National atlas of Norway

Summary

Michel Cabouret reviews the National Atlas of Norway, then being published with 21 principal themes planned, through its 1987 agriculture fascicle under theme 8, agriculture and forestry. Its 23 colour maps, mostly at municipal level, cover agricultural land, farm and ownership structures, crops, livestock, dairy subsidies, dairies and flour mills. Historical comparisons document changes in land use and farming, while triangular diagrams classify farm-size and ownership combinations. Cabouret describes regional crop and livestock distributions, including the concentration of cereals in the southeastern lowlands and Trøndelag. He praises Arne Thormodsoeter’s commentary, accompanied by an extensive English summary, as an excellent introduction to Norwegian agriculture, while noting the omission of agricultural labour, production equipment and inputs, and marketing.