The ‘myth’ of the family farm: Defining the family farm and assessing its importance in the European community

Family farming is a central but inadequately defined concept in the European Community's agricultural policy. An investigation into the importance of family farming is reported, using data from the European Community's Farm Accountancy Data Network that covers some 59,000 farms in the 12 Member States. A definition is adopted, based on the share of the labour provided by the family, to group farms into family, intermediate or non-family types. Almost three-quarters of Community farms were classed as family farms in 1989, but they produced only just over half of the total agricultural output and 62% of the total income. The incidence of family farming varied between countries and was lowest in the United Kingdom, where less than half fell into the family group. In all countries family farms tended to be smaller and to have lower incomes per person than non-family farms. However, the non-family group did not consist solely of larger farms operated by family labour supplemented by hired labour; at least in some countries the group contained smaller farms operated on a part-time basis and where there is substitution by hired labour for family labour. These subgroups point to alternative ways of structural adjustment to achieve higher incomes from farming.     

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.     

What factors attract and motivate dairy farm employees in their daily work?

This study examined attraction and motivation factors important for people choosing to work and remain in the profession of dairy farm worker. The study comprised 194 agricultural students, 197 employed dairy farm workers and 147 employers. The study was based on questionnaires in which the key questions were: What would attract you to choose dairy farming as a profession? What attracts and motivates you in your daily work? What would motivate you to remain employed in dairy farming? Furthermore, in order to elucidate the farm employer's view, they were asked what they believed were important factors to attract and motivate young people to the profession. In general, the students, employees and employers had similar opinions on factors that attract and motivate dairy farm workers in their daily work. Although the order of priorities was different, they agreed that having fun at work, good leadership, feeling pride in their work, job security, good team spirit, living in the countryside, meaningful and interesting work, safe and healthy workplace, flexible work tasks, the farm having a good reputation and feedback from supervisors were among the most important attraction and motivation factors.     

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.     

Rural development and urban migration: can we keep them down on the farm?

This study tests the hypothesis that rural development projects and programs reduce rural-urban migration. The author presents various factors in the social theories of migration, including those relating to origin and destination, intervening obstacles such as distance, and personal factors. 3 economic models of migration are the human capital or cost-benefit approach, the expected income model, and the intersectoral linkage model. Empirical studies of migration indicate that: 1) rural areas with high rates of out-migration tend to have high population densities or high ratios of labor to arable land, 2) distance inhibits migration, 3) rural-urban migration is positively correlated with family income level, and 4) selectivity differences in socioeconomic status between migrants and nonmigrants often are grouped into development packages which might include irrigation, new varieties of seed, subsidized credit, increased extension, and improved marketing arrangements. The migration impacts of some of these efforts are described: 1) land reform usually is expected to slow rural out-migration because it normally increases labor utilization in rural areas, but this is a limited effect, 2) migration effects of the Green Revolution technology are mainly in rural-rural migration, and 3) agricultural mechanization may stimulate rural-urban migration in the long run. Development of rural social services migh have various effects on rural-urban migration. Better rural education, which improves the chances of urban employment, will stimulate rural-urban migration, while successful rural family planning programs will have a negative effect in the long run as there will be reduced population pressure on arable land. Better rural health services might reduce the incentive for rural-urban migration as well. It is suggested that governments reconsider policies which rely on rural development to curb rural-urban migration and alleviate problems of urban poverty and underemployment.     

Farm diversification in England and Wales — what can we learn from the farm business survey?

Given the series of crises in agriculture, farm diversification is an increasingly relevant strategy for farmers. Trends in various types of diversification are described in England and Wales — as recorded in the Farm Business Survey. Although hirework is the most frequently reported diversification activity, renting out of farm buildings is the only activity considered here where there has been a substantial increase in participation over the last 10 years. Furthermore, for most types of diversification, the rate of exit is similar in magnitude to that of entry. When they are present, most types of diversification make a relatively small contribution to average business income. The probability of observing diversification is strongly related to farm size and type. A particular concern is that most types of diversification activities considered here may be more difficult to pursue on small farms, especially within less favoured areas.     

Is where i sit,where i stand? The Ontario farm women's network,politics and difference

The objective of this paper is to trace how the Ontario Farm Women's Network (OFWN), a provincial association formed in 1988, has translated an ideological commitment to an explicitly feminist struggle and to an economic struggle to ensure the survival of the family farm in Canada into practical politics. This article argues that the effectiveness of OFWN's activism lies in its creation of a reverse discourse that iteratively negotiates what it means to be a farm woman with what it means to be a farmer in the Canadian political economy.     

Does International Migration Affect Labor Supply,Non‐farm Diversification and Welfare of Households? Evidence from Egypt

This study examines the effect of international migration in Egypt using fixed‐effect regressions and panel data from Egypt Labour Market Panel Surveys in 2006 and 2012. We find that men and people with higher education are more likely to migrate than women and people with lower education. Middle‐aged people are also more likely to migrate than young or old people. International migration does not seem to affect the overall employment of remaining members of migrant‐sending households. However, it tends to increase the self‐employed work of members of migrant‐sending households. Finally, international migration also helps migrant‐sending households increase their wealth index. Remittances are used to improve living conditions (housing) and purchase more assets and durables. This finding supports the theory as well as the policy to increase migration as a way to stabilize consumption and reduce poverty in low income countries.     

The impact of the agricultural industry on the rural economy — tracking the spatial distribution of the farm inputs and outputs

With all the uncertainty surrounding the future of the agricultural industry, it is important to gain some kind of insight into the economic impact the industry has on the rural economy, to enable the formation of the most appropriate rural policies. Using Farm Business Survey data, this study examines the spatial distribution of inputs and outputs from a sample of 52 farms in the Reading Province. The results show significant links between farms and their locality, especially for the smaller farm.     

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.