Abstract
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 475-493 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Agriculture and Human Values |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 28 Mar 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Print publication - Sep 2019 |
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Keywords
- Smallholding
- Estates
- Crofting
- Multifunctionality
- Female farmers
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Beyond 'hobby farming': towards a typology of non-commercial farming. / Sutherland, Lee-Ann; Barlagne, Carla; Barnes, AP.
In: Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 36, No. 3, 09.2019, p. 475-493.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond 'hobby farming': towards a typology of non-commercial farming
AU - Sutherland, Lee-Ann
AU - Barlagne, Carla
AU - Barnes, AP
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - In this paper we develop a typology of ‘non-commercial’ approaches to farming, based on a survey of a representative sample of farmers in Scotland, United Kingdom. In total, 395 (16.6% of the sample) farmers indicated that they do not seek to make a profit on their farms. We estimate that these non-commercial approaches to farming are utilised on at least 13% of agricultural land in Scotland. As such, non-commercial farming (NCF) is not a marginal practice, nor are NCF limited to small-scale ‘hobby’ farms: NCF exist across the scale of agricultural holding sizes and are operated by a wide range of socio-demographic cohorts. We identify 6 types of NCF: agricultural residences, specialist smallholdings, horsiculture holdings, mixed smallholdings, amenity mixed farms, and large farms or estates. These types were differentiated primarily by the scale of farm size, presence of diversification activities and types of animal present. The analysis demonstrates a number of emergent patterns of land management: de facto land abandonment, transition towards ‘horsiculture’, and management differences between retiring and new entrant NCF. We argue that the types identified reflect a number of intersecting issues in contemporary agrarian transitions, particularly the aging farmer population; generational renewal; and gendered implications of agricultural restructuring.
AB - In this paper we develop a typology of ‘non-commercial’ approaches to farming, based on a survey of a representative sample of farmers in Scotland, United Kingdom. In total, 395 (16.6% of the sample) farmers indicated that they do not seek to make a profit on their farms. We estimate that these non-commercial approaches to farming are utilised on at least 13% of agricultural land in Scotland. As such, non-commercial farming (NCF) is not a marginal practice, nor are NCF limited to small-scale ‘hobby’ farms: NCF exist across the scale of agricultural holding sizes and are operated by a wide range of socio-demographic cohorts. We identify 6 types of NCF: agricultural residences, specialist smallholdings, horsiculture holdings, mixed smallholdings, amenity mixed farms, and large farms or estates. These types were differentiated primarily by the scale of farm size, presence of diversification activities and types of animal present. The analysis demonstrates a number of emergent patterns of land management: de facto land abandonment, transition towards ‘horsiculture’, and management differences between retiring and new entrant NCF. We argue that the types identified reflect a number of intersecting issues in contemporary agrarian transitions, particularly the aging farmer population; generational renewal; and gendered implications of agricultural restructuring.
KW - Smallholding
KW - Estates
KW - Crofting
KW - Multifunctionality
KW - Female farmers
U2 - 10.1007/s10460-019-09930-5
DO - 10.1007/s10460-019-09930-5
M3 - Article
VL - 36
SP - 475
EP - 493
JO - Agriculture and Human Values
JF - Agriculture and Human Values
SN - 0889-048X
IS - 3
ER -