CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS
4.1 The Farm Family
Seventy-two families participated in the study. With the exception of one widower, all of the retiring generation participants were married. All of the receiving generation women were married and were daughters-in-law. Of the receiving generation men, 18 (25%) were single and 1 was divorced. Although most of the couples in the retiring generation had more than one child, we interviewed a maximum of four family members. Interviews were normally conducted with the retiring generation couple, the receiving generation child who was most involved in the farm and the spouse of that child. In the majority of families this group consisted of an older couple, their son and his wife. In some 18 families, the younger generation consisted of an unmarried son. There were 51 younger women in the study. All were married. Throughout the remainder of this report the two generations are referred to as the 'retiring generation' and the 'receiving generation'. Also, "PM" will be used to refer to the "Parent Male"; "PF" the "Parent Female"; "CM" the "Child Male" and "CF" the "Child Female".
4.1.1 Age
There was a wide range of ages in the generations. Those in the retiring generation ranged from 50 to 78 years for the men and from 50 to 75 years for the women. Those in the receiving generation ranged in age from 20 to 43 years for the men and from 22 to 43 years for the women. This wide range in ages was something which was sought since interest was in the farm careers of families from entry to retirement. In comparison with the Alberta study the New Zealand retiring generation men and women were marginally older than their Canadian counterparts who ranged in age from 42 to 71 years.
4.1.2 Generation
On average the farms in the study were second generation farms, although farms had been held by the families of retiring generation farmers from between 1 to 4 generations. Most of the older men had lived in their communities all their lives, while most of the women of that generation had lived in the community 20 years less than their husbands. The difference is accounted for by the fact that some women did not come from farming backgrounds but moved to the community when they married. The same pattern is seen in the receiving generation. The majority of the younger men had lived in the community for 21 to 30 years, whereas only a few (2%) of the women in this generation had lived in the community that long. By far the majority of the receiving generation women were 'newcomers' to the community having lived there ten years or less.
Almost all of the men in the receiving generation (99%) grew up on a farm. This was marginally more than the 92 percent of the Canadian receiving generation with a farming background. Of the Canadian women in the Generations Alberta study, over half (56%) had grown up on farms while only 37% of the South Island women claimed a farming background.
Generations in these farming families who work with each other also live in close proximity. Jn over two thirds (67%) of the families, the receiving generation and the retiring generation lived together on the same farm. However twenty-four percent of the receiving generation lived from 1 to 5 kms away from the retiring generation, while 4 % lived between 6 to 10 kms away. The remaining 6% lived the furthest away at 11 or more kms from the farm and the retiring generation Included in this last 6% were two receiving generation families who lived S0kms and 110 kms respectively from the farm and the retiring generation. In the Alberta study no members of the receiving generation family lived more than 30 km away from the farm and the retiring generation.
4.1.3 Non-farming Children
Most of the families had other children who were not farming with the parents. Table 1~ shows the number of children farming with and not farming with parents. All of the children farming with the parents were male. Seventy-two percent of the members of the retiring generation in this study were farming with only one of their sons. A smaller proportion (28 %) had two sons farming with them but no retiring generation man was farming with more than two sons. Of the retiring generation families with children not farming with them, 24% had one child away, 42% had two children off the farm and a final 21% had three children not farming with them.
Table 1
Number of Children per Family Farming with Parents and Not Farming with Parents1
| Farming with parents2 | Not farming with parents3 | |||
| Number of children per family | No. | % | No. | % |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 1 | 51 | 72 | 17 | 24 |
| 2 | 20 | 28 | 30 | 42 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 21 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1 According to retiring generation women.
2 All children fanning with parents are male.
3 Of children not fanning with parents, 18% are male, 54% female. The remainder (28%) are in farnilies in which there are both male and female non-fanning children.
Percentages in the following Tables 1 through to 12 may not total 100 due to rounding.
Not all those children identified as not farming with their parents had moved out of farming. A number had established themselves or been established by their families on farms other than the family farm. Again these children were all male. The family pattern therefore was of parents farming with one male child. However, it is clear that despite having more than one child, not all children are either willing or able to farm with their parents. These tables also tend to indicate that the attitude that 'girls don't farm' still prevails.
Since in most cases, only one or two children farmed with the retiring generation, the occupations of the other children were of interest. Table 2 shows the range of occupations among children not farming with their parents. There is as broad a range of occupations as among the population in general. Approximately 17% were farming on their own. However, most were homemakers, office workers, labourers or involved in other businesses or allied health professions. This is similar to findings from our research in Alberta. Since farm couples knew that their farm could not support farming careers for all of their children, they encouraged all their children to get job or career training and to try another occupation before deciding whether they wanted to stay in farming.
Table 2
Occupations of Children Not Farming with Parents'
| Occupation | Percentage |
Medical |
14 |
| Administration/business | 13 |
Engineers |
2 |
| Office workers | 8 |
| Labourers | 6 |
| Retail sales | 3 |
| Homemaker | 12 |
| Transportation | 2 |
Student |
11 |
Farmer |
17 |
Other |
10 |
1 According to retiring generation women
Family members who participated in the study were asked what they believed was the reason for other members of the 'receiving generation' not being involved in the farm (Table 3). The reason given by 48 % of family members was that the person chose to pursue another career. Only 2% percent of family members said that the uninvolved member had no interest in farming. Rather, almost 30% said that th& uninvolved child was not able to farm because of health or financial impediments. The tradition of male succession to farming continues in this group of farmers. All children that were working on the farm with the retiring generation were male.
Table 3
Reasons Children Not Farming with Parents are Pursuing Other Occupations1
| Reason | Percentage |
| Child is farming elsewhere | 15 |
| Child has chosen another career | 48 |
| Family reasons | 3 |
| Child is not able to farm | 29 |
| Child's future is undecided | 5 |
| Child is not interested in farming | 2 |
1 According to retiring generation women
4.1.4 Education
Table 4 shows the number of years of education of each of the family members. Overall, the receiving generation had the most education. Women of both generations had more education than their male counterparts. None of the retiring generation men and only one of the receiving generation men had more than 16 years education. However 10% of the receiving generation women had 16 years or more education. Of all the family members the retiring generation men had the least education.
Table 4
Years of Education
| Retiring Generation | Receiving Generation | |||
| Men | Women | Men | Women | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Less than 9 years | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 9-12 years | 77 | 57 | 58 | 32 |
| 13-16 years | 15 | 39 | 39 | 56 |
| More than 16 years | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
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
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