- 1.3.1 SMALLHOLDING
- 1.3.2 OFF-FARM EMPLOYMENT AND INVESTMENT, ON-FARM NON-AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES
- l.3.3 - THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF FARMING
1.3 THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF AGRICULTURE
1.3.1 SMALLHOLDING
A significant change in rural New Zealand is the increase in 'small-farming', some of whom are urban commuters who practice a similar lifestyle to their counterparts in Europe. Analysis by size of farm shows that in the two decades 1972 to 1992, the number of farms under 40 ha more than doubled to 35,700. From making up 24% of farms in 1972, these small farms made up 45% of the total number of farms by 1992 (Gouin et al, 1994). (Mid-sized farms from 40 to 200 ha declined by 11%, while the number of farms in the larger categories remained static.)
To some extent the growth in the number of small farms is due to the development of horticultural and fruit-growing enterprises, but it is also due to an increase in small-farming where the agricultural income is less relevant than other sources of income. These farms are often labelled 'hobby-farms' or 'lifestyle-blocks' but) in practice, are little different (with respect to their pluriactivity) from the large farms where members of the farm household are engaged in a range of economic activity (Gouin et al,1994). Small-holders range from wealthy professionals who may operate a beef stud, deer farm or vineyard. Others are developing retirement units. Some are self-employed consultants or writers, while others are escaping or rejecting urban environments or society including infilling of previously spacious suburbs and loss of "rural" values (peace and quiet!) (Fairweather, 1993). Whatever their motivation, these smallholders are becoming an increasingly significant part of the rural scene, Fairweather's research indicates that smallholders tend to be committed to a rural lifestyle, and where they cannot make a living from their holding, they will seek it locally, or will commute for work. If these people are like England's new rural residents, it is likely that they will be the people who will introduce new business to the rural area by using the resources available in non-traditional ways.
The motivation for small-holding is important for recognising the impact of this growing segment of the rural community on the political power base. Many small-holders are motivated by the appeal of the rural environment and its associated lifestyle, including clean air and open spaces. Farming and agricultural interests rank relatively low (Fairweather, 1993: 2-4)
1.3.2 OFF-FARM EMPLOYMENT AND INVESTMENT, ON-FARM NON-AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES
These studies have provided information needed for understanding (by policy makers and local people) the social environment in which sustainable agriculture can be achieved, They have also broadened understanding of how agricultural producers and their families are integrated within the wider rural and national economies. Not only has the agricultural industry' become less labour intensive (and therefore less important as a source of employment), but farm families themselves are now being seen to be involved in a range of activities.
Off-farm employment is a trend which has been evident for many years (e.g. as farmers seek additional funding for farm purchase or expansion), and more recently as a response to the changing role in society taken by women. However, it has also been seen as a means of addressing adverse terms of trade and economic restructuring.
Preliminary results from a national analysis of off-farm income (MAF, 1994) shows that of the 619 farms surveyed, 46% of the sample had income from off-farm work, while 57% of the sample had income from off-farm investments, and 75% had income from either off-farm work or off-farm investment or both. This income paid predominantly for household expenses, followed by personal drawings - in other words a 'better' standard of living rather than for farm expenses. Preliminary figures indicate that on pastoral enterprises it was as common for wives as for husbands to farm while the spouse was involved in off-farm employment. This not only gives both partners of a farming couple an independent income, but spreads the risk should one source of income decline or fail.
These findings about off-farm work are replicated by in-depth case studies of the realities of off farm employment for 60 farm households in Canterbury and Southland (mean farm size 202 ha) where either the husband worked the property and the wife undertook off-farm work or vice versa. These case studies showed the off-farm work was taken for a variety of reasons: to maintain a basic levy of income for the family/farm couple; to protect the entity of the family farm; and/or to build their own career. The report (published in 1995 as Means of Survival? A Study of Off-farm Employment C N Taylor and H McC Little, Caxton Press. Christchurch) looked at the impacts of off-farm work on the farming system, the farm business and the rural community. The research showed, among other things, that off-farm economic activities are important for meeting the lifestyle needs and desires of farm householders. Proximity to the labour market of a major city does not affect the overall level of off-farm employment in a district - people take off-farm employment regardless of the location of their property. The study, which particularly focused on women, showed that whether farm resident women worked as farmers, or off-farm, or both, it was to maintain a basic level of income for the family or themselves, or to protect the entity of their family firm, and/or to build their own career.
The report places off-farm work in New Zealand within the international context by reviewing overseas literature, particularly that on pluriactivity.
Matters raised in the study include:
- the importance of the local labour market for off-farm employment;
- the characteristics of those taking such employment;
- the cycles of such employment;
- the importance of it to farm business viability, to the individual, and to the family; the characteristics of the farm and the impact of such work on the farm:
- the nature of the farm household structure; farm and household labour cycles; and
- the impact of off-farm work on the individual, and on the community.
The book provides useful information on the structure of rural communities and the functioning of farm households. It also provides useful supporting information for MAF's use in approaching other government agencies with the view to encouraging them to consider the impact of their policies on rural communities. As commercial enterprises evaluate the economic returns of locating in centres servicing rural areas, and as government moves to population based funding and withdraws services from small centres, opportunities for rural people to find a livelihood in these service centres becomes more limited.
MAF contract research by Fairweather (1987, 1993) which looked at farm families in North Canterbury show that while more members of farm families sought work off-farm in 1992 than in 1986, fewer undertook it in 1992 as a management strategy for farm survival than in 1986 (Fairweather, 1993. 56).
Farm Women's and Men's Decisions Regarding Working On or Off-Farm
Fairweather's later research on farm work decision-making (decisions and constraints involved in the decision of farm women and men to work on or off farm. using ethnographic decision-tree modelling) shows that while lack of farm income can motivate off-farm work, it does not necessarily do so. Fairweather's report to MAF showed that the reasons given by men and women for working off-farm emphasises non-economic factors. Reasons for off-farm work given by farm women parallel decisions by urban women. The study also provided information on work roles and the influence of male inheritance in off-farm work decisions. The study highlighted the lack of significance of hired labour in on and off-farm work decisions. Fairweather concludes that farming has increasingly become just one of a number of economic activities undertaken be farm people (Fairweather, 1995).
To a large extent the taking-up of off-farm work reflects the changing roles of women in contemporary society and the rise of multiple income earning and dual career couples. The pattern appears to be increasingly for women to develop off-farm careers while most of the men pursue farm careers. Because few women inherit farms, the typical pattern is for women who have married a farmer to seek a career elsewhere, especially where the farm does not require more than one full-time labour unit. In this way, role conflict is avoided with the husband who has inherited the property, who already has the role of farmer and has chosen farming as a career (Fairweather, 1995. 17). However, given that half the farms with one or more working-owners have a female owner-operator, it is clear that many farm women also undertake many hours of farm work.
On-farm, non-agricultural enterprises
As part of MAF's analysis of the social structure of farming and rural communities, work is underway to develop an understanding of the full range of industries in which farm families participate, and the significance of these to the farm enterprise. Farm family members also conduct businesses on the farm which range from light manufacturing and processing through to tourism. Pilot information indicates that profits from some of these enterprises range from nil to being greater than those from the farm establishment (and sometimes well into six figures). Those activities only netting small sums (such as some farm tourism ventures) may be carried out more for social interaction than for profit.
Nevertheless, the message from these statistics and case-studies is clear: while agriculture remains the cornerstone of the rural economy, people living in the countryside are earning their livelihood from a range of activities - some located within the area, some made possible by distance technology (fax and computers), and others made accessible by improved roads which enable rural people to commute to urban centres This same technology has meant many services have shifted to urban service centres, but this does not seem to be affecting the structure of employment or the absolute numbers of people living in rural New Zealand as far as the national figures show. Locally, populations have diminished where they are dependent on one source of income (e.g. pastoral production and meat processing, etc.), and have grown where there is a variety of activity.
l.3.3 - THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF FARMING
A number of short papers have analysed statistical data relating to the work force of the various agricultural industries.
Farm Business Ownership by Women
Despite not having access to farm property through inheritance, many women achieve an ownership stake in a farm business through marriage to a farmer - ownership which is made formal in recognition of their input into the farm business (this is apart from a share of up to half the value of the business on divorce, under the Matrimonial Property Act). Statistics figures for 1992 show that of New Zealand's 50,670 farms with a working owner, leaseholder or sharemilker, 49% of the farm businesses had one or more female owners. Three percent (1,680) of the farms had only female proprietors. There is considerable variation in female ownership of farm businesses by farm type. For example, 58% of dairy farms with a working owner had at least one female working owner, but only 43% of sheep/beef farms had one or more female working owners
Multiple and Sole Ownership
Some 23.180 farms had a sole proprietor in 1992 making up 46% of farms with one or more resident workin2 owners (table 1). Of these sole proprietorships, 580 or 7% of the sole ownership farms had a sole female proprietor. Of the farms with multiple ownership, by far the most farms were owned by a male/female 'couple' (40% of all farms with one or more resident working owners). Having an ownership interest tends to increase the level of participation in farm management.
Table 1: Number of Working Farm Business Owners by Farm Type (%) 1992
| Number | Dairy | Sheep/Beef | Remainder | All Farms | |
1 |
33% | 54% | 46% | 46% | |
| 2 | 53% | 41% | 48% | 47% | |
| 3 | 8% | 3% | 3% | 4% | |
| 4+ | 6% | 2% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total farms | 14.170 | 22,100 | 14,390 | 50,670 |
Absentee Owners
The farm type with the largest proportion of farms with absentee owners was the residual category of horticultural, fruitgrowing, mixed or other livestock, cropping, idle and unused land, exotic forestry, research and education farms (table 2).
Table 2: Number of Farms with No Resident Working Owner (1992)
Dairy |
Sheep/Beef | Remainder | All Farms | |
| Owner Absent | 2,310 (14%) | 10,680 (32%) | 16,010 (53%) | 29,000 (36%) |
| Total Farms | 16,480 | 32,780 | 30,400 | 79,660 |
Age of farmers
Comparison of the 1991 farm workforce age structure with earlier data shows that while the average age of farmers increased in the decade 1981-91, this appears to have counteracted the fall in the average age from the 1976 level (the average age of farmers in most farm types was more youthful in 1986 than in 1976). The data sets for the two decade periods are not strictly comparable but it appears that the age structure of farmers in 1991 is similar to the 1976 structure. The hulk of the farm workforce remains in the mid-thirty to mid-forty age groups.
Some farm types require a greater capital investment than others so there are variations in the average age of farmers depending on farm type. In 1.991 the average age of New Zealand's 14,850 full and part-time male dairy farmers (self-employed, with or without employees) was 42 years. New Zealand's 7,490 female dairy farmers averaged 40 years. Dairy farmers have the youngest age structure - a reflection of the advantage of sharemilking contracts for enabling relatively early entry into farm business ownership. In comparison, New Zealand's 12,390 male sheep farmers had in 1991 an average age of 47 years, while the 3,660 female sheep farmers averaged 45 years. Those who farm beef as their major agricultural activity are considerably older as a group than those involved in other farm types, probably due to the greater initial investment required for beef cattle. The average age of New Zealand's 3,480 male beef farmers in 1991 was 54 years while the 1,240 female beef farmers averaged 50 years. The 7,000 male owners of mixed-livestock business averaged 47 years, while the 2,500 females owners averaged 45 years and 2,700 male horticulturalists averaged 45 years while the 1,500 female horticulturalists averaged 44 years.
The average age of female farmers is, in each farm type, below that of male farmers. This probably relates to the fact that most women enter farm ownership through marriage (and the female spouse tends to be younger than the male spouse), while men are usually assisted into farm ownership by inheritance (see section 1.3.2 above). Because women rarely receive this kind of family assistance, there is a considerable gender difference in the age structure of wage and salary earners working in the various farming industries. Males are on average considerable younger (late twenties to thirties) than female wage and salary earners (mid to late thirties). Workers are on average younger than farm owners.
Farmers living in rural areas with fewer than 300 people are fractionally younger than farmers living anywhere in New Zealand (rural centres, minor or other urban areas). There is no significant difference in 1991 data between the age of part-time and full-time farmers.
Comparison of the average age of Maori farmers with that of all farmers for the various farm types (1991 data) shows Maori women farmers tend to be younger while the average age of Maori male dairy farmers and sheep farmers was fractionally above that of all dairy and sheep farmers, in other farming industries it was below. This difference probably reflects the overall younger age structure of the Maori population compared to the population as a whole.
Comparison with business proprietors from other primary industries shows that (except for dairy farmers) the average age of male farmers is above that of male agricultural and land contractors foresters/forest owners and fishers, including fish-farmers. Comparison of women farmers with other primary industry business proprietors is more complex. The average age of female agricultural contractors varies from 34 years for livestock contractors to 44 years for agricultural and horticultural contractors and 38-48 years for women fishers (compare to women farmers 40-50 years).
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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