Alternative trajectories of dairy farmers reveal their embeddedness in the mainstream dairying and articulation with structural dynamics

As the 2009 dairy crisis drew attention on the situation of dairy farmers inEurope, the extent of strategical power left to farmers in dairy cooperatives of increasing size is a frequently raised issue. Four dairy cooperatives collect 97% of the milk in the Walloon region. Two of them integrated agrifood multinationals of world scale. We analyzedthetrajectories of Walloon dairy farmers exploring alternatives to the delivery of milk to these mainstream dairy cooperatives. Our objective was to understand the issues faced by these actors in relation to the mainstream dairy context from which they emerge. We focused on the areas east of the Walloon Region where dairy farming represents 75% of the farming revenues. In these regions, alternatives consistmainly in farmers processing cheese on farm or delivering their milk to cheese processors. We designed a qualitative case study based on interviews with farmers and cheese processors. The alternative trajectories ofintervieweesappear embedded in a broader dairy context. The lock-ins emerging from this context determine the evolution of the farming model towards intensification as well as individual identity and capabilities of farmers. We present a model of interconnected and embedded lock-ins, from the organizational frameworkof the regime to the individual framework. This model illustrates how agency articulates with structural dynamics. We propose structural measures in the organization of agricultural education and in terms of support to alternative supply chains that will favor initiatives of change at the individual leve