Cultivating Narratives: Cultivating Successors (original) (raw)
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While discussions of the changing structure of agriculture are not new, there is increased concern about the lack of young people entering farming. The broader issue is whether the opportunity structure in farming is adequate to ensure an orderly transition of farm businesses from one generation to the next. Many farm leaders, including existing farm families express doubts that there are adequate opportunities for their sons and daughters to take up farming. In the context of the historic changes in the organization of farming, and the age structure of farmers, it appears that farming is poised for a dramatic structural change that will reshape the organization of farming as well as have lasting impacts on the culture of agriculture. Many farm reared youth that historically would have taken up farming through a natural progression of inheriting or buying their parents' farms are no longer doing so in adequate numbers to stabilize farm numbers. As a result of young people seeking careers outside of farming, the continuing trends of consolidation and aging farm operators raise the important policy question of who will be the future farmers. Using data from the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, this paper addresses the farm entry situation in Iowa and explores what might be done to assist in the transition to a new generation of farm operators.
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Two cases considering the farmers in Eastern Marne in Groningen and the peasants in Oosterhesselen in Drenthe in the period 1740-1860 show that family succession on farmsteads was less common in the Netherlands than is often assumed and was certainly less widespread than in other north-western European countries. Analysing the careers of farmers’ and peasants’ children in the period around 1800 confirms that the acquisition of the parental holding was far less important in rural household formation than generally suggested. During the period of rapid population growth studied, the children of those with smaller holdings had particularly limited chances of family succession or of acquiring a farmstead in a different way, and had very high chances of downward social mobility. Passing farms within the family from one generation to the next seems to be the easiest way to secure the future for parents and at least one of their children: one child is provided with a stable position, and t...
Which variables influence the succession process in family farms? A literature review
Cahiers Agricultures, 2020
The decrease in family farm succession is a problem in many countries worldwide. However, no systematic compilation of relevant studies exists. The method of analysis described in this article enabled us to obtain descriptive statistical results such as: most-studied variables, least-studied variables, patterns in the effects of the variables on succession, new types of variables analyzed, and principal approaches of the qualitative studies. We conducted a literature search in four databases, which resulted in 59 papers relevant to the topic. Twenty-nine of them are quantitative and 30 are qualitative. The literature search in peer-reviewed journals in English resulted primarily in articles from developed countries. Due to this, the selection, analysis and results turned out to be focused on Global North countries. Likewise, the studies considered are focused mainly on the opinion of the principal farmer and disregard that of other family members. From the quantitative studies, we a...
Succession decisions in family farms and public policies in developed countries
Public Policy in Agriculture, 2017
This chapter presents a review of the literature on family farm succession in developed countries. It starts with a presentation of the different, and conflicting, theoretical models of succession, then analyzes the empirical work on the determinants of family succession, of its timing, and on the effects of succession on farm performances. The policies affecting family farm succession are presented, with an emphasis on inheritance rules and on agricultural policies affecting farm family succession.
Journal of Rural Studies
Farm succession is a relevant issue, as it is related to rural and youth migration, sustainability and the ageing of the agricultural sector. Understanding the factors behind the willingness of potential successors to take over the family business is crucial for farm continuity. We examine the factors affecting children's likelihood of carrying on the family business in a sample of 216 potential heirs of Italian horticultural farms. Using local labour market conditions (income gap and employment rate) and surrounding context variables (population density), we plug the farm labour migration/occupational choice theory into farm succession analysis. This approach allows us to treat child succession as the opposite of the choice to migrate out of the farm sector. While farm labour migration theory predicts linear negative effects of labour market/contextual variables on farm transfer, we find that the income gap, employment rates and population density exert both negative and positive effects on child succession, according to their intensity. The pro-succession effects we find suggest that, despite potential threats, the proximity to wealthy areas may represent an opportunity for farm continuity and thriving. We also examine explicitly the effect of child characteristics (gender and birth order), finding that male and first-born potential successors are more likely to take over the family farm, in accordance with results from previous firm succession studies. This finding suggests a persistence of traditional normative beliefs in the agricultural sector.
2019
This Project has received funds from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 727520 D2.2 Narrative Report by those who farmed because it was their vocation, to those who perceived themselves first and foremost as business operators. To an extent, these identities reflected the degree of attachment to land, with the more vocational farmers having a strong attachment to their farmed land (particularly in the Flemish case) and the more business-minded (particularly in Northeast Bulgaria and the East of England) having less attachment. The long-term nature of the hazelnut crop in Central Italy meant that attachment to the land was strong, regardless of farmer identity. Family support, whether perceived as positive or negative by the narrator, was found to influence decision-making, and changing work/life balance expectations, particularly amongst early-career farmers with young families, was also influential. The narratives revealed different approaches to risk alleviation, both within and across case studies. In instances where land availability was not restricted (for example, Northeast Bulgaria, and to some extent, East Anglia), scale enlargement was predominant, but where land was restricted, diversification was the predominant response (for example, in the Flemish narratives). There were strong similarities and distinctive differences across the narrative contexts. Similarities included the dominance of internal drivers, intergenerational change as a major critical decision point, the perception of many external drivers as noise, and more frustration with policy drivers compared with weather events. There were few mentions of insurance by the narrators. The findings indicate that robustness is demonstrated in response to many drivers classified as cycles and shocks, whilst prolonged trends result primarily in adaptation. Transformations were relatively infrequent in the narratives and those identified were not radical in nature. The main policy related conclusions from the study suggest that farming systems are ill-equipped for a rapid move from direct payments to income insurance. They also appear to be unprepared for climate change. Long-term, coherent strategies required for dealing with intergenerational change were not apparent, confirming parallel literature that suggests that legal, social welfare and policy obstacles to farm succession need to be addressed.
Agriculture, 2021
This article addresses the problem of succession in family farms in a context of generational change. Family businesses are characterized by their long-term orientation and by having a positive effect through environmental goals that remain in place generation after generation. The general increase in average age among farmers is seen as a barrier to more sustainable land use, and the survival of family farming therefore depends on the availability of a successor in the family. Socioemotional wealth (hereafter, SEW) is understood as the affective endowment of family members. This study adopts the SEW dimensions conceptually validated to analyse the effects of psychological and socioeconomic factors on potential successors’ intentions. The results of a survey administered to students attending agricultural schools in Catalonia show that intentions to assume the management and ownership of the family farm increase in line with individuals’ interest in creating their own business, thei...