-level economic impacts and drivers and barriers to transition, and about consumers’ willingness to pay for dairy products from fossil-independent production systems. Such knowledge is critical for accelerating a widespread transition to fossil-independent dairy farming in practice.

This project investigates strategies for adoption of fossil-independent production approaches in Swedish dairy farming, their climate and economic impacts, and drivers and barriers to transition from the perspectives of dairy farmers and consumers.

The research will be interdisciplinary, combining agricultural economics, technology, behavioural insights and environmental assessments with analyses based on economic data on production, a life cycle inventory, survey data, interview-based studies and economic experiments.

We will: (1) develop technical scenarios for transition to fossil-independent dairy farming and assess the climate impacts, (2) assess the economic viability of these technical scenarios, (3) investigate dairy farmers’ attitudes and choices when they are informed about the strategies’ effects on climate and economy, and willingness to transition, (4) assess consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for dairy products from fossil-independent production systems.