tural development. Many were originally from Iowa
and Alabama and were raised on dairy farms. They
were familiar with high-production European dairy
breeds and management techniques. Monteverde's
dairy industry, which began in the early 1950s,
quickly became the primary engine of economic de-
velopment and a significant factor in the alteration of
the natural environment in the upland area. In 1953,
John Campbell, a Monteverde farmer with surplus
milk and a U.S. Department of Agriculture brochure
on farmstead cheese production, made the first batch
of aged cheese. Later that year, the dairy plant was
established, and the community brought in its first
Guernsey heifers to replace the traditional Criollo
cows, "the best fence jumpers in the world" accord-
ing to one disgruntled owner. The dairy plant, incor-
porated in 1954 as Productores de Monteverde, S.A.,
produced cheese commercially.
Limited cash and the ready availability of virgin
forest and recently cleared land led to a form of dairy
farm capitalization in Monteverde termed an "eco-
logical subsidy" (Stuckey 1989). The communities
of Monteverde, Cerro Piano, Santa Elena, La Cruz,
Canitas, and La Lindora had been substantially defor-
ested between 1920 and 1950. In other communities
(Rio Negro, San Bosco, Las Nubes, San Gerardo), new
land was cleared for dairying between 1950 and 1980
(J. L. Vargas, pers. comm.). The flush of nutrients left
by the organic matter that was burned or left to de-
compose after deforestation were "free" (albeit tem-
porary) inputs that spurred early production in the
upland area. They functioned as a major source
of "capital" for developing the local dairy industry
(Stuckey 1989). During the 1960s, the milkshed ex-
panded beyond Monteverde and adjacent communi-
ties. Over the next two decades, milk came from com-
munities as far as 40 km away, and the dairy plant
expanded to process the additional milk (Table 11.2,
Fig. 11.3).
In the early 1960s, farmers encountered problems
with pasture pests such as spittlebugs and froghoppers
that attacked Kikuyu Grass (Pennisetum clande-
stinum-, see Peck, "Agroecology of Prosapia," pp. 409-
Table 11.2. Dairy plant building expansion and
processing capacity from 1954 to 1995.Year
1954-73
1974
1979-84
1987-88
1994-95Total Space
(m^2 )
370
740
900
1700
2000Milk Processing
Capacity (kg/day)
2,700
8,000
11,000
27,000
36-38,000
Source: Productores de Monteverde, S.A. (unpubl. data).410). Kikuyu is a highly productive East African grass
well suited to the Monteverde environment; it was
widely planted as the primary forage for dairy cattle.
By the late 1950s, there were scattered pockets of pas-
ture blighted by froghoppers. By the late 1960s, en-
tire pastures were severely damaged (J. Campbell,
pers. comm.). These native pests may have finally
reached injurious levels after a slow buildup follow-
ing the widespread establishment of Kikuyu pastures.
Producers speculate that declining soil fertility may
have weakened Kikuyu Grass, which increased its
susceptibility to insect pests. Chemical fertilizers
were not widely used on pastures at the time, since
dairying was profitable without them.
By the early 1970s, milk production had declined
significantly, particularly in older pastures. Faced
with declining milk production, farmers adopted four
new herd and pasture management practices. First,
they switched from Kikuyu to East African Star Grass
("estrella"). Although less nutritious and less palat-
able to livestock than Kikuyu, Star Grass was more
resistent to spittlebug attack. Second, farmers adopted
intensive rotational grazing. In this system, cows were
moved (typically once a day) to a new paddock, the
size of which depended on the herd size and length
of grazing time (Voisin and Lecomte 1962). This sys-
tem resulted in more complete consumption of the
grass, facilitated consumption at its optimal nutrient
value, reduced weed growth, produced more even
manure deposition, and reduced soil compaction and
damage to the grass (Mott 1974, Russell et al. 1974).
Third, farmers regularly fed their cows grain and ap-
plied chemical fertilizers to their pastures. Although
this raised production costs, the increased produc-
tivity compensated for the inputs. Fourth, farmers
improved the genetic quality and the health of their
herds with artificial insemination and better veteri-
nary care. Holstein cows became widely preferred due
to their high productivity.
Another event that reshaped the Monteverde dairy
industry was the national financial crisis of the early
1980s. In 1982, Costa Rica's Central Bank ran out of
dollars to buy imported goods. The Ministry of Agri-
culture and Ranching (Ministerio de Agricultura y
Ganaderia, MAG) discouraged dairy farmers from us-
ing outside inputs such as fertilizer, which resulted in
lower milk production. On many older farms where
land had been deforested prior to the 1960s, milk pro-
duction fell by nearly one-half, to 4-8 kg per cow per
day. Milk production remained at 8-10 kg per cow per
day in more recently deforested areas and on the few
farms in which fertilizer and grain concentrates were
still used (Stuckey 1989). These anecdotal data suggest
that the "ecological subsidy" that sustained dairy farms
in the early years had been largely used up.393 Agriculture in Monteverde: Moving Toward Sustainability