From Generation to Generation: Changing Dimensions of Intergenerational Farm Transfer

Abstract

The transfer of managerial control between generations on the family farm has long been understood as a critical and often problematic phase, with implications for both the individual farm business and more broadly, the sustainability of family farming systems. Drawing on empirical data from interviews with prospective successors and farmers in Devon, England, the article provides a contemporary analysis of the transfer of managerial control on family farms. Although in line with traditional conceptualisations, findings reaffirm how many prospective successors were delegated tasks of increasing responsibility, with limited access to the higher responsibility financial management tasks, an emergent cohort of younger prospective successors enjoyed a contrasting progression towards managerial control, involving varied involvement across all aspects of farm management. With reference to late modernity and the individualisation thesis, the article explores how unconstrained by tradition the emerging cohort described a wealth of off-farm experiences, including what the article terms short-term diversions, which the analysis reveals have informed and shaped their progression towards managerial control. In view of these findings, the article offers an alternative and up-to-date conceptualisation of the transfer of managerial control in the form of the succession matrix, before considering the potential applications and some avenues for future research.

“It's Definitely a Good Time to Be a Farmer”: Understanding the Changing Dynamics of Successor Creation in Late Modern Society

“…Interviews typically took place in farmers' and potential successors' homes, but a small number were conducted at a neutral location (a caf e) at the behest of the participant. Potential successors were defined as someone who could potentially gain managerial control of the farm, including someone assumed to be the future successor by virtue of his or her relationship to the farmer and those actively moving toward gaining managerial control of the farm (Chiswell 2014).…”

“…In light of the long-standing cultural expectation that the eldest son would become the successor (de Hann 1994; Gasson and Errington 1993;Kuehne 2013;Silvasti 2012), as well as the scarcity of engagement with the potential successor in previous research (Chiswell 2014), we tried to interview farmers and their potential successors separately. 1 We hoped that separate interviews would allow both parties to talk openly and honestly about their hopes, motivations, and plans for the farm, without fear of repercussions, in a way that they might not have been able to do in a joint interview.…”

“…Following this, questions and topics were generally open and guided by the participants. The freedom for respondent input facilitated detailed responses, and critically, given the absence of the potential successor in previous research (Chiswell 2014), gave voice to the potential successor. As Cloke et al (2008:151) recognize, one of many reasons for "using interviews lies in the desire .…”

“…With the aim of developing an up-to-date and nuanced understanding of how the shift from the collective to the individual, indicative of late modernity, is materializing at the individual farm level, this article draws on empirical work with incumbent farmers (i.e., those with current managerial control over the farm) and their potential successors. While much research has focused on incumbent farm principals, some scholars have argued that insufficient engagement with potential successors (defined here as someone who could potentially gain managerial control of the farm) has prevented a full understanding of intergenerational farm transfer (Chiswell 2016).…”

Retired Farmers and New Land Users: How Relations to Land and People Influence Farmers' Land Transfer Decisions

“…Family farming and passing on land to the younger generation through inheritance is often the main means of land transfer and has therefore been the focus of many studies (Fischer and Burton ; Chiswell ). However, the process of land transfer by leasing or selling has attracted less attention.…”