KEEPING THE NAME ON THE LAND: THE FAMILY FARM AND ITS SURVIVAL THROUGH PERIODS OF POSTWAR AGRICULTURAL CHANGE C A PERKINS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the University’s requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 University of Worcester 1 Acknowledgements This PhD is based a period of fieldwork at a single family farm in Ceredigion, Wales. This farm has been given the pseudonym ‘Fferm Ysgawen’ in this thesis, which refers to an occasion where I sent out on a sunny afternoon to pick “some good, you know” branches of elderflower to make homemade champagne. This shows how the family of Fferm Ysgawen spent time involving me in their daily lives and celebrations, teaching me about farm work, encouraging me to learn Welsh and introducing me to others as “the student”. The family farm was the perfect context for this PhD and the themes that it explores – internal dynamics, technology, external connections and an intense longing to keep the family name on the land. I hope you can hear their story resonate through the pages. On a personal level, fieldwork at Fferm Ysgawen was one of the most challenging (farm work is tough, for a “townie”) yet enjoyable and intensely rewarding times. There’s little more I can say except “Diolch yn fawr Fferm Ysgawen”. The PhD research led to me to meeting family farmers across the country in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, London and Kinross. Thank you to all these farmers who were so generous with their time and knowledge. The study was supervised by Professor Nick Evans (Director of Studies, University of Worcester) and Dr Carol Morris (Second Supervisor, University of Nottingham). Both have spent so much time providing critical feedback, advice and comments with understanding and encouragement. Thanks should also go to those working in agricultural geography (and related disciplines) at the University of Worcester and beyond who have provided comments and criticism on elements of this thesis presented though publications and papers. Thank you to Amy Woodget who processed the data and for the maps in Chapter 5. Thanks also to members of staff at the Graduate Research School and all of my friends and fellow students 'on the corridor'. If I mention one, I'll forget another, so I hope you know who you are. This should also extend to those who have studied (at the University of Wales, Lampeter), worked (at the University of Worcester), researched (the 'Our Living History' project in the South Teme Valley) and learned (students on the 2012-2013 Countryside Conservation and Agricultural Change module) alongside me over the years. The encouragement and commitment of my family, partner and family friends to this study has been instrumental to its completion. A special thank you to Mam, Dad, Amy, Chris, Nan, Pam, Andy and Eileen. 2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 9 1.1 Post-war productivism and hypotheses of the demise of the family farm 11 1.2 Agricultural change since productivism and different opportunities for the family farm to survive 16 1.3 Anticipations of future agricultural change and the family farm. 22 1.4 PhD study 25 1.5 Aims and Objectives 27 2. Literature Review 29 2.1 Defining the family farm 32 2.2 Post-war productivism and hypotheses of the demise of the family farm 37 2.3 Agricultural change since productivism and different opportunities for the family farm to survive 50 2.4 Anticipations of future agricultural change and the family farm 57 3. Conceptual Framework 66 3.1 Internal dynamics of the family farm 69 3.2 Technology and the family farm 86 3.3 The external connections of the family farm 94 3.4 A longing to survive on the family farm 100 3 4. Methodology 106 4.1 Entry into the field 109 4.2 Ethnography 121 4.3 Multi-sited ethnography 133 4.4 Positionality 135 4.4 Analysis of the fieldwork material 145 5. Study Area 151 5.1 Ceredigion 152 5.2 Farming policy, schemes and support 155 5.3 Farming in Ceredigion 160 5.4 Research in Ceredigion and neighbouring areas 173 6. Character List 181 7. Internal Dynamics 188 7.1 The background of Fferm Ysgawen 189 7.2 Farm family relationships and motivations 200 7.3 Seasonal Activities and Annual Events 208 7.4 The daily routine of Fferm Ysgawen 216 8. Technology 225 8.1 Perceptions, definitions and understandings of technology at Fferm Ysgawen 226 8.2 Essential ‘technology’ 229 4 8.3 ‘Hidden’ technologies 234 8.4 Multiple uses of one technology 235 8.5 Reluctance / non-use of technology for agricultural purposes 239 8.6 Implications for survival 242 9. External Dynamics 245 9.1 The external connections of Fferm Ysgawen. 247 9.2 Fferm Ysgawen and the agri-food system 255 9.3 The social family farm 266 9.4 The introduction of new technology through the external connections 269 9.5 Rejection and changes to external connections over time 275 9.6 External connections and the survival of the family farm 279 10. Conclusion 281 10.1 Contributions to understandings of the family farm 282 10.2 The methodological contribution of ethnography 297 10.3 Farm family survival and neo-productivism 305 5 FIGURES Figure 1: Whatmore et al.'s (1986a) typology of farms. 15 Figure 2: Gasson and Errington's (1993) representation of a farm family business 35 Figure 3: Bowler's conceptualisation of the industrialisation of agriculture 39 Figure 4: Diagram of the conceptual framework 104 Figure 5: Diagram of the elements of the conceptual framework 105 Figure 6: Example of data analysis 149 Figure 7: The counties of Wales 153 Figure 8: Population numbers in unitary authorities of Wales 154 Figure 9: Graph to show the number of people employed in different types of occupation and industry in 2001 in Ceredigion 161 Figure 10: Data selected for description of farming type 165 Figure 11: 2010 distribution of crops and fallow 168 Figure 12: 2010 distribution of cattle 169 Figure 13: 2010 distribution of sheep 170 Figure 14: Kinship diagram of Fferm Ysgawen 181 Figure 15: Table of Participants 182 Figure 16: Annual routine of sheep farming: ewes 211 Figure 17: Annual routine of sheep farming: rams 212 Figure 18: Annual routine of sheep farming: lambs 212 Figure 19: The daily routine of the family farm 218 Figure 21: Using the slurry tanker to carry water 237 Figure 22: The external connections of Fferm Ysgawen. 250 6 Figure 23: External connections between Fferm Ysgawen and the agri-food system. 257 7 ABSTRACT This PhD is about the family farm in the United Kingdom. It investigates the reasons behind their survival since the end of World War Two and the current day. The research is situated in a gap in knowledge within agricultural geography that exists due to an inadequacy to explore effectively the family farm and its continuation. This is related to two strands of research. First, analysts of the era between the mid-1940s and early-mid 1980s argued that the inability of the family farm to access funding through external connections to fund technology would result in their extinction. Second, activities such as farm diversification, which have been suggested by proponents of agricultural phases since the early-mid 1980s such as 'post-productivism', have failed to provide real options for family farmers to survive without food production. This PhD acknowledges the role of the family farm itself, technology and external connections to its persistence. It creates a theoretical framework grounded in an appreciation of the everyday and mundane, which justifies concentration on a single family farm located in Ceredigion, Wales, UK. The study implemented ethnography and multi-sited ethnography by living and working on a family farm and using the complementary methods of participant observation, focused discussions and in-the-field interviewing. The study found that family farmers utilise their own creativity, resources and abilities to engage with technology and external connections in diverse, multiple and unexpected ways. These practices were related to motivations such as maintaining a good way of life, producing food and supporting the local community. In turn, these motivations were connected to a deeply embedded emotional longing to survive and keep the name on the land. 8 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Family farming is a significant element of the appearance of the countryside, food and agricultural sector, and culture of the United Kingdom. The most recent data available from DEFRA (2013) records that the total utilised agricultural area (UAA) of the UK is 17.3 million hectares. This means that with the total area of the UK standing at 243,610 agricultural land use amounts to 71%1. Agricultural geographers have discussed that family farms are responsible for most of the farming activity on this land (Lobley et al., 2010; Gasson et al., 1988). Indeed, survey work has found that the percentage of agricultural land operated by family farms may be as much as 86% in some areas of England (Lobley et al., 2010). Gasson et al. (1988, p.1) state that ‘the great majority of UK farms are run as family businesses’. This ownership of a substantial amount of UK land means that family farming makes an important economic and productive contribution to the agricultural sector. Brookfield and Parsons (2007; preface xiii) argue that family farmers ‘have a central place in very large economic sectors’. Agricultural geographers have conceptualised family farms as important forms of labour relations and decision-making units. More recently, they have considered the role of family farming in the culture of the UK. As Lobley et al.