Part 1: Introduction
Farming is in transition. It is not simply going through another trough or downturn - the underlying assumptions on which farming is based are changing. Many of the ‘taken-for-granted’ ideas, practices, patterns and ‘rules’ of farming are no longer relevant, or adequate. As a result many farmers, and members of their families, are feeling uncertain, insecure and hesitant about the present and the future.
Prior to the 1980s farmers and farm families knew what it took to be ‘traditional farmers’. Most knew what they wanted from life, what the government would provide, and how to weather the changing seasons, price fluctuations, and blips in the overseas markets. They saw themselves, and were seen by the rest of New Zealand, as ‘the backbone of the country’.
The changes introduced in the 1980s altered all that. Change has always been a key aspect of rural life, but the economic reform process initiated in 1984 has transformed farming, both as a business, and as a lifestyle. The values, beliefs and norms of farming have fundamentally changed, and are changing.
These changes, the cumulative impacts of the last 13 years, plus other local, national and global factors, are still being worked through. There have been changes in what is considered ‘normal’ in a number of areas, for example: increasing off-farm employment for both men and women; changes in expectations, attitudes and practices with succession; and changes in the relationship between farm families and their communities. It could be argued that the essential nature of these changes has yet to be acknowledged by a number of people, including farmers, rural communities, and by government.
The changes, and their impact, are not simply economic, or social, or political. They flow through all aspects of farming and rural life. A major economic change, as in a sharp rise in interest rates, is likely to reverberate, and impact on a family and it’s wellbeing. Likewise changes in the law regarding matrimonial property can impact on people’s expectations, choices, decision making and relationships.
There are two arguments basic to this research that form the basis for the whole report:
- that farming needs to be examined in context - in the context of the geographical, economic, social, political environment; and
- that farming is in transition.
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
Contact this person
