NUIG and Teagasc probe emotional tie farmers have with their land

TRUE love – of their farms – is the main reason why older farmers tend to ‘hold onto the land’ into their later years, according to the findings of research carried out by NUI Galway and Teagasc.

One of the conclusions of the study was, that in terms of farm transfer, more than economic based incentives needed to be looked at.

“Farming is more than an economic activity. The so-called soft issues – the emotional issues identified in the research – are the issues that distort and dominate the older generation’s decision on the future trajectory of the farm,” the research concludes.

A summary of the findings – published in the latest edition of the Teagasc TResearch Summer 2018 magazine – points out that those so-called ‘soft issues’ have resulted in ‘intractable challenges for succession and retirement policy over the past 40 years.

It observes that the so-called ‘soft issues’ are really the ‘hard issues’ when it comes to the transfer of the family farm leading to a re-examination of the ‘dominant focus on economic based incentives’.

“They [policymakers and practitioners] must become more aware of, and knowledgeable about, the farmer-farm relationship identified in this research to maintain the quality of life of those concerned,” the research points out.

Carried out by Shane Conway, John McDonagh, Maura Farrell [all NUI Galway] and Teagasc Research Officer, Anne Kinsella, the study probed the deep rooted emotional attachment that older farmers had with the land.

“Older farmers were found to have developed a deeply rooted familiarity and sense of belonging in their home environment, later in life, which is notably distinct from the outside world.

“The senior generation therefore find it impossible to visualise what their lives would be like if they no longer lived on the farm or worked in an agricultural environment.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.