Attitudes and Values of Scottish Farmers: “Yeoman” and “Entrepreneur” as Factors,Not Distinct Types1

Abstract We investigate the validity of the classification of farmers into two or more distinct types on the basis of attitudes, objectives, and values. Factor analysis of data from a survey of farm pluriactivity in Scotland (N=472) shows that attributes ascribed to “yeoman” and “entrepreneur” types emerge as separate factors rather than as a single bipolar factor. No clustering of the factor scores corresponding to distinct types is found. We also present correlations of the factor scores with attitudes to on- and off-farm pluriactivity and with observables such as age and off-farm employment. The desirability of analyzing survey data by methods which do not make assumptions about typology is discussed.     

Care Farms in the Netherlands: An Underexplored Example of Multifunctional Agriculture—Toward an Empirically Grounded,Organization‐Theory‐Based Typology

For agricultural and rural development in Europe, multifunctionality is a leading concept that raises many questions. Care farming is a promising example of multifunctional agriculture that has so far received little attention. An issue that has not been examined thoroughly is the strategic mapping of different care farm organizations in this emerging field. The objective of this article is to develop a typology for care farms in the Netherlands and provide insight into the diversity of care farms. We have used different concepts from organization theory and information from regional organizations of care farmers to identify key dimensions and develop a typology of care farms. Key dimensions are the ratio between agriculture and care, the background of the initiators, and the degree of collaboration with formal care institutions. We found six main types of care farms with different identities, four of which were initiated by the farmers' families (mainly female partners). The other two types were started by new entrants in agriculture. On the basis of our findings, we confirmed, disputed, and supplemented insights to multifunctional farming literature. As a further contribution to that field, drawing from the organization theories underlying our typology, we have sought to understand how different types of care farms could emerge.     

Utilising a farm typology to identify potential adopters of alternative farming activities in Greek agriculture

Farm household survival strategies are acknowledged to determine the adoption of alternative farm enterprises as part of the farm household's production and reproduction pattern and are, thus, used to identify the potential adopters of such enterprises. The present work utilises an ideal typology of Greek farms in order to identify different types of farms as regards their mode of survival. Each survival strategy is linked to different motives for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farm enterprises. Results show that three types of farm households may be identified, namely subsistence, survivalist and productivist farm households. The potential adopters of alternative farm enterprises may be traced among farm households that pursue a survivalist mode of production. It is argued that the diversity of farm structures observed within this type of farm households cannot be regarded as the decisive factor as far as their mode of survival is concerned. Rather, it is considered to form a context of different motivations for and constraints against the adoption of alternative farming activities.     

Keeping the Farm in the Family Name: Patrimonial Narratives and Negotiations among German‐Heritage Farmers

Sociologists tend to view rural culture as an inertial force, committing members to past cultural patterns which, in turn, inform their present courses of action. By emphasizing such cultural stasis, we obscure how members of cultural enclaves negotiate, recommit to, or revise certain cultural traditions. This article explores how rural culture is in dialogue with changing external contexts. Drawing on interviews I conducted among a small group of German‐heritage farmers in southern Wisconsin, I find that farmers select legal arrangements, entrepreneurial actions, and traditional male succession in order to fulfill the “yeoman” goal of keeping the farm in the family name. I explore how the narratives farmers develop about the cultural priority of transferring the home‐farm to a new generation allow sociological insight into their creative negotiations between cultural traditions and a greatly altered context of agricultural production. I argue that this dialogue between a historically persistent cultural tradition and very present pressures of agricultural production makes a significant contribution to the dynamics of modern rural life.     

Multiple succession and land division on family farms in the South East of England: A counterbalance to agricultural concentration?

One of the main indicators of industrialisation in agriculture has been the increase in farm sizes as farms are amalgamated to form larger, more economically efficient units. While the processes of farm amalgamation are relatively well understood, the processes by which large farms may be dispersed are less well understood. In particular, while multiple succession is relatively common in other European countries, in the UK the Common Law rule of primogeniture has meant that multiple succession as a means of land dispersal has rarely been considered. This study uses a sample of 154 historically large farms in the South East of England and traces multiple succession over the last 40 years, making observations on possible impacts on average farm size and the social processes by which farms are divided. Almost one-third of the farms were found to have divided through multiple succession between 1960 and 1999. While the farms surveyed in this study were large and thus theoretically more likely to be able to divide, there was no substantial evidence to support farm size as a limiting factor, suggesting that multiple succession as a process may be more widespread than previously thought. This has consequences for our current understanding of the concentration of agriculture in the UK.     

Contrasts and Commonalities: Hispanic and Anglo Farming in Conejos County,Colorado

Abstract The San Luis Valley farming systems' project sought to identify improved technologies and better decision-making capabilities for modest-sized and limited-resource farms. Characteristics of limited-resource farms operated by Hispanic and Anglo families, which may or may not be associated with differential rates of social participation and/or institutional discrimination, were examined. To determine characteristics of client farms, data were collected and stratified on farm resources, farm operations, goal hierarchies, and operational management strategies. Hispanic and Anglo farmers differed significantly in several respects. Key among these differences were crop and livestock enterprise mixes and the importance of off-farm income to households. For many farming parameters, farm size, age of farmer, and full-time/part-time characteristics overshadowed ethnicity as a determinant of decision-making. However, an important subset of the farm population is composed of Hispanic farmers who operate below median farm acreage on a part-time basis and for whom few technological developments or assistance programs are specifically designed or delivered.     

Farm persistence and adaptation at the rural–urban interface: Succession and farm adjustment

Despite assumptions that agriculture will automatically go into a mode of decline at the Rural Urban Interface (RUI), official statistics suggest that agriculture as a whole remains a strong (and in some cases a growing) industry in many U.S. RUI counties. RUI scholars have acknowledged internal family dynamics can significantly influence farm persistence and adaptation strategies, however, few studies have sought to document the specific role succession has on farm structure at the RUI. Building off rural geography models of farm organization at the RUI and succession research embedded in rural studies we analyze interviews from 33 U.S. farm families to 1) explore the relationship between farm adaptation and succession at the RUI, and 2) examine how succession is related to the different types of enterprises found at the RUI (direct marketers vs. commodity producers) and the types of growth strategies these farm families implement. We find that families who can not identify an heir either disinvest or enter a static management mode. Among farm families who can identify an heir we identify a variety of horizontal and vertical growth strategies (expanding, intensifying, and entrepreneurial stacking) designed to achieve farm reproduction goals. We discuss the theoretical and policy related implications of this research.     

Handing down the farm? The increasing uncertainty of irrigated farm succession in Australia

Farming is still primarily a family concern in Australia. Having a farm successor in place is important as it is associated with the likelihood of the current farmer adapting to external conditions and hence may have long-term implications for the structure and profitability of agriculture. We used current and historical surveys across a number of irrigation districts in the southern Murray-Darling Basin to study the changing nature of farm succession. Irrigation farms with (and without) a named successor have decreased over time, while uncertainty about succession has increased rapidly. There was strong evidence that the identification of a successor is positively associated with the current and future management of farms. Those with no successor in place are more likely to go into a period of stagnation (such as selling land, not adopting efficient irrigation infrastructure and not increasing irrigated area). One key finding is that increasing uncertainty about succession among irrigated farmers in recent years has been influenced by issues surrounding water security in the Murray-Darling Basin.     

Understanding the Microdynamics of Farm Structural Change: Entry,Exit, and Restructuring among Wisconsin Family Farmers in the 1980s1

Abstract Despite many differences among competing theories of agrarian transformation, all tend to presume that aggregate structural changes are essentially a reflection of changes taking place on individual farms over time. This presumption has been reinforced by a reliance on aggregated county-level census data or cross-sectional surveys of individual farm operations, which unfortunately afford few opportunities to test conventional assumptions about the underlying dynamics of the process. Given the large gross flows into and out of the farm sector, this paper examines the question: do aggregate structural changes primarily result from adaptations made on continuing farms, or are they the product of selective entry and exit processes? Data from a panel study of Wisconsin farmers are used to shed light on the micro-dynamics of structural change. The results suggest that continuing farmers often adapt in ways very different from aggregate trends. They also demonstrate how the character of entry and exit patterns is critical to the structural change process.     

Typologies of Child Protection Systems: An International Approach

In recent decades, typologies have been developed to better understand the way in which different countries create systems to protect the interests of vulnerable children and their families. A child protection system typology is a classification of a set of characteristics that capture and define different approaches to child protection. Typologies are helpful in enabling comparisons of systems across international contexts, helping also to illuminate the various strengths and weaknesses of child protection systems. Typologies can also guide or redirect the development of a system, as they illustrate the varied ways in which children might be better protected. They explain how a cultural value base underpins approaches to child protection and can suggest alternative ways in which a system might evolve, based on the experiences of other countries. This article builds upon early typology building work and presents an international child protection system typology that has universal application. Country examples are used to illustrate the development of systems across two dimensions: whether they are oriented towards an individual or community focus; and whether systems are more, or less, regulated.     

When Work and Family Merge: Understanding Intragroup Conflict Experiences in Family Farm Businesses

Family farms represent a huge portion of agriculture in the United States today. These family farms may struggle to balance both family relationships and business concerns, which can cause conflict among members. Some of this conflict may be derived from the independent, self-reliant nature of family farmers. These characteristics may influence how family farm members are able to deal with conflict, and how they choose to communicate during conflict interactions. This project used intragroup conflict theory and family communication patterns to explore the impact of everyday conflict on job satisfaction, communication satisfaction, and profitability in family farm businesses. Survey data were collected from family farm members (N = 204). The results of structural equation modeling showed conversation and conformity orientation significantly predicted relational, process, and status conflict in the model, yet only status conflict significantly predicted communication satisfaction. These findings suggested family farm members struggle with communication, which influences status conflict experiences and communication satisfaction.     

“Tractorettes” or Partners? Farmers' Views on Women in Kansas Farming Households

In the United States, for various reasons, fewer farm families rely solely on their farming operations for their livelihoods. As the structure of agriculture changes and farm families adjust their livelihood strategies, do the discourses around gender relations in households also change? This article analyzes the portrayal of women's roles in farming households by drawing on interviews with Kansas field crop farmers, primarily regarding their land‐use decisions, but also inquiring about their farms and communities. The article addresses the following question: How do farmers' discourses compare to Brandth's (2002a) categorizations of three dominant discourses in the literature on gender in European family farming—the discourse of the family farm, the discourse of masculinization, and the discourse of detraditionalization and diversity? While Brandth finds the discourse of the family farm prevalent in the literature, overall, the discourse apparent from 30 farmer interviews is more characteristic of detraditionalization and diversity. Although men are primarily the principal operators in farming, overall, women were not portrayed simply as helpers. Rather, their roles are depicted as diverse and important to farm operations.     

The Differing Values of Multigeneration and First‐Generation Farmers: Their Influence on the Structure of Agriculture at the Rural‐Urban Interface

Recognizing the inherent pressures on farm families and farmland, USDA has been developing policies and programs that simultaneously attempt to retain existing farm families on the landscape, recruit new farmers, and create lasting economic opportunities rooted in agriculture. In this article we argue that to date there has been an overemphasis on economic and structural approaches and a systematic discounting of the way individual farmer and farm household motivations can differ as they relate to the farm household life cycle, enterprise growth, adaptation, and reproduction. We use a sociological lens to qualitatively and quantitatively examine the social differences between multigeneration and first‐generation farmers at the rural‐urban interface by exploring how economic and noneconomic values influence succession plans and enterprise structure. We find that the answers to these questions are complex, layered, and not static, as farm households cycle through the life course. We describe how the differences between young and old multigeneration and first‐generation farmers can influence the structure of agriculture at the rural‐urban interface, and conclude with some practical policy recommendations.     

Succession of Stem Families in Rural Japan: Cases in Yamanashi Prefecture

The aim of this paper is to clarify how Japanese rural families have continued and changed from a viewpoint of generational succession. The survey from which data was collected was conducted principally in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. Three main points will be focussed on: members, property, and ideology. Almost 40% of family members surveyed continued to live together with their parents after marriage. However, they did not necessarily succeed the family farm. The ways in which they live together and farm their land have become more diverse. It is still very common for the entire family property to be inherited and succeeded by only one child in accordance with the Ie system. Despite the fact that family structure is changing greatly in present times, many farming families continue to adopt this system of inheritance. Ideologies concerning ceremonial matters and human relationships remain strong, but have weakened with regard to land inheritance. Our results suggest that the family's desire for succession was stronger in cases where multiple generations cohabited.     

Towards a typology of female entrepreneurs

This paper reviews some of the employment problems faced by women and examines how these difficulties might be overcome through entrepreneurship. However, recent empirical work by Goffee and Scase suggests that it is inappropriate to speak of ‘the’ female entrepreneur: there are different types of female business proprietors. Based on an empirical study of 34 aspiring female proprietors, the authors investigate the validity of Goffee and Scase's assertions. Results suggest that there are indeed different types of female entrepreneur, and that while there are some similarities between the typology developed in this paper and that presented by Goffee and Scase, there are also significant differences between them. Possible policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Farm restructuring in the ex-GDR: towards a new farm model?

This article examines farm restructuring in the ex-GDR since reunification in 1990. In particular, attention is focused on four types of farm businesses that can be grouped into two broad groups: family farms and farm partnerships (both private farm business types) and corporate and cooperative farms. Both groups have attracted interest and comment because of the contrasting farming models that they represent, the former reflecting the West German family farm model and the latter with its similarities to the GDR large farm model. The article considers the starting point for restructuring, the framework in which it has occurred, with special reference to the privatisation of nationalised farmland, and examines the geographical outcomes in terms of the emerging farm structure and the competitiveness of different farm types. It is concluded that family farms and farm partnerships have been the main ‘winners’ of the restructuring process, but that corporate/cooperative farming has proved to be a resilient part of the farm structure. As a result, a varied farm structure has emerged that has the potential to be highly competitive within Germany and Europe. However, over-regulation by the government, especially in the case of privatisation of nationalised farmland, has delayed completion of the process, and may hinder competitiveness.     

Strategizing for social change in nonprofit contexts: A typology of communication approaches in public communication campaigns

Public communication campaigns aim to create social change by influencing audiences’ behaviors and thus help nonprofit organizations fulfill their mission. These campaigns, however, often fail to deliver their anticipated impact. Using public relations research as a theoretical lens, this paper's contribution is twofold: first, we develop a typology that classifies the different communication approaches used in public communication campaigns. Based on one of the most prominent public relations theories, the Four Models of Public Relations, we differentiate communication approaches along the dimensions of communication purpose and communication style. Combining these two dimensions in a typology, we identify the following communication approaches: directing, platforming, mobilizing, and involving. We provide numerous real‐life examples of public campaigns for each one. Second, we formulate propositions about these communication approaches’ effectiveness relying on a key concept of public relations research: namely, audience segmentation. Using the transtheoretical model, we show that audiences can be segmented along five “stages of readiness to adopt a promoted behavior.” Conceptualizing behavior change as an iterative, dynamic process that entails stage progresses as well as backdrops, we derive how audiences’ “stage of readiness” relates to the effectiveness of the identified communication approaches.     

Predicting enterprise choice: Exit from dairying in New Zealand

Change in enterprise from dairying to beef farming has been common in Northland, New Zealand during the 1970s and early 1980s. Data from intensive farm interviews on two random samples of farms (one group which ceased to practice dairying between 1975 and 1983 and a second which continued during this period) are used to distinguish the two groups of properties. Significant differences in size, land cover, production, capital value and age of farmers are identified. A stepwise logistical regression model with age of farmer and milkfat production in 1975 as the independent variables predicts the enterprise choice of 75% of the farm families for 1983. These two independent variables are summarising broader characteristics of the properties because age is shown to be colinear with equity, value of property and inputs and milkfat production with other measures of productivity. The necessity of including such structural variables in any behavioural analysis of enterprise choice is emphasised.