Fjällbete (mountain graze) was started by farmers in the Åre valley who had noted that agriculture is going downhill while tourism continues to grow. And with its growing demand for higher quality food one certainly wants to know where the food comes from.
The decision was made to merge with each other and create “Mountain Graze in the Åre valley”, a business association with a long term mission to “tie together” the districts food-community and educate people to manage the land for a sustainable future.
Fjällbete was founded in 2002 when it consisted of 3 companies which together owned 80 sheep, a greenhouse and a tractor. In 2012 Fjällbete has 150 owners consisting of farmers, reindeer herders, artisans, restaurants, hotels, adventure companies, education companies, shops, churches and just ordinary people who want to invest money in something they believe in. Together they now own a larger herd of sheep and a dairy farm being assisted by employees who are passionate about putting ideas into reality.
Photographer: Fjällbete.se
Today Fjällbete are working with general care of sheep and cows, grazing and land management as well as educating children and youths with activities, programs and lectures. They want to promote the economic, ecological and social interests in the Åre valley by:
- Organizing the interaction between food-producing companies
- Manage pasture-based meat production
- Sell food with a local identity produced in the Åre valley
- Act as a link between local people and food production
- Provide excellent learning environments for children and young people
Jörgen Andersson from Fjällbete gave us a very interesting presentation on some of their work.
“We sometimes like to call ourselves as much grass attendant keeper as animal keeper because our chance of success in production depends on how we handle the grass to the animals. It is the grass that is the key to maximum sustainable production”, he said.
They plan and manage their grazing by a method which basically involves trying to mimic the natural behavior of their grazing animals, a behavior they have developed over millions of years.
The result is that the grass always gets sufficient time for regrowth. Not grazed grass trampled together with animal manure and nutrients return to earth. The animals become less selective and more of the pasture area becomes productive. More plants get reached by the sun’s light which means that more grass can be harvested at the same time.
Photographer: Fjällbete.se
“We can keep more animals in the pasture and produce more food. And we are confident that the Åre valleys grasslands do not even utilize half their capacity today.”, Jörgen Andersson said.