The Negotiation of the land: The county agricultural board, the unwanted land buyers and the rationalization of Swedish agriculture 1945-1989

During the 20th century, the conditions for Swedish agriculture changed drastically. The number of farmers and agricultural companies decreased and agrarian production was subjected to new demands on modernity and efficiency. The state controlled the transformation through counseling, subsidies and legislation that e.g. regulated the right to buy and sell farm land.
I examine the conflicts that arose between the state and the public on land ownership issues during the most intense phase of the structural transformation. I also examine what strategies were used to win the negotiation of the land, where arguments for rationality, family and the threat of tenancy are central. The aim of the study is to contribute to new knowledge about the mechanisms of the structural transformation and how they came to affect the overall agrarian structure.