Seeing through the 'good farmer's' eyes: Towards developing an understanding of the social symbolic value of 'productivist' behaviour

Developments in the agricultural industry are requiring dramatic changes in the role of the farmer away from intensive production oriented approaches towards more sustainable forms of agriculture. While this may appear to require a relatively simply change in emphasis, production based roles not only contain economic value, but contain social value in that they are used to communicate status as a 'good farmer'. Thus, when farmers are asked to change approaches to agriculture, they are not only incurring economic costs but also social costs and this is rarely, if at all, acknowledged. This study uses a symbolic interactionist framework to investigate the symbolic meaning of intensive agricultural production: how crops/livestock are perceived by farmers, how they convey status, and how they are linked with the status of the farm family within the farming community. It concludes that understanding the true meaning of agricultural activities on the farm and considering these factors in the development of policy may reduce the potential loss of established farm families from the land and the subsequent loss of decades or even centuries of experience, knowledge and local history.