Abstract
Japanese Shorthorn Cattle have been raised in pasture lands managed by cooperatives in Kitakami highlands in Iwate. Such pasture lands keep decreasing while multiple function on natural pasture is re-evaluated. This study aims at understanding how the management of the cooperatives influenced changes of pasture land management had changed. Due to Pasture Land Development during the period of the 1960s to the 1980s, the cooperatives in Okawa region shifted to intensive pasture land management. As a result, the productivity was increased, but so was the management cost. In 1991, beef imports were liberalized, and the number of the cooperative members and cattle decreased. Then the cooperatives reduced the area of the pasture land. Increased cost made the cooperative management difficult. Since 2001, the Direct Payment System for Hilly and Mountainous Areas started, and the management of the cooperatives seemed to become stable. After the 1990s, the cooperatives reduced the area of the pasture land and sought intensive management, but cost remains large. It is now necessary to examine sustainable pasture land management including a natural and extensive system.
