Intermittent labour forms in U.K. agriculture: Some implications for rural areas

Ball, Rick

doi:10.1016/0743-0167(87)90029-5

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…(farm E) The beauty of backpackers is that they're happy to come in, sometimes we might only need them for two months, so they can come in, do the work and go. (farm C) This workforce organisation of 'core', 'contractors' and 'casuals' on case study farms reflects the increasing trend of temporary and contract workforces in agriculture reported in industrialised nations outside Australia, such as in France and the UK (Ball 1987;Errington and Gasson 1996;Madelrieux and Dedieu 2008). Whilst we did not look specifically at intrayear work organisation with respect to who does what, when, where, how and why as used in work assessment methods (Madelrieux and Dedieu 2008), nor the family work dynamics and pluriactivity examined in other studies (Benjamin and Kimhi 2006), we find parallels with the description of the 'basic unit' in livestock farming (Madelrieux and Dedieu 2008) and the 'core' workforce described on cotton farms.…”

Section: Very Important (Farm C)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A new framework to analyse workforce contribution to Australian cotton farm adaptability

Nettle

Kuehne

Lee

et al. 2018

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Farmers face many challenges, including climate variability, that require continual adaptation. However, studies of farm adaptation have paid limited attention to the farm workforce, despite changes in farm workforce organisation (i.e. the number, type and forms of employment on farm) being a significant feature of agricultural change globally. To effectively support farmers' adaptation, it is important to understand farmers' workforce strategies (i.e. how farm workforce organisation supports the needs and priorities of the farm), how workforce choices are made and the implications for adaptation. This paper progresses a framework for analysing farm adaptability, including the farm workforce. Bringing together theories of livelihoods analysis and strategic human resource management, the farm workforce strategies of 16 case study farms in the Australian cotton production sector are analysed. Cotton production is exposed to major resource constraints, such as irrigation water. We interviewed farmers and collected data on farm business performance, workforce organisation choices, human resource management practices and employees' experiences of work. We integrated data to characterise farm workforce decision-making and the relationship between workforce strategies and farm adaptability for each farm. A cross-case analysis explored differences between farms. A diversity of workforce strategies was found, involving combinations of workforce options, defined as 'core', 'contract' and 'casual' workers at different levels of skills and experience. Farm workforce strategies were found to influence and be influenced by sources of financial capital, irrigation water availability/holdings, farm remoteness, new farm infrastructure and human resource management practices. The farm workforce was a response option to provide production flexibility, yet high adaptability was associated with some negative consequences for managers and employees. We show for the first time the influence of farm workforce organisation dynamics in adaptation and negative consequences of high farm adaptability. 'Factoring-in' the farm workforce in sustainable development studies should therefore be a priority.

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Section: Very Important (Farm C)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A new framework to analyse workforce contribution to Australian cotton farm adaptability

Nettle

Kuehne

Lee

et al. 2018

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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“…: 42). As a result, accuracy of data concerning labour use in agriculture remains extremely limited (Ball, 1987b). Since this recognition in the 1980s, little further research has developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘blind spot’ of agricultural research: Labour flexibility, composition and worker availability in the South West of England

Nye

2018

Cah. Agric.

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-Agriculture in the UK faces a number of long-term challenges as the global marketplace continues to expand, world population grows, and an increasing pressure is exerted upon natural resources. It needs to ensure its place as a competitive, resilient, and environmentally sustainable industry both locally and in the global arena. A key constraint which ties in with all of the above is the availability of labour. Both governmental departments in their statistical analyses of agriculture in the country, as well as academic research, largely ignore the existence of certain actors performing farm labour who are not the farmer, particularly agricultural contractors, and as a result, have missed the emergence of significant patterns occurring within the farm workforce. Accuracy of data concerning labour use in agriculture has, therefore, been extremely limited. This paper identifies the composition of labour on farm holdings in the South West of England today and recognises the increasing prevalence of flexible labour sources. It determines both current and anticipated future staffing needs of the holdings studied, which provides an indicator as to the gravity of agriculture's labour crisis in the South West.

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“…Employment in agriculture has been declining in developed countries over the past half century (Findeis, 2002) as the number of farms has fallen and technology has substituted for labour (Lewis, 1990). At the same time, hired labour has risen as a proportion of the agricultural workforce (Findeis, 2002), and one reason for this is the persistence of seasonal variations in demand (Ball, 1987). While total farm employment has fallen in Australia, the fruit and vegetable industry remains dependent on a large number of workers for harvesting, thinning and pruning of crops due to handling requirements and grading demands that cannot yet be met by machinery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The new mobilities have a strong urban focus, but population movement has long been integral to the functioning of rural areas (Samuel, 1976), and this reliance is intensified in sparsely settled countries such as Australia (Davison, 1979). As in the urban setting, however, rural mobilities have been radically transformed by the changing social and economic context (Ball, 1987). This paper examines one of the most prominent and enduring forms of population movement in rural areas of Australia: the seasonal migration of labour in the fruit and vegetable industry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Local workforces in harvest regions are generally not sufficient to meet this demand, so seasonal workers migrate to these areas to fill the shortfall, mostly in picking and packing at harvest time, but also in smaller numbers for pruning and thinning of crops in the offseason. Fruit and vegetables display the most pronounced seasonal peaks of all agricultural crops (Ball, 1987 renders the industry unique is the way labour demand is fragmented across time and space.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Harvest trails in Australia: Patterns of seasonal migration in the fruit and vegetable industry

Hanson

Bell

2007

Journal of Rural Studies

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Intermittent labour forms in U.K. agriculture: Some implications for rural areas

Cited by 12 publications

References 11 publications

A new framework to analyse workforce contribution to Australian cotton farm adaptability

A new framework to analyse workforce contribution to Australian cotton farm adaptability

The ‘blind spot’ of agricultural research: Labour flexibility, composition and worker availability in the South West of England

Harvest trails in Australia: Patterns of seasonal migration in the fruit and vegetable industry

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