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The Experience of Existing: small family farms in the Northeast United States

Lawson, Helene M and Lawson, Lawrence R and Showman, Jennifer (2013) The Experience of Existing: small family farms in the Northeast United States. Working Paper. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The institution of small-scale family farming dominates the agricultural landscape in both Europe and the Unites States. Characteristically, in addition to the small size of these farms, the farm family supplies the bulk of the needed labour. The continued existence of this institution in the face of growing highly capitalised agribusinesses has puzzled many. This study explores this question through the eyes of small family farmers in the northeast of the United States. It identifies three categories of factors that farmers see as why and how they continue to farm in this traditional fashion. The first category encompasses a love for farming and deep sense of place connected to the farm land. The second category encompasses self-sufficiency and the occupational diversity of farm life. The third category encompasses the ability of small farms to exploit small markets unsuited to large businesses and the role of government in preserving these small markets. This study concludes that the most important of the three categories to perpetuating the small family farm is the love of farmers for farming.

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Details

Item Type: Monograph (Working Paper)
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Lawson, Helene Mlawson@pitt.eduLAWSON
Lawson, Lawrence R
Showman, Jennifer
Monograph Type: Working Paper
Date: 24 October 2013
Date Type: Publication
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Refereed: No
Uncontrolled Keywords: small, farms, Cheyanovian, economics, dairy, multicrop, farm, animals
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2013 18:10
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2020 19:06
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19937

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