The dynamics of family farming in North Huron County, Ontario. Part I. Development trajectories

Abstract

Recent structural shifts towards enlargement and intensification in the farm sector in Canada have drawn attention to the changing relationship between farming and the rural community. While some developments in farming are implicated in increasing conflict with communities, others may be fostering the need for stronger linkages. A more nuanced understanding of change in both the family farm and community sectors would contribute to a better appreciation of these evolving linkages. This paper explores contemporary change on the farm side, with attention to the nature and causes of diversity in a local family farming system. Data from a survey of family farms in northern Huron County, Ontario, were used to document variations in farm development trajectories and to explore the interactive importance of factors relating to the farm economy, the farm business and the household. The research invokes a pathways conceptualisation and the theory of business and family life cycles in attempting to characterise and attribute change. Revealed trajectories range from aggressive engagement in expansion, diligent efforts to ‘hang on’ and forced or voluntary contraction. In addition, the paper presents two brief farm history case studies as a means of demonstrating the interaction of farm business and household factors through the lived experience of farm families. Revealed diversity in family farm business trajectories suggests an increasingly differentiated set of linkages and dependencies between farm and community.