Mental health, societal expectations and changes to the governance of farming: Reshaping what it means to be a ‘man’ and ‘good farmer’ in rural Ireland

Abstract

AbstractContemporary EU agricultural policies place a significant emphasis on current and future societal issues, e.g. climate, biodiversity, animal welfare, and air and water quality amongst others. The governance of farming practices has changed in order to deliver on these expectations resulting in increasingly specific regulations to ensure their delivery. For male farmers these developments have the potential to undermine their autonomy as a ‘good farmer’, their gendered sense of mastery and ultimately their conception of what it is to be a ‘man’ in rural Ireland. This qualitative study explores how changes in agricultural policy are being received by farming communities, how they impact on gendered roles, and what the collateral impacts are on wellbeing and mental health. Eleven focus groups were conducted with male farmers (n = 3) and key informants (n = 8). Utilizing Thematic Content Analysis, all transcripts were coded iteratively using open and comparative coding techniques. Themes were grouped into primary and sub‐themes. Theme memos and conceptual maps were used to track evolving relationships between themes. Our analysis identified two interrelated themes. (i) ‘Resistance or submission’: negotiating farming masculinities in response to changing agri‐governance and (ii) ‘Advancement or abandonment’: reconfiguring ‘the good farmer’ in the wake of contemporary challenges in the dairy sector. We explore these issues by drawing out how contemporary regulation of farming practices gives rise to tensions associated with a perceived loss of autonomy and mastery, as well as ripple effects for farmer wellbeing. Findings highlight the tensions that permeate the construction of farming identities and masculinities in the wake of changes to agricultural policy and governance, and unpack the ripple effects for farmers’ mental health.