Abstract: Dairy farming is one of the rural industries that contribute to farmers' prosperity.Smallholder farmers constitute an integral component of the dairy farming sector and play an indispensable role in industrial development.Mostly located in rural areas,they contribute to ensure supply,employment absorption, and the enhancement of farmers'income and welfare.This paper targeted dairy farmers in Liaocheng City with a herd size of fewer than 100 dairy cattle,through questionnaire surveys and field visits,the study investigated the current production and management status of these farmers.The SWOT analysis method is applied to study the development environment of smallholder dairy farmers,synthesize their internal strengths and weaknesses,and analyze external opportunities and threats,thereby construct four strategic combinations：SO,WO,ST,and WT.In light of the overall development trends in China's dairy industry, the SO strategy is prioritized. Accordingly,this paper proposed a series of countermeasures and recommendations to promote the high-quality development ofsmallholder dairy farmers in Liaocheng City,including enhancing consumer demand,advancing standardized production,strengthening the supporting role of science and technology as well as talent development,improving organizational forms,increasing forage supply and breed improvement efforts,establishing a sound market system,and promoting the integrated development of agriculture,culture,and tourism.

Key words: smallholder dairy farmers, SWOT analysis, milk sale, transformation and upgrading, high-quality development countermeasure