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ABSTRACT
Purpose: Understand the emergence of new potential career trajectories in the liberalised Irish dairy farming sector through analysis of the narratives of students of a Professional Diploma in Dairy Farm Management
Design/methodology/approach: A review of the literature highlights that entry to a working life in agriculture has been characterised by protracted farm succession processes; a strong association between being a farmer and owning land in the family name; lingering male identities esteeming manual labour; and a pragmatic need at farm level for manual work. The abolition of milk quota in 2015 was predicted to catalyse expansion of production on dairy farms with an increase in milk production; accompanied by a demand for qualified personnel. The BNIM method was employed.
Findings: Results confirm that agricultural education is perceived and experienced as offering new pathways for young farmers to enter the occupational category of ‘farmer’, helping to manoeuvre around the constraints of non-inheritance. The students’ narratives evidenced managerial identities, being strongly influenced by encountering management approaches through their agricultural education. All students desired to eventually own a farm someday and to be to employed as a professional dairy farm manager was a perceived as an intermediary goal.
Practical implication: Discontinuation of the traditional family farming model based on family farm/land ownership is not imminent even among a cohort qualified to become employed dairy farm managers.
Theoretical implication: This paper contributes to theoretical framework which highlights the shift in farmer masculine identity and the career trajectory of graduates of specialised agricultural education programmes.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the study participants for their role in the research and the funding by Teagasc’s Walsh Fellowship Scheme.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Justine Deming is currently a PhD candidate undertaking research focused on dairy farm labour efficiency and management. She has a background in dairy cow behaviour and welfare but through the PhD this has extended to human behavioural aspects of dairy farming.
Áine Macken-Walsh is a Senior Research Officer at Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme (REDP). Her primary interests are in cultural sociology with a specific focus on agriculture. Áine’s current research activity is centred on exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of questions such as farm-level disease management; joint farming ventures; and multi-actor participatory processes in agricultural extension.
Dr Bernadette O’Brien is a Principal Research Officer at Teagasc. Her work has previously focused on milk quality, milking technology and milking frequency. Currently she is leading research in the areas of automatic milking, ICT tools for grazing management and on-farm labour efficiency. Bernadette has previously, and is currently coordinating EU projects in the areas of automatic milking and precision grazing.
Dr James Kinsella is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at the University College Dublin. Has worked at a number of levels in agricultural and rural development from field extension worker to Country Programme Manager. Extensive experience in project planning and appraisal as well as capacity building with Irish Aid, OECD and international NGOs. Actively involved in local community development issues.