How are ageing farmers constructed in the draft Murray Darling basin plan and immediate media reports?

Abstract

By using a Foucauldian discourse analysis, this article examines how ageing farmers are constructed in the second in a series of three Draft Murray Darling Basin (MDB) Plans which was released in November, 2011, and in media reports from the week beginning 28 November, 2011. Recommendations from the Second Draft Plan will impact on farming practices and on farming families. The large number of older farmers, aged 65 or older, in the MDB and their progression across their life trajectory, renders them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of these recommendations. Recommendations from the second Draft Plan will also influence the retirement decision-making processes of this group of ageing farmers.