100-year-old Breeding Station: A Treasure Chest of Knowledge for Project Researching the History and Genetics of Nordic Mountain Cattle
One of Sweden's largest breeding centers for mountain cattle was situated on a farm in Trollsåsen, Jämtland County. Although it is more than 100 years since it lost its official status as a breeding center, the legacy from Trollsåsen lives on in the detailed documentation still preserved on the farm. The documentation is a treasure chest of knowledge for the 3MC project, that aims to gather and disseminate knowledge about the origins and cultural history of the Nordic Mountain Cattle.
The project "3MC - Traditional Transboundary Mountain Cattle Breeds in Nordic", which is led by NordGen, has several partners in the Nordic countries. It aims to research, collect and spread knowledge about the Nordic mountain cattle. When the farm in Trollsåsen was taken over by new owners, a decision had to be made about the future of the documentation from the breeding station. Therefore, both the Jämtland County Administrative Board and NordGen were contacted.
“We are grateful that we were contacted. We now have the opportunity to influence how the valuable material is to be archived and saved for future research purposes", said Hilja Solala, researcher focusing on animal history at the University of Tampere and one of the participants in the 3MC project. She continued:
“The 3MC project has an interdisciplinary approach to the subject. To give an example, we combine genetic research with cultural studies. In this way we get a nuanced picture of the history and lineage of the mountain cattle. The material from Trollsåsen consists of photographs and detailed descriptions of things such as feeding, breeding, yield and market value of the animals. The documentation gives us knowledge about the animals' characteristics, as well as insights into everyday life at a breeding station” said Hilja Solala.
The breeding station for mountain cattle, which had official status as a breeding center between 1905 and 1920, was one of the largest in the country. It was seen as a model for what a well-functioning breeding station should look like. The atmosphere is described in a historical chronicle published by Jämtlands läns kungl. Hushållningssällskap in 1917:
“It is with a pleasant feeling that you enter Trollsåsen's barn. It is light and airy. The herd can be surveyed at once, and the animals stand there prosperous, all equal, clean and fine in their beautiful white suit, with black ear tips, black mule, black rings around the eyes and some with "woven in" black dots on the sides, a true type for the mountain breed”.
Jämtlands läns Kungliga hushållningssällskap 1817-1917, af S.J. Kardell
The legacy of Trollsåsen lives on still today. Trollsåsen's breeding center was in fact leading the way when it came to producing bulls for breeding. Robert Nilsson is a Swedish farmer and breeder of mountain cattle. He has served as chairman of Svensk Fjällrasavel and has documented the history of the mountain breed. He is also familiar with the material from Trollsåsen. Robert is part of the 3MC project's reference group and contributes with his solid knowledge:
“There is not a cow of mountain breed in Sweden that would not be related to one of the bulls on the farm. I look forward to hearing more about what the 3MC project can reveal about the genetics of mountain cattle, says Robert Nilsson, and continues:
“Above all, I hope that the project can contribute with further clarity to the Finnish part of the mountain breed's history and lineage. In this way, we can avoid problems that arise with inbreeding and develop ways to help with breeding across national borders in the Nordic countries. It is important that the mountain breeds can be saved. The Nordic landraces are valuable in order to be able to run energy-efficient and environmentally friendly agriculture in the future, but then their qualities must be saved for the future.