Abstract
What happens when centuries-old seasonal transhumance gives way to industrial dairy farming? Through multi-sited fieldwork across mountain farmsteads (1,000-1,700m) and alpine pastures (1,800-2,700m), we examine how diverse 'bodies' transform within shifting Hof assemblages.
How can we grasp the gradual separation of two historically strongly interdependent geographical levels? Our diverging ethnographic perspectives led us to develop the concept of the 'farming herder' - revealing how intensified dairy operations play into abandoning alpine pastures experiencing woody encroachment.
But what if the Hof's appearance of centuries-old continuity obscures a fundamental transformation? In this snapshot we unveil that what is perceived as "traditional" farming represents a novel, fragmented system where the historical unity between Hof and alpine pasture is drifting apart.