Current SAC Meeting

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SAC # 56: Understanding family farm succession processes within an interpretivist paradigm: A Scottish case study

OPEN AND FREE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES

When

Thursday 20 November 2008, 4pm onwards

Where

Seminar Room, Centre for Innovation, 87 St. David St.
Click here for a map. Note: Limited parking is available on Castle St. and must be arranged with the Centre for Innovation Front Desk (phone 479-8469)

Speaker

Dr Heike Fischer

Abstract

Understanding changing family farm succession patterns is relevant with regards to social, cultural, environmental and economic sustainability issues in the context of both agriculture and rural issues more generally. Farm succession processes and their outcomes have been investigated largely within a positivist framework and by employing ’factor-based’ types of analysis. This study enhances the understanding of family farm succession processes from within an interpretivist framework and by employing a ’family-farm unit’ approach. Confirming other research’s findings, the knowledge generated from this study suggests that successor/farmer identities are socially constructed according to particular ideal types. Another important assertion is that children become farmers first and foremost because they have come to identify themselves as such as opposed to this being the result of a utilitarian or rational assessment of factors. Endogenous cycles, which oscillate between socialisation processes, succession processes and farm trajectories, lead to the construction of these farmer identities. Further, both farm family level and wider issues and developments become incorporated within these endogenous cycles in diverging ways and, mainly as such (as opposed to in a direct and objective way), impact upon children’s occupational and lifestyle choices.

About the Speaker

Currently employed at CSAFE, Heike has a background in Agricultural Economics (MSc University of Giessen, Germany) and Rural Sociology (PhD University of Aberdeen, Soctland). In her recently finished PhD she aimed to enhance an understanding of occupational and lifestyle choices of Scottish farm families’ children with a particular focus on socialisation processes.