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Copyright of Mundo Agrario is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current shift of regulations for animal welfare from public to private standards allows dairies and retailers to improve their position on the market. However, for easy communication and control they tend to reduce the multifaceted societal demands for animal welfare to freedom of movement, that is, to free stalls with or without access to pasture. Taking a farmers perspective, this contribution examines the situation in Austria, where structure and practices of dairy farming differ greatly between more favourable, arable, and mountainous regions. The theoretical concept of farming styles uncovers fundamental positions grounded in different understandings of how farming practices are supposed to be organized. Private standards privilege rationalized, large-scale dairy farms in advantaged regions over family-owned traditional farms in mountain areas. This may have unintended negative consequences on farming structure, land use and cultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The higher intensity of labor observed in many agroecological farming systems has been little studied by the scientific community, especially in terms of work organization. Narrative interview research concerning 34 farmers in six French farm machinery cooperatives, on the basis of the farming styles framework, allows us to highlight a specific style of farm work conducive to the agroecological transition. Farmers members of these cooperatives have developed a long-standing reliance on peer-to-peer cooperation, gradually shaping a labor-intensive and collective style of farm work to make their conventional farming systems viable. They have then remobilized with relative ease the structuring basis of their initial organization of work, i.e., labor intensity and peer-to-peer cooperation, to develop agroecological practices.

Understanding farmers’ behaviour and their different responses to environmental change, institutional change and policy interventions is important to facilitate the understanding of the drivers of environmental degradation. Identification of behavioural types can be very useful in informing the design of targeted instruments to support transformation towards sustainable agriculture and facilitating the transferability of findings between contexts, while also pointing out limits to the generalization of behavioural patterns detected in individual studies. However, typologies of European farmers are quite scattered geographically, among contexts and disciplines. Here, we present results from a literature review of empirically derived European farmer typologies from 36 academic studies. We investigate the underlying methodologies for determining the types, the purposes of developing typologies and whether there are recurring farmer types across contexts and locations. Our results show that (i) the field is quite diverse in terms of purposes, methods and variables used to develop typologies; (ii) there is surprisingly little awareness of the broader literature; (iii) while there are recurring types, they are still diverse and difficult to compare across studies. We recommend a stronger embedding of new typologies in the existing literature and improvements in the transparency of reporting of methods and data to increase the potential for comparison, transferability and generalizability of findings. Also, we derive implications for future research and for policy, e.g. regarding the trade-off between the specificity of types and complexity-related transaction costs (due to tailoring them to different farmer types) and legitimacy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Retratos de Assentamentos is the property of Revista Retratos de Assentamentos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Can small, diversified farms thrive, or even survive, in Canada's current agricultural milieu? Can they stand against the highly industrialized operations encouraged by Canadian policy, international trade, and capital interests? This study suggests that there is reason for optimism. Well-known visionaries, Canadian and worldwide, note a "new trajectory" in the context of the looming failure of current systems in agriculture, based on concerns for the environment and on the relationship between producers and consumers. Approaches to small, diversified farming operations come under several headings: economical, post-productive, civic. But it is the concrete experiences of individuals, families, and communities that truly give weight to the potential for sustainable food production. This research on Cape Breton Island farming—where self-sufficiency in food production is a strong tradition—presents a range of farming "styles" (as defined by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg) that are related to land acquisition, innovative marketing, support services, decisions about farm size and products, and the benefits of non-farm work as a farm subsidy. Interview narratives give voice to the actions of Cape Breton Island farmers who work within an "isolation paradox" as a way forward for their small farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution critically engages with the academic debate on de-agrarianisation which has gained common ground in political economy perspectives of agrarian change in South Africa. De-agrarianisation represents long-term processes of occupational adjustment, income-earning reorientation, social identification and the spatial relocation of rural dwellers away from strictly agricultural modes of livelihood. In contrast, we do not treat the decline in agriculture as a necessarily linear structural process and phenomenon. The substantial variation of de-agrarianisation that exists amongst and between regions and homesteads, and in time and space, means that general patterns cannot be easily established. De-agrarianisation may very well be a temporal phenomenon and processes of re-agrarianisation or re-activation of cultivation may be more common than expected in some areas. We draw on original material from a study on the Wild Coast, South Africa to underline that agriculture currently may be in a stage of de-activation in scale, but certainly not in terms of scope, intensity, agrarian identity and contribution to wellbeing. We encountered two distinct styles of farming, reflecting, in turn, a certain order of the agrarian landscape of the Wild Coast: one which builds on notions like ‘keen farming’ which is very much supported by lifestyle ideas that “farming is our life” and “we like farming” and a second one that suggests it “saves money to continue farming”. These styles are not static, but adjust with time and are often inter-related with and shaped by particular historical circumstances. These styles, we argue, reflect and safeguard continuities of farming in places like the study area for current and future generations. The continuity of farming is specifically maintained through family farming by drawing on family labour, including the youth, combined with low degrees of commoditisation and a fair degree of investment in equipment and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is challenging vegetable production worldwide. But no study has investigated adaptation at the farm level in the Global North. We aimed to answer the following questions: (i) How do vegetable farmers perceive climate change and its impacts on farms? (ii) What responses have they already implemented in response to climate change? (iii) What are their adaptation plans for the future? And, (iv) To what extent are adaptation responses and plans related to farm or farmer characteristics? We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 organic farmers in the Paris region of France. Interview content was processed using qualitative analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. Vegetable farmers perceived climate change in seasonal patterns (e.g. temperature, frost, wind) and in extreme events (e.g. droughts, heat waves). They related it to negative impacts on (i) vegetables (e.g. increased pressure from arthropods, metabolic disorders, decrease in crop yield and quality), (ii) farm management (e.g. increased and more difficult labour, more complex crop planning), and (iii) profitability (e.g. production losses, increased labour and equipment costs), despite some positive impacts (e.g. potential to extend the growing season or grow tunnel crops outside). Farmers mentioned a wide range of adaptation responses and plans (e.g. cover crops, mulching, agroforestry, diversification, changes in crop planning, equipment to control or mitigate climate conditions in tunnels, efficient irrigation systems). Younger farmers more often expressed the need to acquire knowledge for adaptation plans because they will have to adapt throughout their entire farming career. Although the vegetable area and the age of the farm may have influenced specific adaptation responses, most adaptations that farmers had already implemented did not appear to be related to the farm or farmer characteristics explored. Compared to other types of farming systems in the Global North, vegetable farms may be more exposed and sensitive to climate change but also have more adaptive capacity. Future studies should investigate the influence that vegetable farm characteristics have on their vulnerability compared to those of other types of farming systems in a given soil and climate context. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate vegetable farmers' perspectives of adaptations to climate change in Europe. The current study corroborates and enriches studies of the Global South. A preliminary understanding of farmers' perceptions, responses, and plans provides a solid basis for supporting collective action and developing adaptation plans at the regional level. [Display omitted] • Approaches of adaptation to climate change are lacking at the vegetable farm level in the Global North. • Vegetable farmers perceive climate change both in seasonal patterns and in extreme events. • They combine a wide range of responses to adapt to climate change and need new knowledge. • Younger farmers express more needs to acquire knowledge to adapt throughout their career. • Vegetable farms present characteristics which may increase their exposure, sensitivity but increase their adaptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times there has been a growing awareness of the role of agriculture in providing public goods and services, in particular in less favoured areas. However, since agriculture is an economic activity, its permanence implies that it should be able to generate a satisfactory income for farmers. Where this is not possible, due to natural constraints or adverse economic and market conditions, in order to maintain an adequate use of farmland it is necessary to provide public aid to farmers. In this framework, the design of proper interventions aimed to promote rural development in less favoured areas should be based on a deep knowledge at the farm and territorial level. As regards the territorial level, the RDP zoning [art. 11 Reg. Ce 1698/2005] developed by Member States on the base of the guidelines provided by the European Commission is very often not sufficient to adequately define the territorial characteristics of rural areas. The use of GIS techniques may help to handle this issue by providing a better and more detailed knowledge at the territorial level. Farm level is important insofar as aid effectiveness is usually strongly depending on the type of farm that is receiving it. Thus, a careful selection of beneficiaries could determine a more effective and efficient distribution of resources. This paper aims to provide a spatial analysis of natural constraints and types of farming style in Mugello area and to analyse their relations with CAP aid distribution. Both Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and Rural Development Programme (RDP) payments have been taken into account. The paper combines a GIS analysis of terrain features with the theoretical approach of farming styles. For this purpose, the study integrates several sources of data: the 2010 Italian Agriculture Census, the Tuscany Regional Agency for Payments in Agriculture (ARTEA) database, and land cover data from the database Corine Land Cover (CLC-06), as updated to 2007 by LAMMA (Laboratory for Environment Monitoring and Modelling). A geo-referenced database including socioeconomic attributes of farms, land use, and terrain characteristics has been generated in order to merge information at territorial and farm level. The results of this integrated analysis confirm that Mugello is a very heterogeneous area as regards terrain characteristics despite the fact that it is totally included in less favoured areas. On the other side, farm strategies and economic results seem to be related to entrepreneurial characteristics as much as to natural constraints. The analysis of Pillar I payments and RDP payments for farms located in this mountainous area shows a very complex situation where the strategies implemented by farmers of the strongest farming styles may successfully counteract natural constraints. Besides, in the Authors’ opinion, the analyses performed highlight the importance of spatial analysis as a tool for evaluating how public resources are distributed on a territory, thus providing also useful information on the way this distribution could be improved, e.g. for ensuring a higher level of environmental services.

The path to sustainable development involves creating coherence and synergies in the complex relationships between economic and ecological systems. In sustaining their farm businesses farmers' differing values influence their decisions about agroecosystem management, leading them to adopt diverging farming practices. This study explores the values of dairy and beef cattle farmers, the assumptions that underpin them, and the various ways that these lead farmers to combine food production with the provision of other ecosystem services, such as landscape conservation and biodiversity preservation. This paper draws on empirical research from Galicia (Spain), a marginal and mountainous European region whose livestock production system has undergone modernization in recent decades, exposing strategic economic, social and ecological vulnerabilities. It applies a Q-methodology to develop a values-based approach to farming. Based on a sample of 24 livestock farmers, whose practices promote landscape conservation and/or biodiversity preservation, the Q-methodology allowed us to identify four 'farming styles'. Further analysis of the practices of the farmers in these groups, based on additional farm data and interview material, suggests that all 24 farmers valorize landscape and nature and consider cattle production and nature conservation to be compatible within their own farm practices. However, the groups differed in the extent to which they have developed synergies between livestock farming and landscape conservation. We conclude by discussing how rural development policy in Galicia could strengthen such practices by providing incentives to farmers and institutionally embedding a shift towards more diversified farming and product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:In light of the discussion on ‘best-fit’ in pluralistic advisory systems, this article aims to present and discuss challenges for advisory services in serving various types of farmers when they seek and acquire farm business advice. Design/methodology/approach:The empirical basis is data derived from four workshops, five interviews with staff from advisory organizations, and interviews with 11 farmers. Findings:Emerging configurations serve different types of farmers, that is, private advisors serve different clients in different ways; these could be considered subsystems within the overall advisory system. Practical implications:Best-fit configurations of advisory services exist within a country setting in response to farmers’ information demands and how they seek information, as well as public goals of the advisory system, and lead to advisory subsystems. Policy-makers should monitor the emergence of these subsystems and become active participants in some of them, in line with the concept of the public sector as regulator of private and commercial advisory systems. Theoretical implications:Best-fit has been mainly explored at country level, but this study shows that, within countries, different advisory service configurations are formed. So, best-fit should not be considered at national level only, in view of subsystems which can have wider or narrower boundaries. More broadly, the concept of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) should not be confined to the national level, for example, in view of farmer specializations within countries and the international dimensions of advisory systems. Originality/value:The originality lies in the further unraveling of heterogeneity within AKIS and what this implies for advisory service delivery configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent times there has been a growing awareness of the role of agriculture in providing public goods and services, in particular in less favoured areas. However, since agriculture is an economic activity, its permanence implies that it should be able to generate a satisfactory income for farmers. Where this is not possible, due to natural constraints or adverse economic and market conditions, in order to maintain an adequate use of farmland it is necessary to provide public aid to farmers. In this framework, the design of proper interventions aimed to promote rural development in less favoured areas should be based on a deep knowledge at the farm and territorial level. As regards the territorial level, the RDP zoning [art. 11 Reg. Ce 1698/2005] developed by Member States on the base of the guidelines provided by the European Commission is very often not sufficient to adequately define the territorial characteristics of rural areas. The use of GIS techniques may help to handle this issue by providing a better and more detailed knowledge at the territorial level. Farm level is important insofar as aid effectiveness is usually strongly depending on the type of farm that is receiving it. Thus, a careful selection of beneficiaries could determine a more effective and efficient distribution of resources. This paper aims to provide a spatial analysis of natural constraints and types of farming style in Mugello area and to analyse their relations with CAP aid distribution. Both Single Payment Scheme (SPS) and Rural Development Programme (RDP) payments have been taken into account. The paper combines a GIS analysis of terrain features with the theoretical approach of farming styles. For this purpose, the study integrates several sources of data: the 2010 Italian Agriculture Census, the Tuscany Regional Agency for Payments in Agriculture (ARTEA) database, and land cover data from the database Corine Land Cover (CLC-06), as updated to 2007 by LAMMA (Laboratory for Environment Monitoring and Modelling). A geo-referenced database including socioeconomic attributes of farms, land use, and terrain characteristics has been generated in order to merge information at territorial and farm level. The results of this integrated analysis confirm that Mugello is a very heterogeneous area as regards terrain characteristics despite the fact that it is totally included in less favoured areas. On the other side, farm strategies and economic results seem to be related to entrepreneurial characteristics as much as to natu-ral constraints. The analysis of Pillar I payments and RDP payments for farms located in this mountainous area shows a very complex situation where the strategies implemented by farmers of the strongest farming styles may successfully counteract natural constraints. Besides, in the Authors' opinion, the analyses performed highlight the importance of spatial analysis as a tool for evaluating how public resources are distributed on a territory, thus providing also useful information on the way this distribution could be improved, e.g. for ensuring a higher level of environmental services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Im Aufsatz werden Zusammenhänge zwischen Formen der Alpbewirtschaftung und den alpinen Landschaftsökosystemen untersucht. Aufbauend auf eine Reihe von Fallstudien an Gemeinschaftsalmen in den Oberösterreichischen Kalkalpen wurden verschiedene Bewirtschaftungsstrategien herausgearbeitet. Es konnten 5 Typen der Alpbewirtschaftung identifiziert werden, die bezüglich ihrer Wirkung auf die Vegetations- und Landschaftsmuster, innerhalb derer sie verortet sind, analysiert wurden. Anhand der Beispiele wird gezeigt, wie die verschiedenen Formen der Bewirtschaftung die Diversität der Pflanzengemeinschaften der Alplandschaften beeinflussen. Darauf aufbauend wird für eine Berücksichtigung des Faktors der Bewirtschaftungsstrategien bei der Konzeption von Agrar-Umweltprogrammen sowie im Naturschutz argumentiert.

En este artículo se retoma el debate sobre la vigencia y condiciones de reproducción de las formas de producción familiar en el contexto de la globalización agroalimentaria, situándolo en un contexto regional donde ésta se ha afirmado como actor relevante: la producción de cítricos de la provincia de Entre Ríos en el noreste argentino. Se examinan algunas de las dimensiones constitutivas de su identidad, en buena medida delineada a partir de las fronteras e interacciones establecidas con otros grupos sociales. Se analizan sus actuales prácticas productivas, que se desarrollan en el marco de una diferente inserción en los mercados de la actividad citrícola y de las presiones que supone la adopción de tecnologías orientadas a garantizar la sanidad y calidad agroalimentaria requeridas por los mercados internacionales. No obstante, también se pudieron identificar estrategias basadas en la conformación de redes sociales ampliadas que implican la integración de actividades poscosecha para la canalización de la producción en el mercado interno y otras que suponen el repliegue sobre sí misma de la producción familiar, procurando potenciar los recursos internos a la unidad. Sin embargo, el análisis de las trayectorias que estos productores han experimentado en los últimos años da cuenta de los procesos de diferenciación que están operando sobre el sector, existiendo indicios de que éstos pueden profundizarse en el futuro. Tales dinámicas ponen en tensión a la producción familiar, generando una peculiar dialéctica entre permanencia y cambio de su identidad como sujeto social. Abstract: Family production and agri-food globalization: Social differentiation in the citrus production of northeastern Argentina This article takes up the debate on the conditions of reproduction of family farming in the context of agri-food globalization, placing it in a regional context where it has established as a major actor: citrus production carried out in the province of Entre Rios in Northeastern Argentina. It examines some of the constitutive dimensions of its identity, largely delineated from establishing boundaries and interactions with other social groups. Current production practices are also analysed, which have developed in the context of the different markets to which citrus production is directed, and the pressures posed by the adoption of technologies aimed at ensuring food safety and the quality required by international markets. However, strategies based on the formation of extended social networks that involve the integration of post-harvest activities to channel output in the domestic market were also identified, as well as others that imply the reduction of household production expenses, thereby seeking to fortify its internal resources. Nonetheless, the analysis of the trajectories that these producers have experienced in recent years accounts for the processes of differentiation that are operating in the sector, which may deepen in the future. Such dynamics put pressure on family production, generating a peculiar dialectic between permanence and change of its identity as a social subject.

Grasslands have a multi-layer protection function for nature, biodiversity and climate. These functions can be fostered by an adapted management on grassland farms. Promoting nature protection alongside agricultural production is an aim of European agricultural policy. However, a number of studies indicate that existing Agri-environment measures (AEM) are not as effective as assumed, mainly because they are not sufficiently used by farmers. We investigated the view of grassland farmers on nature conservation and on existing AEM in four distinct regions on a west to east gradient in the North German Plain. We conducted a survey on 82 grassland farms inquiring basic farm data and asking questions on general agricultural issues and nature protection. The results indicate that the majority of all respondents is generally interested in nature conservation and believes it to be of concern for every farmer. In contrast, only a minority of grassland farmers is using the existing AEM to the full extend on their own farm. By applying the concept of farming styles, we classified farmers into four groups, namely Traditionalist, Idealist, Modernist, and Yield Optimizer. These farming styles groups differ in farm and management parameters, general attitudes towards agricultural issues, farming objectives and economic success. We found that in our survey the farming styles groups differ in their attitude towards nature conservation. However, they do not differ in the adoption of AEM and have different reasons for not taking part. We state that for a better implementation of AEM into agricultural practice a better communication, which is adapted to the different ways that farmers manage their farm and think and feel, is needed. Consequently, AEM need to be revised as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean production in South America has become a symbol of commodity crops produced on a large scale for the agribusiness geared to global markets. However, in practice, there are diverse styles of farming, ranging from the very large scale to the small scale, associated with different social relations of production. This diversity of farm types is often overlooked within the focus on the stereotypical large-scale farm. Any understanding of the social dynamics of relations of production and farming practices, and so insights into longer term trajectories of agrarian change, must also go beyond a simplistic dichotomous vision of large-scale versus small-scale farming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Soy is often perceived as a typical example of a homogenous capitalist agricultural model that is responsible for ecological damage and social conflicts. But this monolithic perception of soy production can be challenged: more than 30 percent of the soy producers in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) are family farmers. In this contribution, we study soy production, the soy producers and their institutional environment from an actor-oriented perspective. We have uncovered different farming styles behind soy production: the colonial farmer, the niche farmer and the entrepreneurial farmer. The farming styles differ from each other not only in the farming system, but also in attitudes (for example, towards the forest). We found that the institutional environment and the technology are mainly focused on the entrepreneurial farmer. However, also, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) neglect the existence of small-scale soy producers. These results have several repercussions for further analysis of this problematic crop and how it can shift towards a more sustainable agricultural production model as small-scale farmers might produce soy more sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Farmers in Europe act within guidelines set by agricultural programs, market demands and biophysical constraints. At the same time, they are social actors embedded in their respective family structures and individual lifestyles and preferences. We here present the socio-ecological land-use model SECLAND that provides an improved representation of the versatility in farmer's characteristics and subsequently its impact on land-use decision making. The model combines (1) an agent-based module (ABM) with farmers as agents whose intrinsic behavioural characteristics are represented via farming styles with (2) a probabilistic GIS-based forest regrowth module. We apply the model for the LTSER Eisenwurzen region in northern Austria to explore land-use patterns until the year 2050 under three different scenarios. Our results show the relevance of explicitly considering differences between the responses of individual farmers to changing framework conditions. In order to devise sustainable development paths for future agriculture, it is important to focus on farmers' well-being and recognize it as being equally important as economic success. • This paper provides the description of the bimodular SECLAND land-use model. • We depict the effect of intrinsic factors on farms decision-making. • We investigate the impact of socio-economic and climatic framework changes on land-use patterns. • We analyse intensity shifts, crop and forest type changes as well as forest transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts will affect grassland farming in various ways in the future. Communication and knowledge transfer are crucial to implement on-farm adaptation measures required to meet these challenges in a timely way. Therefore, we need to know how grassland farmers perceive climate change and which factors influence their attitude. We hypothesized that besides direct factors such as region, farm size, age and education, farmers' socio-cultural background and their beliefs and attitudes are most important in their reaction to climate change. To investigate this, we conducted a survey with extensive on-farm interviews ( n = 82) in four distinctive regions in the North German Plain on a gradient from sub-maritime to areas with sub-continental climate. We found that with a more continental climate and less rainfall and with increasing farm size, grassland farmers were more aware of the implications of climate change. In a second step, to categorize the influence of personal beliefs on decisions concerning farming, we applied the typology approach and distinguished four farming styles. Farmers in the four groups differed in terms of climate change awareness and adaptation preferences ( P < 0.05). Yield Optimizers and Modernists were more open-minded to rational and economic facts and showed a significantly greater willingness to implement adaptation measures than Idealists and Traditionalists, who need to be addressed at a more emotional level. The results of this study may contribute to the development of better-targeted adaptation policies that will serve specific groups of farmers more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Internacional de Sociología is the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Animal welfare in today's husbandry systems has become the subject of intense public debate, especially in the Netherlands. The debate reflects the moral tensions that exist between farmers, on the one hand, and the general public on the other, whose attitudes towards animal welfare vary considerably. The debate also shows that current legislation is not a satisfactory instrument for bridging these tensions and contradictions. This raises the question as to whether other strategies might be more successful in overcoming this gap and the underlying ethical controversies. A starting point for alternative strategies might be found in the diversity that exists among farmers themselves in their views about and practices regarding animal welfare. This article describes contrasting ethical positions towards animal welfare that can be found among Dutch dairy farmers and pig breeders. The associated practices in terms of animal care and treatment vary substantially. Some farmers strictly limit their practices to legislative requirements. Others use different expressions of animal health and behaviour to judge animal well-being. Yet another group takes the intrinsic value of the animals and their natural behaviour as departure point for organizing their husbandry practices. This research indicates that these ethical positions, which can be found in both sectors, are related to different notions about 'proper farming'. In this way, farmers' ethical position vis-a-vis animals is a constituent of specific farming styles: it is part of their wider cultural repertoires. This suggests that they are not 'changeable' in a simple way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question of farmer objectives associated with private farming in Eastern Europe. Drawing on qualitative interviews with private farmers in Bulgaria and southern Russia, the instrumental objectives of business development and job-replacement consistent with recent literature are demonstrated, but also intrinsic, social, and personal objectives, such as enjoyment of agricultural production, desire for independence, and proving oneself. These objectives are described in relation to associated farm size, investment practices, and succession plans, resulting in five idealized farming types which are similar in the two study states: agribusinessmen, primary farmers, pluriactive farmers, reluctant farmers, and minority horticulturalists. It is argued that differences in farming objectives have important implications for farming longevity and succession, opening up a research agenda for the study of private farming in post-Soviet states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dramatic decline in the presence of farmland birds during recent decades has provoked much attention in agri-environmental policy and ecological research. However, the still limited understanding of the socio-economical mechanisms that govern the decline in bird presence hampers the formulation of effective adjustments in land-use and farming practices that could support the return of birds to farmland, i.e. the required fine-tuning of management practices. As a consequence, the existing agri-environmental schemes that offer financial compensation to farmers for implementing generally simple and rather crude measures to stimulate the presence of birds have been limited in their effectiveness and subject to much debate. The objective of this paper is to provide a sociological appraisal of farmers’ experiences with meadow bird protection in a mainly dairy farming area in the Netherlands. The methodology combined visual map analysis, surveys, interviews with farmers and experts, and monitoring farmers’ discussions. The results allowed an assessment of (i) farmers’ views on historical changes in bird numbers in the area and the current distribution of bird nests, (ii) locally adjusted, fine-tuned management practices that were considered to be promising for protecting bird nests, (iii) the importance of farm management with ‘an eye for birds’, i.e. farmers and/or birdwatchers paying additional attention to the presence of nests and chicks before carrying out farming activities, and (iv) the views of key experts in the socio-institutional network in the case study area. The paper concludes that there are various promising options for fine-tuning farm management so it offers better bird protection, but it is expected that such measures will predominantly be adopted on less intensively managed farms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It is thought that agricultural entrepreneurs have an important role to play in Dutch agriculture. They are currently being confronted with drastic changes and it is open to question whether or not they are willing and able to deal with such changes. A telephone survey was carried out in order to find an answer to this question. The data presented here are based on the answers from 752 farmers. The questions to be answered were: (1) Which strategies do agricultural entrepreneurs choose to keep up with business demands? (2) Which personal characteristics are related to these choices and to successful agricultural entrepreneurship in general? (3) Do agricultural entrepreneurs in the Netherlands meet the demands of “real” entrepreneurship according to economic theories? Agricultural entrepreneurship was conceptualized into the strategic orientations, social orientation, growth orientation, and financial conservatism. The data showed that five different types of farmers could be distinguished on the basis of their preferences for different strategic orientations. Social farmers had especially high scores for social orientation, traditional growers for growth orientation, prudent farmers for financial conservatism, new growers for both social orientation and growth orientation, and indecisive farmers for all strategic orientations. The latter group was eliminated from the data because farmers in this group had the highest scores for almost all items of the questionnaire, whether or not these concerned positive or negative aspects of entrepreneurship. Moreover, they gave contradictory answers to comparable questions. Based on future expectations and family income, it was concluded that social farmers and new growers were more successful than other farmers. According to economic theories, they also seemed to meet the “demands” of “real” entrepreneurship better than other farmers because they can be called “movers of the market,”“innovators,” and/or “discoverers of profit opportunities.” New growers and social farmers were also distinguishable from the other groups of farmers by their personal characteristics. In general, it could be concluded that positive personal characteristics (self-criticism, leadership, creativity, perseverance, and initiative) affected agricultural entrepreneurship positively, and negative personal characteristics (love of ease and passivity) affected it negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Socjologiczne is the property of Studia Socjologiczne and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)