Dairy products and agritourism? Very good in Switzerland
The Agroscope agency and an external partner examined data from as many as 3,500 farms in Ettenhausen and three different strategies for dairy farms
Swiss dairy farmers can increase their income and productivity with agritourism.
For direct traders, productivity is net lower, as shown by a research project conducted by Agroscope in Ettenhausen and an external partner.
Booming Swiss alpine economy depends on unions
In 2020, farmers generated about 22 percent of Switzerland’s total agricultural output from dairy production: about 2.5 out of 10.4 billion francs.
Price pressure is a problem
As price pressure on dairy farms increases, strategies to diversify production become increasingly important – strategies to improve farms’ profit opportunities with new products or services.
An App to unbureaucratize the work of Swiss farmers
The study just published by Agroscope and an external research partner examined data from 3,500 farms and three different strategies for dairy farms: arch specialization in milk production; diversification with priority to direct marketing; diversification with priority to agrotourism.
Agritourism at the top thanks to marketing
The group with agritourism has clearly proven to be the most advantageous, both in terms of income and labor productivity.
If the decision is made to diversify into agritourism, it becomes imperative to consider the following elements: the farm itself or the surrounding area can offer tourist attractions; the company has a solid marketing strategy; the management of the company can bear the entrepreneurial risk.
Direct Selling Amidst Some Obstacles
In Switzerland, milk producers with direct marketing and farms specializing solely in milk production are equivalent in terms of income.
However, there are clear deficits in terms of labor productivity.
Waldstätte and the “forest” cantons in the early days of Switzerland…
It is likely that the workload required to produce the various dairy products is underestimated or that the marketing strategy does not lead to the desired increase in turnover.
Farmers must therefore carefully consider their labor resources if they decide to convert to direct marketing.
