The history of Norwegian dairyfarming

Norwegian farmers first started to keep cattle more than 6,000 years ago. The most important product was butter, which was used as a kind of currency and a means of payment.

Since those times, when small dairies churned, creamed and sold the milk, today's dairy industry has become so specialised that a dairy rarely produces more than one cheese.

The basis for modern dairy production was established in the early 1800's. Norwegian farmers asked experienced Swiss cheesemakers to teach them how best to run their dairies. The first dairies were established on large farms around Oslo Fjord, as well as in Jæren and Trøndelag.

Cooperatives

The idea of cooperatives came from England, where the first collectively owned factory was founded by weavers in Rochdale in 1845. In 1856, 40 Norwegian mountain farmers established the first cooperative dairy in Norway. As time passed, the "Rausjødalen Dairy" as it was known became the model dairy for other creameries and dairies around the country.

The first cheeses made were Swiss cheese and Edam. They were followed by leaner varieties like Nøkkelost (clove cheese), and other, more mature cheeses like Gamalost - a highly pungent, crumbly brown cheese from the district of Hardanger.

The evolution of modern dairying

The transition to a more technical production process started in the late 1800's.
The introduction of cooling systems which used water and ice, as well as the use of separators, were important technical innovations which lead to the founding of Norway's first dairy school in 1866 at Elingaard Farm in Østfold.
  
In the 1960's and 1970's dairies were extensively modernised and made more efficient, becoming industrial enterprises with high hygienic and technological standards. Delivery techniques changed and farmers started storing milk in cooling systems on the farm itself. The milk was collected regularly and driven to the dairy in tankers and cartons replaced the traditional glass bottle.