Prolonging Life: Appreciations of a Secondhand ‘Capital’ Machine

Abstract

Abstract:In this paper I look at a farm that diversified its business and within this process bought a second-hand sausage vacuum-filler. I do this in order to question how this machine came to be understood and valued by the farmers who bought it. The themes discussed include the role of the machine in changing the working practices of the farm, as well as factors unknown when buying second-hand -purchasers can only ever truly know the reliability and levels of performance of the machine retrospectively. While much work has considered the second-hand cultures of goods such as clothes, brick-a-brac or cars, the departure I make here is to consider goods bought and used in commercial contexts. I consider the calculations made when a second-hand commodity is invested with the risks and tensions of expanding a business. There are critical and additional pressures resting on the machine, for example, if the machine fails to work it may be detrimental to the business. The paper focuses on the appreciations of two farmers and how the machine they bought was used and appreciated.

Secondhand consumption: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

“…We further found that four studies used secondhand consumption in the area of luxury items purchasing (Keim & Wagner, 2018; Kessous & Valette‐Florence, 2019; Turunen et al, 2020; Turunen & Leipämaa‐Leskinen, 2015a) as the independent variable. Similarly, six studies used the constructs reinforced by secondhand consumption in the context of sustainable consumption as the independent variable (Aida & Terazono, 2010; Hischier & Böni, 2021; Lee & DeLong, 2021; Norris, 2015; Spiller, 2014; Turunen & Pöyry, 2019). While these studies have laid the groundwork for comprehending the impact of secondhand consumption, further investigation is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of consumer motives for engaging in secondhand consumption.…”

Illegal diversification strategies in the farming community from a UK perspective

“…We define farm diversification in terms of 'livelihood' (Hussein and Nelson, 1998). This includes on-and-off-farm activities, resources and skills, which generate extra income by creating additional agricultural or non-agricultural products, or supplement farm incomes by selfemployment or paid labour (Spiller, 2015). Diversification relates to strategically systematic planned movement away from core business activities (McElwee, 2006).…”