Breeds of Dalarna and the summer farms
Swedish forest country where cows are still taken to summer farms in the woods and called home with high, ringing herding songs.
Breeds of this place
Best time: June to August, the summer farm season.
Dalarna is a region of lakes, forests and red wooden farmhouses in central Sweden. For centuries, farm families sent their cattle and goats in summer to fäbodar, summer farms in the forest, where women and girls herded and milked them and made butter and cheese. A few dozen summer farms still work this way.
Kulning
Kulning is the herding call of the Swedish summer farms, a high, ringing song sung by women to call cattle home from the forest. The sound carries a long way through the trees. It is still taught and performed, and the cows of working summer farms still answer it.
Native breeds
The cattle of the summer farms were small, hardy northern breeds. The Fjäll, white with black or red spots and usually hornless, and the Swedish Red Polled are the main native breeds, both rare. They are well suited to forest grazing and cold winters, and are kept by enthusiasts and on some summer farms today.
A trail idea for Dalarna and the summer farms
- Mora The lakeside town at the north end of Siljan.
- A working fäbod A summer farm where cows are milked and cheese is made.
- Lake Siljan The great lake at the heart of Dalarna.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Dalarna" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
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