Understanding the Nature and Extent of Farm and Ranch Diversification in North America*

Abstract Pressure to adopt enhanced production technologies, changing government support policies, increasing and more diverse competition, and changing markets have posed economic challenges to North American farmers over the past two decades. As a response, farmers are adjusting their production model by incorporating agricultural related enterprises. Although there is evidence that farm diversification is occurring throughout North America, there is a dearth of scientific information regarding the types of enterprises being developed and used in this context. This study aims to fill this void by exploring the extent of farm diversification by identifying and describing eight types of enterprises that farmers and ranchers are using. It was found that levels of diversification are often dependent on operating and management attributes and owner characteristics, such as the number of family members working on the farm and the number of days that the farmer's spouse works off the farm.     

“Some Things Never Change,We’re Always Second in Line”: Gendered Experiences of Progress and the Agricultural Crisis in Almeria,Spain*

This article addresses sex‐gender relations within the context of changing class relations shaped by the historical formation of an intensive system of agricultural production in Almeria (Spain). The analysis of work, both on the farm and within the domestic unit, guides the research, which relates socio‐historical conditions and the subjective experiences and identities of men and women farmers. We begin from the theoretical premise that the change from being employed as wage laborers to becoming farm owners was a family project in which women and sex‐gender relations played an essential, though hidden, role. We use a qualitative methodology and an historical perspective focused on the different phases of the Almerian agricultural model: the origin and consolidation of the sector (1960–1970), a boom period (the decade of the 1980s) and the strangulation of the model (from the decade of the 2000s until today). The article discusses and concludes that despite the centrality of the participation of women farmers and the change in class position, the subordinate place they occupy—in both the domestic sphere and on the farm– has continued throughout the different phases of the model. Thus, we find that “Some things never change, we're always second in line.”     

Multiple business ownership in the farm sector: assessing the enterprise and employment contributions of farmers in Cambridgeshire

Multiple business ownership has become an important theme within the small firms research literature. While early studies emphasised its role in reducing business risk, more recently portfolio entrepreneurship has been recognised as an important growth strategy, particularly in sectors where economies of scale can be achieved at a relatively low level. Research studies specifically examining multiple business ownership are still scarce, but the parallels between portfolio entrepreneurship in non-farm sectors and farm pluriactivity have been noted. Although pluriactivity has been subject to extensive investigation in recent years, analysis has generally focused on farm-centred diversification, rather than the wider entrepreneurial activities of the farmer. Using a survey of nearly 300 farm owners in Cambridgeshire, this exploratory study analyses the incidence of portfolio entrepreneurship in the farm sector and assesses its contribution to enterprise and employment creation. The results demonstrate that a core of farmers have multiple business interests and that these additional business activities make a substantial contribution to both numbers of enterprises and employment creation. While previous studies of pluriactivity have generally used the farm business as the main unit of analysis, it is argued that including the wider business activities of the farm owner enables a more precise estimation of the total contribution of farmers to rural economic development.     

Agricultural body-building: Incorporations of gender,body and work

This paper is concerned with gendered embodiment of agricultural work, particularly the connection between women's gender identity and the body at work. Focussing on how the body enters into relations with the tools of work, four processes are identified by which women's bodies, work and machinery are incorporated into each other and give each other meaning. In the first category women's embodied competences are merged with the qualities of machinery much the same way as men. The second shows how women work to uphold a definition of their bodies as feminine despite the fact that they operate machinery. The third process shows that when machine work is incorporated into farm women's traditional work on the farm, neither the definition of women's bodies nor the tractor change. Finally, when women do not operate machinery as part of their work, the traditional conception of gendered, embodied farm work is maintained. The analysis establishes that there is no one to one relationship between work and the meaning of the embodied self, and highlights the complex and ironic relationship between machinery and femininities.     

Midwestern Women’s Farm Business Roles and Farm Business Financial Satisfaction: An Exploratory Study

The roles of women have been and remain central to the functioning of the family farm business. However, a gap in recent literature on farm women, in general, exists and research is limited regarding women’s farm business roles and their satisfaction with their farm business financial situation. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that impact farm women’s perceptions of farm business financial satisfaction. Results indicated that the importance of financial solvency and satisfaction with one’s farm role were positively associated with women’s farm business financial satisfaction. Holding a primary decision-making role was negatively associated with farm business financial satisfaction. Implications for educators, professionals who work with farm women, and researchers are discussed.     

Women's Work? The Relationship between Farmwork and Gender Self‐Perception

Women have long been involved in agricultural production, yet farming and ranching have been associated with masculinity and men. In recent years women have become more involved and more likely to take active and equal roles on farms and ranches and thus increasingly are doing tasks that have been associated with masculinity. Prior work indicates that women are perceived by others as more masculine when they do these tasks, but less work has focused on the association between women's involvement in farming and women's own perceptions of their gender (i.e., how masculine or feminine they feel). Using 2006 survey data from a random sample of women in livestock and grain operations in Washington State, we find that women's involvement in farm and ranch tasks is associated with their gender self‐perception, with more involvement being associated with a more masculine self‐perception. Women who view their primary role as independent agricultural producers or full partners also perceive themselves as more masculine than women who view their primary role as homemaker. We discuss the implications of these findings for women's experiences in agriculture.     

The Third Sex: Women Leaders in Australian Agriculture

This article uses data from interviews with 20 women involved in decision‐making positions in Australian farm organizations to explore the ways in which women actively create a subject position which locates them as both ‘agricultural leader’ and ‘woman’. This is a subject position one participant describes as ‘a third sex’. In negotiating their outsider status, the participants describe being engaged in a constant process of self‐monitoring and movement between and across different discourses of managerial masculinity and normative femininity. They describe no such difficult identity work being undertaken by the male leaders with whom they work. Based on a range of gender comparisons, the article concludes that women's entry to positions of agricultural leadership does not necessarily suggest that a more inclusive or equitable Australian farming sector is emerging.     

Whither the lender of last resort?: The rise and fall of public farm credit in Australia and New Zealand

Public farm financial institutions were established in 20th Century Australia and New Zealand to facilitate agricultural and rural economic development. This arrangement reflected agriculture's economic importance, and rural society's political importance to both countries until the early 1980s. With both countries’ adoption of monetarist principles (including financial deregulation and the drive for smaller government) from the mid-1980s these public farm credit providers were seen to distort the allocation of farm credit and to be an inefficient use of public resources. Deregulation would, according to its many proponents, remove these distortions and create a free market for farm credit which would deliver the most appropriate loan packages for both countries’ farm sectors. The extensive literature on the New Zealand experience of farm sector restructuring and primary research into the South Australian farm crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s show that the commercialisation and/or abolition of public farm credit providers in both countries has fundamentally restructured the farm credit market but failed to address many farm families’ demand for concessional, long-term finance. The research also demonstrates the continuing need for local and regional case studies of the impacts of and responses to major institutional restructuring that are both theoretically informed and scale sensitive as a means to building a genuinely international literature on contemporary rural and agrarian change.     

Women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms: Gender relations and the structuring of work

Utilizing a feminist perspective and based on data obtained by interviewing 350 women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms, the article analyses how existing gender relations structure various aspects of women's paid work on farms. It explores the recruitment and employment of women, the division of labour and existing wage differentials between women and men workers, and the nature of women's work relations. Women's participation in the reconstitution of existing gender relations and the obstruction of women's choices are interpreted within the context of ‘the farm as family’ and the farm worker community as subculture. It is suggested that some women workers on fruit farms are gaining a measure of control over certain aspects of their work lives. The transformation of traditional to neo-paternalistic labour relations, the extension of labour legislation to the agricultural sector, and especially farmers' changing perceptions of women (and consequently their utilization as farm workers) have been central to women farm workers gaining more power in the workplace.     

Farm diversification, tenancy and CAP reform: Results from a survey of tenant farmers in England

Little work has considered explicitly the role of farm tenancy in influencing the uptake (or not) of diversification activities. The need to examine this link has been heightened because of the 2003 CAP reforms and the decision to tie Single Farm Payment (SFP) entitlement to the land rather than what is produced on that land. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine the nature of diversification activities on tenant farms in England, which includes a consideration of how the introduction of the SFP and other CAP reforms may influence such restructuring processes. Results from a national postal survey, supported by tenant farmer/landlord interviews and a workshop, reveal high rates of farm diversification on farms with tenanted land. However, if one takes away contract/hire services the rate of diversification on tenant farms is much less. Tenant farms appear to favour more ‘traditional’ diversification activities and the results also demonstrate an increasing need to move towards more ‘encultured’ definitions of farm diversification. The second key finding to emerge from the research relates to the high levels of uncertainty and negativity surrounding the potential impacts of the CAP reforms, and SFP in particular, on farm business behaviour. Tenant farmers were more concerned about levels of SFP and entitlement than future investment decisions, including diversification.     

Farm Work Satisfaction and Acceptance of Sustainability Goals by Australian Organic and Conventional Farmers1

Abstract Farmer dependence on large-scale organizations for inputs to production is an attribute of Australian agriculture and has changed the character of farm work and how farmers see the future of agriculture. We discuss how these changes are related to farmer satisfaction with their work and their commitment to an alternative or conventional agricultural paradigm. Organic and conventional farmers are compared and findings show that organic farmers experience higher levels of work satisfaction and endorse the alternative agricultural paradigm more strongly than conventional growers. Personal success in using organic methods explains differences between organic farmers in their work satisfaction and commitments to the alternative paradigm. Similarly, conventional farmers confident about the future of their farms are satisfied with their work and express some commitment to the sustainability paradigm. Organic and conventional farmers share concerns about environmental sustainability, but are thinking differently about what sustainable farming is and how it will affect the future of Australian agriculture.     

Adjustment strategies revisited: Agricultural change in the Welsh Marches

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, much attention was paid by British agricultural geographers to the restructuring of the farm sector under pressures of national, European and global change. The need to adopt a perspective capable of looking beyond the farm gate inspired the introduction of modified political economy approaches into agricultural research. One important cornerstone of the empirical application of this thesis was the concept of the ‘farm adjustment strategy’. This attempted to map out the responses, especially those of survival, made by farm family businesses to rapidly changing agrarian conditions. Subsequently, the farm adjustment strategy became remarkable for its popularity as a way to organise research into agricultural change in developed market economies. Following a retreat in the 1990s, there has been something of a recent revival in the use of the term ‘strategy’ relating to agricultural adjustment. Revisiting this concept is therefore timely. Using empirical evidence from studies of farming change in the Welsh Marches, this paper examines two issues. First, it makes a critical re-examination of the concept to resolve differences with interpretation linked to theoretical perspectives so that future misuse can be minimised. Second, an attempt is made to assess the relevance of defined elements of farm adjustment strategies to analyses of farm business change. In so doing, there is an attempt to recover our knowledge of agrarian restructuring and to help situate newly encultured investigations into the likely survival of family labour-based forms of production.     

Global warming and navy beans: Decision making by farmers and food companies in the U.K.

Farmers are continually adjusting their business enterprises in response to the shifting economic, political and social pressures which affect each aspect of their production. These adjustments may include structural changes, agronomic (production) changes or moves into ‘diversification’ enterprises, and are manifest at different scales, from the farm unit to changes in a country's or region's agricultural structure. One factor influencing future changes in agriculture is likely to be climate change (‘global warming’) which will alter the physical environmental conditions of production. The consequences of this might include a change in the crop species cultivated in different areas. This paper examines the responses of farmers in part of southern Britain to the possibility of growing navy beans, a crop used for baked bean manufacture and obtained almost wholly from North America, as a response to a warmer climate. The paper seeks to explore the network of relations at the farm, national and international scales which will determine the likelihood of commercial adoption of the crop occurring in the U.K. Through discussion of the results of interviews with farmers, food processing companies and associated agencies it is concluded that there are significant structural barriers to the adoption of navy beans as a diversification option on U.K. farms as a result of international trade restraints and a measure of inertia and risk aversion within the processing companies.     

Farm women in Canada,New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality

This paper focuses on rural women's networks in Ontario, New Zealand and Australia. It investigates three issues: the social contexts in which farm women in Canada, Australia and New Zealand have developed new networks since the late 1970s; the responses of farm women in each country to the changes in the agricultural industry in the last two decades; and the way farm women's organisations are responding to contemporary changes in rural society. In the concluding section, the farm women's movement is interpreted in terms of agency and structure. It is suggested that the establishment of organisations that can speak for farm women at government levels has countered their deep sense of marginalisation and alienation within their industry. In keeping with the dynamic nature of contemporary society, farm women's organisations will need to be flexible and adaptable in order to facilitate quick responses to rapidly evolving economic an social issues.     

Why is diversification an attractive farm adjustment strategy? Insights from Texas farmers and ranchers

State agencies have been encouraging the development of different enterprises to diversify farm incomes in an effort to retain farmers in business, attract new entrants to agriculture and promote regional development. Entrepreneurship and farming are known to be driven by a complex set of goals including those which are economic and intrinsic in nature. However, little information is available regarding the set of goals that drive agriculture entrepreneurship, preventing state agencies to adequately target potential diversifiers. This paper provides a better understanding of the range of goals, both financial and nonfinancial, that are important in farmers' decisions to diversify their operations. The generation of additional income, the continuance of farming and ranching, and the enhancement of quality of life are among the most important diversification goals in Texas. A principal component factor analysis performed on the importance ratings of diversification goals resulted in six dimensions: (F1) Reduce Uncertainty and Risk; (F2) Grow and Service Markets; (F3) Enhanced Financial Condition; (F4) Individual Aspirations and Pursuits; (F5) Revenues Enhancement; and (F6) Family Connections. The study also examined the relationship between various entrepreneur and farm characteristics and the goal pursuit dimensions. Operator's age, number of generations the farm had been in the family, household income, number of farm employees, and distance to an urbanized area influence types of goals pursued through diversification.     

Fields of Action: Australian Women's Agricultural Activism in the 1990s1

Abstract In recent years, women's contribution to farming has been increasingly recognized by academics, decision makers, and some sectors of the farming community. In contrast, women's activism in agricultural politics is less well accepted or understood. This paper investigates data from a number of farm activist groups operating on a variety of scales in Australia. The paper examines the ways in which farm women develop political agency and then mobilize across a number of “fields of action” to effect both personal and industry-wide change.     

Ethnicity and Farm Entry Behavior

Abstract The persistence of ethnic traits in both the visible agricultural landscape and the practices of established farmers in the United States has been well documented but not unchallenged. One limitation of most studies is that they have focused on relatively special populations of farmers who could be expected to have unusually strong ethnic identity. It has not been clear that ethnic background could serve as a useful variable in explaining variation in farmers' behavior in the general farm population. The present study examines the role of ethnicity in a large random sample of recent entrants into dairy farming in Wisconsin. In particular, we provide some confirmation that the farm operator's ethnic identity can be linked to differences in entry paths, current farm characteristics, and cultural beliefs in our sample. We also suggest that ethnicity plays a stronger role in affecting the resources and opportunities available to young farmers than the strategic decisions made to employ these assets.     

The increasing flexibility of the farm and horticultural workforce in England and Wales

This article highlights some important structural changes that have been taking place in the agricultural and horticultural workforce over recent years. While acknowledging the industry's distinctive need for flexibility in labour inputs, it is argued that these structural changes need to be seen in the context of wider trends in the economy as a whole. A review of the empirical evidence suggests that Atkinson's generalised model of the flexible firm provides a sound basis for understanding recent changes in the agricultural workforce. It is concluded that these changes have important implications for the Agricultural Wages Board as well as for organisations such as the National Farmers Union, Transport and General Workers Union, and Agricultural Colleges that service the needs of farm businesses and the farm workforce.     

Modelling Farm Diversification in Regions Using Expert and Decision Support Systems

The building of expert systems (ES) and decision support systems (DSS) has become a recent feature of many academic disciplines, but few examples can be found in human geography research. This paper draws attention to the potential of ES and DSS by reporting research on modelling farm diversification in the northern Pennines of England for four agricultural policy ‘scenarios’. The results of similar modelling in four other ‘lagging’ regions of the European Union (in Ireland, Scotland, France and Greece) are discussed. The research shows the opportunities that diversification can bring to farm businesses, including raised farm incomes and increased farm employment. But much depends on the willingness and ability of farmers to modify traditional farming systems, undertake the borrowing of capital and occupy more farmland.     

Farm labour markets and the structure of agriculture

La main-d'oeuvre salariée dans l'agriculture a rarement fait l'objet d'analyses détaillées au Canada, malgré son importance comme critère de classification des exploitations agricoles et comme indicateur de l'évolution de la structure du secteur agricole. Dans cette communication, l'auteure cherche à remédier à cette négligence en intégrant des questions relatives au salariat dans l'agriculture au débat sur les changements structured touchant le secteur agricole des économies industrialisées. Son analyse est fondée sur l'étude du cas de l'industrie de la tomate conditionnee en Ontario. Les incidences de Pindustrialisation sur les marchés du travail agricole sont particulièrement intéressantes. Là où Ton moissonne à la machine plutôt qu'à la main, les fermes embauchent moins d'ouvriers, on fait moins appel au travail des enfants et le nombre d'employées résidentes augmente. Cette étude est une source de données qui contribuent non seulement à notre connaissance des ouvriers agricoles de l'Ontario mais aussi aux arguments en faveur du modèle marxiste classique de l'évolution de la structure de l'agriculture dans les pays industrialisés. Although the presence of agricultural wage labour is important for classifying farm operations and for measuring changes in agricultural structure, it has received little detailed analysis in Canada. This article attempts to redress that oversight by integrating issues that affect hired farm labour into debates about the changing agricultural structure of industrialized nations. A case study of the Ontario processed tomato industry forms the basis for analysis. Of special interest is the influence industrialization has on hired farm labour markets. When mechanized harvesting replaces hand harvesting, there are fewer workers hired per farm, child labour decreases, and there is an increase in resident female employees. This research not only contributes to our knowledge of Ontario farm workers but also provides new empirical data to support the classical Marxist model of change in the agricultural structure of industrialized nations.