Search

Data from a longitudinal study of farm operators in St. Lawrence County in New York were subjected to a secondary analysis in order to determine factors associated with the shift from full-time farming to farming in combination with a nonfarm job (here called part-time farming). Farm income, farm income per family member, proximity to numerous nonfarm jobs, and farm operator age each had a statistically significant correlation with subsequent mobility from full-time farming to part-time farming, but educational level did not. A multivariate analysis showed that none of these predicted mobility to part-time farming regardless of the level of magnitude of each of the other independent variables. Results are viewed from the perspective of a conceptual framework for the Study of occupational choice and are interpreted in terms of level of aspiration theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]