Just half of all farmers surveyed in the Irish Farmers Journal/Red C poll last week have identified a successor for their farm.
While in some cases, there may be no obvious successor, a study by the National University of Galway and Teagasc sheds light on why farms can be transferred so slowly in Ireland.
Shane Conway, a postdoctoral researcher with the National Rural Network, conducted a series of questionnaires and interviews with 324 farmers about farm succession throughout 2016 and 2017. His findings show the complex emotional attachment to the farm.
It is my life, it makes me what I am … It is my whole life
Conway found that one-third of all farmers over the age of 55 surveyed had not considered retiring, even though they had attended a Teagasc clinic on transferring the farm.
When interviewed, the farmers revealed that the farm and farming completely encapsulate their lives.
Colm, a 71-year-old drystock farmer from the southwest who farms in partnership with his brother, refused to even consider retirement: “Oh God no, they’ll take me out legs first … I would find it very difficult if I was told tomorrow morning, OK you can’t go farming anymore. I think that would have a major effect on my life … not being involved in farming? It is my life like.”
Some 32% of farmers said they could not imagine what they would do if they permanently ceased all farming activity and 64% of those farmers said the quality of life as a farmer was far greater than could be quantified by any financial incentive to leave farming.
The majority (71%) of farmers said that farming is not only their job, but also their lifestyle, pastime and social outlet.
The farm means an awful lot to me. We have been here for 12 or 13 generations
As Aoife, a 68-year-old mixed livestock farmer put it: “Farming means everything. I get up in the morning to farm, I look out at the weather to see how it will affect my farming.
“Where I go, who I meet, who I talk to, everything is farming – it is my life, it makes me what I am … It is my whole life, I don’t have any other interests.”
Previous research has shown that for many farmers, their personal identity is deeply embedded in their occupation.
Conway found 87% of those questioned said the farm represents years of hard work and their lifetime’s achievement, while 68% said their farm and occupation have a greater symbolic importance than financial importance.
That symbolic importance was highlighted by Josh, a 70-year-old tillage farmer from the southeast, who said: “The farm means an awful lot to me. We have been here for 12 or 13 generations; we go back to 1725. Being able to farm it well and make a living out of it has given me a huge sense of satisfaction.”
Some 78% of farmers questioned said being a farmer gives them a sense of belonging and a position in society, while 72% of those who had not considered retiring said relinquishing control and retiring from farming would damage their identity and self-esteem.
Ian, a 67-year-old dairy farmer, told Conway about another farmer who had retired: “He said that when he sold his farm and gave up farming that he was almost a non-identity afterwards. He wasn’t a farmer anymore, he wasn’t anything…
“He said that afterwards he never felt that he could go to farming meetings anymore because all his life he had been a farmer and next thing he wasn’t and, ya know, that story made a major impression on me and has even influenced my own decisions to keep going and not retire ever since.”
Most farmers (71%) said to maintain their status in the farming community, it was hugely important that they were still viewed as a skilled, productive farmer among their peers.
Some 60% of farmers said that they would no longer be seen as having a leading role in their household and local community if they relinquished control and retired.
Died in the saddle
The vast majority (87%) of farmers said that retirement is not popular or well-regarded within the farming community.
Conway found there is a cultural expectation in the farming community that farmers don’t retire and that those who do have a defeatist attitude or no option due to ill health.
He noted that this reflects western society’s tendency to celebrate legendary leaders who “died in the saddle” or “went down with the ship” rather than those who planned their succession and retirement.
Numerous farmers said they would feel isolated and separated from the rest of the farming community if they were to retire.
Corporoeuthanasia is described as the owner’s act of wilfully killing off the business he loves by failing to provide, in his lifetime, for a viable organisation with clear continuity.
Researcher Shane Conway warns that without a clear plan, potential farm successors may lose interest and motivation continually working in the incumbent farmer’s shadow and decide to leave the farm to pursue more fulfilling opportunities elsewhere.
What can be done?
In the report Cease agricultural activity forever? Underestimating the importance of symbolic capital, Shane Conway and his co-authors, NUI Galway colleagues John McDonagh and Maura Farrell, and Teagasc’s Anne Kinsella, make a number of recommendations:
Don’t underestimate the importance of what the farm means to the older farmer – the weight of the farm’s symbolic capital as an identifier, a measure of achievement, social status and way of life. Family farm transfer plans should recognise how difficult it is for the older generation to let go. New farm transfer initiatives should cater for both social and economic needs, including support to deal with the personal and social loss an older farmer experiences when transferring the farm. Any early retirement scheme could be renamed a Farm Progression Scheme, giving the older farmer a sense of purposefulness rather than giving up. The older generation’s knowledge, skills and years of experience should be recognised by policy-makers and key stakeholders. Read more
Farm transfer sessions should be compulsory for tax breaks
Farm successsion: a prodigal son returns
Just half of all farmers surveyed in the Irish Farmers Journal/Red C poll last week have identified a successor for their farm.
While in some cases, there may be no obvious successor, a study by the National University of Galway and Teagasc sheds light on why farms can be transferred so slowly in Ireland.
Shane Conway, a postdoctoral researcher with the National Rural Network, conducted a series of questionnaires and interviews with 324 farmers about farm succession throughout 2016 and 2017. His findings show the complex emotional attachment to the farm.
It is my life, it makes me what I am … It is my whole life
Conway found that one-third of all farmers over the age of 55 surveyed had not considered retiring, even though they had attended a Teagasc clinic on transferring the farm.
When interviewed, the farmers revealed that the farm and farming completely encapsulate their lives.
Colm, a 71-year-old drystock farmer from the southwest who farms in partnership with his brother, refused to even consider retirement: “Oh God no, they’ll take me out legs first … I would find it very difficult if I was told tomorrow morning, OK you can’t go farming anymore. I think that would have a major effect on my life … not being involved in farming? It is my life like.”
Some 32% of farmers said they could not imagine what they would do if they permanently ceased all farming activity and 64% of those farmers said the quality of life as a farmer was far greater than could be quantified by any financial incentive to leave farming.
The majority (71%) of farmers said that farming is not only their job, but also their lifestyle, pastime and social outlet.
The farm means an awful lot to me. We have been here for 12 or 13 generations
As Aoife, a 68-year-old mixed livestock farmer put it: “Farming means everything. I get up in the morning to farm, I look out at the weather to see how it will affect my farming.
“Where I go, who I meet, who I talk to, everything is farming – it is my life, it makes me what I am … It is my whole life, I don’t have any other interests.”
Previous research has shown that for many farmers, their personal identity is deeply embedded in their occupation.
Conway found 87% of those questioned said the farm represents years of hard work and their lifetime’s achievement, while 68% said their farm and occupation have a greater symbolic importance than financial importance.
That symbolic importance was highlighted by Josh, a 70-year-old tillage farmer from the southeast, who said: “The farm means an awful lot to me. We have been here for 12 or 13 generations; we go back to 1725. Being able to farm it well and make a living out of it has given me a huge sense of satisfaction.”
Some 78% of farmers questioned said being a farmer gives them a sense of belonging and a position in society, while 72% of those who had not considered retiring said relinquishing control and retiring from farming would damage their identity and self-esteem.
Ian, a 67-year-old dairy farmer, told Conway about another farmer who had retired: “He said that when he sold his farm and gave up farming that he was almost a non-identity afterwards. He wasn’t a farmer anymore, he wasn’t anything…
“He said that afterwards he never felt that he could go to farming meetings anymore because all his life he had been a farmer and next thing he wasn’t and, ya know, that story made a major impression on me and has even influenced my own decisions to keep going and not retire ever since.”
Most farmers (71%) said to maintain their status in the farming community, it was hugely important that they were still viewed as a skilled, productive farmer among their peers.
Some 60% of farmers said that they would no longer be seen as having a leading role in their household and local community if they relinquished control and retired.
Died in the saddle
The vast majority (87%) of farmers said that retirement is not popular or well-regarded within the farming community.
Conway found there is a cultural expectation in the farming community that farmers don’t retire and that those who do have a defeatist attitude or no option due to ill health.
He noted that this reflects western society’s tendency to celebrate legendary leaders who “died in the saddle” or “went down with the ship” rather than those who planned their succession and retirement.
Numerous farmers said they would feel isolated and separated from the rest of the farming community if they were to retire.
Corporoeuthanasia is described as the owner’s act of wilfully killing off the business he loves by failing to provide, in his lifetime, for a viable organisation with clear continuity.
Researcher Shane Conway warns that without a clear plan, potential farm successors may lose interest and motivation continually working in the incumbent farmer’s shadow and decide to leave the farm to pursue more fulfilling opportunities elsewhere.
What can be done?
In the report Cease agricultural activity forever? Underestimating the importance of symbolic capital, Shane Conway and his co-authors, NUI Galway colleagues John McDonagh and Maura Farrell, and Teagasc’s Anne Kinsella, make a number of recommendations:
Don’t underestimate the importance of what the farm means to the older farmer – the weight of the farm’s symbolic capital as an identifier, a measure of achievement, social status and way of life. Family farm transfer plans should recognise how difficult it is for the older generation to let go. New farm transfer initiatives should cater for both social and economic needs, including support to deal with the personal and social loss an older farmer experiences when transferring the farm. Any early retirement scheme could be renamed a Farm Progression Scheme, giving the older farmer a sense of purposefulness rather than giving up. The older generation’s knowledge, skills and years of experience should be recognised by policy-makers and key stakeholders. Read more
Farm transfer sessions should be compulsory for tax breaks
Farm successsion: a prodigal son returns
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