Acknowledgements: This work would not have been possible without the help of the 100+ farmers and 30 organizations who gave their time to promote and participate in this research. In particular, I thank the 33 farmers who welcomed me onto their farms and into their homes to share their stories. I had so much fun! Thank you for letting me record and report on your experience. Many thanks to my survey pre-testers, Kristin Lewis, Elisa Lane and David Sleightholm for the hours you spent helping me shape the survey questions. In the Netherlands, this research was made possible by the help of a team of English to Dutch translators: Seth de Vlieger, Sanne van Leeuwen, Burret Schurer, Machteld Voerman, and Dirk Roep. Thank you also to the Dutch farmers who graciously accommodated my lack of language skills to speak to me in English. I am also grateful for all of the individuals who provided feedback throughout the process and shared their knowledge with me, in particular, my thesis supervisor, Dirk Roep, for his guidance, support and exceptionally quick feedback. 2 Executive Summary The average age of farmers is steadily rising across the United States and Europe, while the proportion of young and beginning farmers declines. Challenging economic conditions, coupled with agricultural consolidation and rising costs, have led to a decrease in farm successions. Simultaneously, the popular media has reported on increasing interest in agricultural careers among those from non- farming backgrounds. This emerging population of first generation farmers has largely been ignored by the academic literature, with only a handful of studies that suggest the ways in which these farmers differ from others. This study aims to characterize the values, practices and supply chain relations of first generation, beginning farmers (FBFs). By incorporating concepts from research on farming styles, agricultural paradigm shifts and identity, I investigate to what extent FBFs represent change in agricultural attitudes and practice. To do so, I position their farming styles between the archetypes of the productionist and agroecological paradigms. These paradigms hold specialized, commoditized and production-centric traditions in agriculture on one side of a spectrum, and ecologically oriented, community embedded alternatives on the other. I took a comparative, exploratory approach, recruiting farmers who were both first generation (did not take over a family farm), and beginning (approximately less than 10 years experience) from two countries, the Netherlands and the U.S. state of Maryland. Data collection occurred in two phases: an online survey distributed using snowball sampling, followed by semi-structured interviews with 33 participants (15 in the Netherlands; 18 in the U.S.), selected strategically to represent a diversity of survey respondents. The survey yielded 95 responses that met the inclusion criteria: 38 from the Netherlands and 57 from the United States. Most FBFs were practicing small-scale, diversified agriculture, marketing direct to consumer, and using some level of unmapped organic methods. Interviews revealed FBFs to be motivated by a search for meaningful work, and generally have a strong environmental and community ethic. These principles were balanced with a high valuation of the business of farming. FBFs faced a variety of challenges, predominantly financial constraints, access to land and labor, lack of knowledge and regulatory barriers. Their farm practices and structure were the result of a negotiation between their values and business ethic as filtered through practical constraints. The solutions they employed included small- scale, low-investment configurations, direct marketing, judicious application of web- based and small farm technology, strong online and in-person networks, and collaborations to access land, share knowledge and market products. While their practices, relations and values are heterogeneous, overall FBFs represent a shift towards the agroecological paradigm. Key Words: beginning farmers, first generation farmers, new entrants, agroecology, farming styles, farmer identity, alternative food networks. 3 Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 6 THE CONTEXT 6 DEFINING BEGINNING FARMERS 7 BEGINNING FARMERS AS DRIVERS OF CHANGE 8 PROBLEM STATEMENT 9 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 10 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 11 FARMING STYLES RESEARCH 11 AGRICULTURAL TRANSITIONS 12 CONCEPTS OF IDENTITY 14 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19 STUDY SITE 19 STUDY POPULATION 21 SAMPLING 21 EMAIL SURVEYS 22 INTERVIEWS 23 DATA ANALYSIS 26 ETHICS AND COMMUNITY ACCESS 27 CHAPTER 4: MEANINGFUL WORK 30 INTRODUCTION: 30 AT A GLANCE: DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY 30 THE SEARCH FOR MEANINGFUL WORK 34 FARMING LIFESTYLE 34 AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC 36 COMMUNITY 41 SYNTHESIS: THE GOOD FARMER CONSTRUCT 44 CHAPTER 5: THE BUSINESS OF MEANINGFUL WORK 45 THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 45 WHERE VALUES MEET BUSINESS 47 SYNTHESIS 52 CHAPTER 6: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS 54 INTRODUCTION 54 THE CHALLENGES 54 MONEY 54 ACCESS TO LABOR 55 LAND ACCESS 56 KNOWLEDGE 57 REGULATIONS 58 UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOILS 59 4 THE SOLUTIONS 59 BUSINESS MODELS 59 NETWORKS AND COLLABORATIONS 64 TECHNOLOGY 69 SYNTHESIS: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS 73 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 75 VALUES, PRACTICES AND RELATIONS: RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 THROUGH 4 75 AN AGRICULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFT? 79 IDENTITY AND GOOD FARMERS 80 AFNS, SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE, AND CHANGE 82 REFLECTION ON METHODS 84 LIMITATIONS 84 STRENGTHS 85 FUTURE RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS 85 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS 86 CONCLUSION 87 WORKS CITED 89 APPENDIX 1: PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS 98 APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONS (ENGLISH) 103 APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW PROMPTS 122 5 Chapter 1: Introduction THE CONTEXT An inevitable transition is occurring in agriculture. The proportion of young and beginning farmers declines in many regions, while the global farm population ages (van der Ploeg, 2006; Ahearn, 2013b). As aging farmers retire, there are three processes that can occur: their farmland will be developed, their farms will be consolidated, or new farmers will take their place. In this thesis, I explore the third process. In particular, I examine evidence of an emerging cohort of new agriculturalists. Who will run these farms of the future? And what impact will they have on the food system? The current farm demographics arise from the backdrop of agricultural change in the last century. Throughout the 20th century, agriculture in the U.S. and much of Europe underwent a radical structural transformation in which farms increased in scale, specialization, global reach and industrialization (Lang & Heasman, 2015; van der Ploeg & Roep, 2003). During this time the cost of entry into agriculture has risen steeply (Lasley, 2015). Surrounding conditions, such as a pay gap between agriculture and other professions and a lack of development in rural infrastructure, have intensified an exodus of rural youth, particularly in areas with low population density and disposable income (Bertoni & Cavicchioli, 2016). Across the 28 member states of the European Union, over 53% of farmers are now over 55, and only 7.5% of farm managers are under 35 (Augere-Granier, 2015). The age dynamics of the farming community vary by context, and Zagata and Sutherland (2015) found in an analysis of Eurostat data that countries in which smallholder agriculture still dominates the agricultural landscape are more likely to face a shortage of young farmers than more agricultural industrialized nations. In the U.S. the proportion of young and beginning farmers in agriculture has been declining since the 1980s (Ahearn, 2013a). As land prices have soared and farm scale has increased, beginning farmers face high barriers of entry, including access to land, capital, credit and markets (Augere-Granier, 2015; Kielbasa, 2016; Monller & Fuller, 2016; Taylor & Koo, 2013). Despite the hardships of a career in agriculture, there seems to be persistent interest in food and farming among young people (Lasley, 2015) and other aspiring farmers, including those from non-agricultural backgrounds (Ackoff, Bahrenburg & Lusher Shute, 2017). This can be evidenced by the growth in popularity of farm apprenticeship programs (Ekers et al., 2015; MacAuley & Niewolny, 2016), volunteerism services such as World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), and the rapid development of a variety of public and private beginning farmer education programs (Niewolny & Lillard, 2010; Yamamoto & Engelsted, 2014). Moreover, a number of policies and programs in the U.S. and Europe have arisen in recent decades to ease the generational transition in agriculture and provide support for young and/or beginning farmers (Niewolny & Lillard, 2010; Zagata & Sutherland, 2015). For example, the 2014-2020 reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) included provisions for young farmers to receive a direct 6 payment for five years and a start-up support fund for those who submit an approved business plan (Augere-Granier, 2015). In the U.S. efforts to support beginning farmers include the Farm Service Agency’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loan program, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, which funds organizations that offer support to beginning farmers. A better understanding of this population can aid the development of appropriate and effective support programs. Today, the food system is again at