Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-160).

Thesis--Københavns universitet. / Summary in English. Bibliography: p. 280-[288].

This thesis documents and analyses some of the major characteristics of the present socio-economic situation of small farms in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. To obtain a realistic appreciation of the small farm problem consideration is given to the fact that the major function of small farms is not always agricultural production. The major term of reference for the study was that the characteristics of small farms are the result of the functions the holding serves for the farm operator and his family. Small farms were identified as holdings of less than twenty-one acres and the heterogeneous functions of farm occupancy were synthesised into three levels of farm operation on the basis of working time spent on the holding, relative income obtained from farm and non-farm sources and the value of the sale of agricultural products. Three types of small farm operators were recognised: full-time, part-time and residential. The Lower Mainland was selected because it is one of the most important agricultural areas in British Columbia and the region contains a high percentage of the total number of small farms in the province. In addition, the positive relationship between urbanisation, small farms and the part-time and residential farmer was likely to be clearly represented because the area is subject to the metropolitan dominance of Vancouver. Within the Lower Mainland, Matsqui Municipality was singled out for specialized study since it is reasonably representative of the Lower Mainland's agriculture and is within commuting distance of Metropolitan Vancouver. The Real Property Appraisal Records for Matsqui Municipality were used as the sample frame and a random sample of forty farm operators completed the interview schedule. The evidence indicated that many of the small farms under study were not viable economic units, and some of their occupiers may be classed as low income families. However, the low financial returns reported by many of the small farm operators implied that their reasons for living on farms were not necessarily founded on economic considerations. Social rather than economic factors explained the respondents' higher level of satisfaction with rural than city living, whereas any dissatisfaction with living on farms was related to the lack of economic success. The three most frequently stated reasons for preferring rural living were availability of space, a better place to bring up children and a superior physical environment to that experienced in urban areas. The evidence also indicated that there was an inverse relationship between dependency on farming for a livelihood and the level of satisfaction with rural living. The three factors which were most important in accounting for the relative economic success or failure of small farms were managerial efficiency, the availability of working capital and the desire of the farmer to operate his holding as a commercially orientated business. Because the majority of full-time small farms do not adequately fulfil economic or human needs they will be phased out, whereas small farms used essentially as a place of residence or operated on a part-time basis will become increasingly common in the landscape of the Lower Mainland. This is because although they do not adequately meet the economic requirements of a modern agricultural system, they do provide their occupiers with sufficient independence to satisfy their social needs. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Slow agricultural growth in the seventies in Taiwan has induced a second land reform debate which starts from the assumption that small farms, and especially small part-time farms, are less productive than large full-time farms. But very little empirical evidence is presented. This study attempts to investigate the validity of the assumption. The data is drawn from the 1972-1980 surveys on the North, Mid-, South rice and Sugar regions in the (daily) 'Farm Record Keeping Families' surveys. The differences in production pattern and simple land productivity measures were analysed on the basis of multi-characteristic dummy variable regressions. Total factor productivity was estimated with value-added functions of five family-supplied inputs: paddy and dry cultivated land, male and female labour days and farm assets. The response of the agrarian structure to the loss of rural workers since 1968 (and more recently of land too), has been a decline in large full-time farming. Our study shows that this process should not be countered artificially because there is no evidence that large full-time farming is superior to small full-time farming and only on dominant land type farms in the regions are small full-time farms more efficient than small part-time farms. Large full-time farms have not responded faster to shifts towards non-staple food demand, nor to mechanization and new intermediate inputs. Land productivity on large full-time farms is substantially lower than on small full-time farms and only slightly higher than on small part-time farms. Farm investment, farm assets and machine stock per hectare are similar across farms and additionally, the returns to scale are constant because the 'custom services' system has made machinery divisible. In some cases, part-time small farms show some total factor efficiency loss against full-time small farms, probably because the recommended farming methods are not appropriate for part-time farms. Policies should continue to improve the working of the land market but no artificial agrarian restructuring is recommended. The production of supervision-sensitive crops needs small full-time farmers and part-time farming limitations would produce little efficiency gain against the nightmare of labour movements restrictions. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

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Family farms experience conflict in the everyday operation of the farm (Weigel & Weigel, 1990). However, family farm members rarely bring up conflicts to the other party; rather, they keep their frustration to themselves or wait until things boil over. Waters (2013) noted family farm members avoid bringing up any conflict or issues, with one son noting “basically, dad says we’re doing this and I say okay” (Waters, 2013, p. 30). It is in this communicative environment that a business functions, attempting to remain profitable, while maintaining family bonds that are the foundation of the business itself. This project used intragroup conflict theory to explore the dynamics of everyday conflict in family farm businesses. Intragroup conflict theory presents four types of conflict (task, relational, process, and status) that influence group outcomes differently (Jehn, 1997). The first focus of this project was how these four conflict types influence three important outcomes for family farm members: job satisfaction, communication satisfaction, and profitability. Only status conflict significantly predicted all three outcomes variables for family farm members. Additionally, this project furthered intragroup conflict theory by exploring two potential antecedents for intragroup conflict: emotional intelligence (awareness of own and management of own) and family communication patterns (conversation orientation and conformity orientation). Conformity orientation significantly predicted task, process, and status conflict in the model. These findings were discussed in light of the previous theoretical work in family businesses, then in the family farm context specifically.

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